County asked to acknowledge tax‑exempt conduit bonds for Biomed Science Academy STEM School; bond counsel says county bears no financial responsibility

Attorneys representing the Portage County Port Authority told the board on April 13 that federal tax rules require the applicable elected representative of the local government to acknowledge certain tax‑exempt conduit financings. The Port Authority is seeking that routine acknowledgement for conduit bonds to finance facilities for the Biomed Science Academy STEM School.

"So my name is Abby Burke. I'm an attorney at Red Slope Andrews. This is Justin Markey. We represent the Portage County Port Authority," counsel said. She told the board the bonds would be issued as a conduit under Ohio law, the county is not issuing the bonds, the county will not be financially responsible, and the bonds will be payable solely from payments made by the nonprofit school.

Burke described the project as a new K–6 STEM facility to be located on the Kent State University campus, with a small portion of proceeds for equipment at the school's Ridgetown campus at the Northeast Ohio Medical University campus. Counsel said the total amount of the bonds would not exceed $20,000,000 and that the school would own and operate the facility under lease arrangements with the university.

A county official noted the item appeared on the meeting's miscellaneous resolution list; counsel said the acknowledgement is a federal tax code requirement and is not a county financial commitment. Commissioners asked for a projected construction schedule; counsel gave an approximate timeline of 18 months after financing close and offered to provide a precise schedule and promotional materials to the commissioners' office.

Separately during the meeting a motion was approved authorizing Portage County Court Authority revenue bonds to satisfy federal tax requirements, a procedural step taken to comply with tax rules for revenue bond issuance.