Amherst County approves $5.2 million financing for landfill Cell 2 using EDA lease-revenue bonds

The Amherst County Board of Supervisors on March 18 approved financing to construct Cell 2 at the county landfill, authorizing up to $5,200,000 in lease-revenue financing and directing county staff to execute required closing documents.

The board’s unanimous roll-call vote followed a presentation from RT Taylor of Davenport & Company, the county’s financial adviser. Taylor said the financing would be issued through the county’s Economic Development Authority as a lease-revenue bond and would use the Goodwin Building — which houses the treasurer’s office, extension office and commissioner of revenue — as collateral. "We're gonna look at issuing $5,200,000, and that will cover any related financing costs, but also your project costs as well as your capitalized interest," Taylor said. He told the board the resulting project fund should be roughly $4,600,000, which would include about $500,000 for engineering and roughly $4.1 million for construction.

Why it matters: Approving the financing clears the way to start construction of the next landfill cell and maintain waste-disposal capacity. The EDA acts as a conduit issuer in the transaction; the county remains responsible for debt service. Taylor said the proposed financing term is 15 years and the fixed interest rate shown in the resolution is 3.99% until closing.

Details from the meeting: Taylor described the lease-revenue structure and the possibility, later in the financing life, of substituting collateral if the county needed the Goodwin Building freed for renovation. "If at any point that building . . . needs renovations . . . we could work through bond counsel, your county attorney, and the lender to potentially substitute collateral," Taylor said. He also explained that lease financings typically include a five-year tail in the lease to allow the lender time to recoup missed payments, but that the tail becomes null when the debt is fully paid.

Board procedure: The board approved the recommended resolution and then approved the form of financing documents as separate actions, as staff and bond counsel had requested. The meeting record shows a roll-call vote in which Supervisors Wade, Adams, Pugh and Martin voted "aye," and the chair also voted "aye," completing a unanimous vote to adopt the resolution and authorize execution of the financing documents.

What the board did not decide tonight: The board approved financing authority and the form of documents; actual construction contracts and disbursements will follow procurement steps and award to the lowest responsive bidder as the motion directed. The motion also directed the county administrator to execute all required documents at closing.

Quotes from the meeting: RT Taylor, financial adviser, described the proposed funding and uses: "That $4,600,000, as I understand it, would also include roughly $500,000 of engineering costs. Roughly 4.1 in round numbers left for the construction." Taylor also stated the rate included in the resolution: "3.99% is our rate. And that again will be held firm until we close." The board recorded the financing approval by roll call.

Next steps: Staff will finalize the financing documents, close with the lender, and proceed with procurement and construction oversight for Cell 2 per the direction adopted by the board.