Box Elder board directs municipal building authority to pursue up to $140M in lease revenue bonds
Summary
The Box Elder School District board approved resolutions asking the district’s municipal building authority to pursue lease revenue bonds of up to $140 million to fund additions at Box Elder and Bear River high schools and a new West Tremonton elementary, and set required public hearings for February.
The Box Elder School District board voted to begin the process for a municipal building authority to finance major facility projects, approving a resolution that contemplates issuing lease revenue bonds in one or more series with a maximum principal amount of $140,000,000.
Ryan Mierke of Chapman & Cutler, the district’s bond counsel, told the board the Municipal Building Authority would technically own financed facilities and lease them back to the district. "We're contemplating that the bonds will not exceed a 140,000,000," he said when describing the resolution. The projects named are remodeling and additions to Box Elder High and Bear River High and a new elementary school anticipated in West Tremonton.
Counsel explained the structure allows districts to finance projects without using the district’s general obligation debt limit and that recent state legislation requires a public statement of intent and two separate public hearings — one standard hearing and an additional evening hearing after 6 p.m. — before bonds are issued. The board read and accepted the required statement of intent and approved the resolution asking the building authority to proceed.
Board members asked for clarifications about the $140 million cap. District staff said the figure was set to allow room for cost overruns and phasing; one official recommended declaring a ceiling higher than the current estimate to avoid having to repeat hearings later. Finance staff said hard bid numbers and guaranteed maximum price contracts will refine final issuance amounts.
The board recessed as the Board of Education and convened as trustees of the Municipal Building Authority to take the second, formal vote. Counsel said an initial series of the bonds could be brought back for approval after underwriting, with an expected timeline to return in February for public hearings and documents required for issuance.
Next steps: staff will publish required notices and schedule the two public hearings at the February board meeting so people can present testimony or challenge issuance before the board moves to sell any series of bonds.
