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Catawba County advances $18M for Hickory High design, transfers $3M from system-wide fund
Summary
The Catawba County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 15 approved appropriating $18 million and transferring $3 million to accelerate design work for Hickory High School, a step tied to a potential state grant that requires a 25% local match.
Catawba County commissioners voted unanimously Sept. 15 to appropriate $18 million to the Hickory High School Renovations capital project and to transfer $3 million from a system-wide classroom renovations fund to support immediate design work.
County Manager Mary S. Furtado told the board that Hickory City Schools (HCS) has selected architecture and engineering firm LS3P and is ready to award the design contract. Furtado said advancing the appropriation now will avoid delays in the project timeline and support an expected grant application to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction's Needs-Based Public Schools Construction Fund.
Furtado also outlined the grant’s local-match requirement: because Catawba County is designated a Tier 2 county, the district’s application would require a 25% local match, which she said amounts to about $15.5 million. She said the county intends to issue structured debt in the future to fund the project and that staff will prepare a declaration of official intent to reimburse expenditures from the planned debt proceeds to maintain compliance with U.S. Treasury regulations.
Vice-Chair Austin Allran moved the supplemental appropriation and transfer; the motion carried unanimously. Commissioners present were Chair Randy Isenhower, Vice-Chair Austin Allran, and Commissioners Robert C. Abernethy, Jr., Barbara G. Beatty, and Cole Setzer.
Why it matters: HCS officials have long identified replacement or renovation of Hickory High as a top priority. Appropriating funds now allows the district to proceed with design work and to meet timing needs for an anticipated state construction grant that would significantly increase the total project budget if approved.
Next steps: The county’s action authorized design contracting and created $25.9 million in project appropriations when combined with prior board funding; the county will prepare debt-issuance documentation at a later date and HCS will proceed with design and its grant application.
