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Bethlehem Area SD clarifies Babbitt MOU, outlines sale and financing options
Summary
District staff told the finance committee the March MOU covering the Babbitt building now explicitly includes a Columbia Street satellite campus and main-campus renovations; bids are due December 2025 and construction is planned for early 2026, with multiple financing options under consideration and a planned sale to the Babbitts Authority.
District staff updated the finance committee on revisions to a memorandum of understanding first approved in March that governs work related to the Babbitt building and associated facilities.
The presenter said the clarified MOU now covers both the satellite campus on Columbia Street and renovations to the district’s main campus. Staff outlined several financing options under consideration: a cash payment, borrowing through the Babbitts Authority, obtaining a loan, paying contractors as work is completed, or a mix of those approaches. Bids for the project are due in December 2025, and construction is planned for early 2026. At the completion of procurement, staff said the district plans to sell the Babbitt building to the Babbitts Authority.
Committee members asked about next steps and approvals. The moderator reported that the Babbitts joint operating committee considered the MOU two weeks earlier and “voted on unanimously.” Staff said the Northampton and Saucon Valley boards are expected to vote on the item in October and that an oversight-authority meeting on financing was occurring concurrently.
Staff also said the district consulted its solicitor and concluded the MOU’s 60-day notice period does not apply in this case.
What happens next: staff and the authority will proceed with procurement and financing work; the joint committee and sending districts are expected to take formal votes in October, and the MOU-sale timeline anticipates bids in December 2025 and construction in early 2026.
