Commission authorizes interlocal deal to exclude reimbursed items from Highland Park CDD bonds

The City of Newberry authorized an interlocal agreement with the Highland Park development on Sept. 8 that documents reimbursement and ensures city‑reimbursed, developer‑installed infrastructure items will not be included in Highland Park Community Development District bonds. Assistant development and infrastructure manager Jamie Jones explained the agreement covers two main items: oversized wastewater infrastructure (installed by the developer to serve both the developer’s property and future adjacent connections) and a traffic signal the developer is installing at a nearby intersection. The city will reimburse the developer for the difference in cost tied to oversizing (for example, installing a larger pipe to serve future growth) and will hold and later use a capital contribution from Publix toward the signal. The nut graph: The interlocal agreement documents that payments the city makes to the developer for oversizing and the signal will not be included in future CDD bond debt so those costs are not charged twice to future property owners through both direct reimbursement and bond assessments. Commissioners asked about timing and whether reimbursements would occur after construction or on a receipts basis. Staff and the developer’s representative, Lindsay Mosinski, said the commercial oversizing work is nearly complete and that the city will discuss reimbursement timing; staff said standard practice is reimbursement after completion and acceptance, but they are open to releasing reimbursement if the developer provides invoices that demonstrate expenditures equal to agreed amounts. Why it matters: The interlocal agreement clarifies how public reimbursements, private developer contributions and third‑party funds (the Publix contribution) will be applied so the same costs are not paid twice by future CDD assessments and by the city, providing transparency for residents who are concerned about double‑billing through bonds and assessments.