Town schedules two school‑construction financing meetings to review bonds and options

Town Manager Andrew Nada told the council the town is scheduling two meetings focused on financing the school construction initiative: a special council meeting Monday at 6 p.m. at the Swift Community Center with bond counsel Karen Grandy, PFM fiscal adviser Steve Massaroni and Finance Director Trish Sunderland, followed by a school‑construction committee meeting the next week to begin drafting recommendations.

Nada said previously discussed bond figures need clarification: an earlier $150 million figure included pay‑go amounts and when accounting for a $11.5 million pay‑go component the comparable bonding number was about $138.5 million. He said there are roughly $6.9 million in previously authorized but unissued bonds that could be considered as one pot of funding, but that both pots still carry repayment obligations.

Nada recommended the council prepare questions for bond counsel and advisers. He said a conservative maximum contingency estimate of 10% (mentioned as $15,000,000 in the discussion) is likely to be partially reimbursable — he said as much as 55% of that might be reimbursable under some scenarios, which would reduce the local share.

Councilors asked for spreadsheet slides showing cost options and asked that finance prepare a 30‑year projection to incorporate into fiscal‑impact statements. Nada said council and committee deliberations in the coming weeks will be prepared with bond counsel and advisers to clarify premiums, borrowing rates and mechanics of issuing bonds beyond the previously discussed amounts.

Next steps: The council will meet with bond counsel and advisers at the special meeting; the school‑construction committee will continue working toward a recommendation to the full council.