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Hudson County advances lease, financing plan for Liberty Science Center high school; commissioners seek local participation details
Summary
Commissioners introduced an ordinance to authorize up to $73 million in HCIA-backed financing for a Liberty Science Center high school and debated local participation, project-labor agreements and whether a proposed city payment for student seats is permissible under law.
The Hudson County Board of County Commissioners on Oct. 21 introduced an ordinance authorizing a lease and development agreement with the Hudson County Improvement Authority (HCIA) to finance and build a Liberty Science Center high school, with an estimated project cost not to exceed $73 million.
The ordinance would also include a lease with the Hudson County Schools of Technology to provide STEM programming to county students. County Administrator Abraham Antun summarized the administrative aspects of the project and said the financing will be arranged through HCIA lease revenue bonds.
Why it matters: The measure commits the county to construction financing and raises questions about operating arrangements, local contracting goals and how seats would be allocated when the school opens. Commissioner William O'Dea pressed for clarity about a previously discussed arrangement in which the City of Jersey City might make annual payments in exchange for an allocated share of student seats. "It has been put on record more than once that you cannot allocate a certain number of students to any city under the law," O'Dea said, adding his view that a dedicated city payment conditioned on reserved seats "is illegal." He asked officials to confirm that city payments were not part of the construction financing in this ordinance.
Mike O'Connor of the Hudson County Improvement Authority said the current ordinance governs construction and does not set operating allocations. O'Connor also described how the HCIA structured its procurement: outreach to more than 200 potential subcontractors and a scoring regime that awards points for local and minority participation and related technical criteria. "We're all proud of the work of the Administration ... with the inclusion and participation with the courthouse project," O'Connor said, describing the procurement approach as similar to prior county projects.
Commissioner Albert Cifelli asked whether the county or the city would contribute to construction costs; Antun said the county and the state would repay bonds and that the city was not providing construction dollars. Commissioners sought additional procurement materials and scoring breakdowns; O'Dea and Cifelli requested that the administration and the HCIA circulate the RFP scoring, proposals and specific diversity/outreach commitments before the public meeting vote.
What's next: Commissioners agreed to receive the procurement documentation ahead of the public meeting. The ordinance was introduced and referred for final consideration at the public meeting; the HCIA will continue to handle the financing and procurement process.
