Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Pennvest Financing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Finance committee moves $67.1 million Susquehanna transmission loan to first reading with PennVEST supplemental request
Summary
The finance committee moved Bill 10 for first reading July 14, a measure to accept low‑interest PennVEST financing for the Susquehanna large-diameter water transmission main; staff said total project cost is about $67.1 million, including a $3.2 million grant and a $14 million supplemental PennVEST request.
The finance committee on July 6 advanced Bill 10, a measure to secure long-term PennVEST financing for the Susquehanna large-diameter water transmission main, and moved the measure to first reading at the July 14 council meeting.
Amanda, chief staff, told the committee the bill is timed to align with a supplemental PennVEST funding decision and thanked staff for submitting the supplemental request. "We like these two things to happen in concert with each other, because time is of the essence," she said.
Concord Public Finance advisor Daryl Peck summarized the proposed financing. "It has been identified as about $67,100,000," Peck said, and he noted the city already has a $3,200,000 grant toward the project. After bids, staff submitted a supplemental PennVEST request for an additional $14,000,000 to fully fund the project; Peck said the supplemental offer is expected to carry similar low-rate terms to the initial offer. The consultant described an initial offer with an interest-only period at about 1.743% and a later repayment period with an effective rate around 2.179%.
Staff said interim financing is already in place to continue construction while PennVEST processes reimbursement and long-term closing; the timetable discussed anticipated PennVEST consideration on July 15, a first reading before council on July 14, second reading and formal acceptance July 28, and an anticipated closing in mid–late September. The presenter said project construction is expected to be complete by Sept. 30, 2027, subject to schedule adjustments.
Committee action: Vice President Hirsch moved to send Bill 10 for first reading at the July 14 council meeting; the motion was seconded and carried in committee. Staff noted that actual draws and reimbursements from PennVEST will lag closing by several months and emphasized interim financing will allow contractors to be paid while PennVEST processes reimbursement.
What to watch: the supplemental PennVEST decision (scheduled for a July 15 board meeting) and the council's first and second readings the week of July 14 and July 28. Debt-service estimates provided to the committee show interest-only payments through 2027 and principal repayment beginning in 2028, with the first full-year debt-service impact shown in 2029.
