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Nelson County finalizes Larkin land purchase terms and directs RFP, VRA application for financing
Summary
County staff summarized the recently ratified $8.925 million Larkin acreage purchase (10% deposit paid) and a financing plan that includes an RFP for bank interim/permanent financing and an application to the Virginia Resources Authority; the board approved authorization to proceed and set a September decision timeline.
Nelson County officials briefed the Board of Supervisors on the county’s recent ratification of an $8,925,000 purchase contract for roughly 683 acres known as the Larkin property and advanced plans to finance the acquisition.
Purchase terms and immediate steps: Candy reported the county paid the required 10% deposit ($892,500) and anticipates a cash closing around Aug. 31 with a remaining balance of about $8,032,500. Staff proposed using cash or fund balance for closing and immediately replacing that outlay with lease-revenue bond or bank financing so the county does not exceed operational cash-reserve targets.
Financing options and rationale: Davenport (county financial adviser) told the board the recommended interim financing would likely be taxable (to preserve potential economic-development uses of the land) and proposed issuing a request for proposals (RFP) to local, regional and national banks. Davenport recommended including both short-term (interim) and long-term financing options in the RFP and also filing a nonbinding application to the Virginia Resources Authority (VRA) to preserve a low-cost permanent financing option.
Timetable and board direction: Davenport recommended issuing the RFP by July 21 with proposals due in late August and presenting a summary of proposals at the Sept. 8 board meeting. The board voted to authorize staff and Davenport to issue the RFP and to submit a VRA application (resolution R2026-62, as amended to include the VRA option).
Budget and public hearing: Because the purchase and related financing changes exceed 1% of the county’s adopted budget, staff opened the process to a public hearing on a FY27 budget amendment that would include $8,925,000 for the Larkin property purchase, up to $2,600,000 related to refinancing the 2022 note, and roughly $3,100,000 for anticipated DEQ/loan costs; the board approved authorization for that public hearing under resolution R2026-63.
Debt capacity and next steps: Staff shared a debt-capacity snapshot showing approximately $15 million of additional borrowing capacity before the purchase and an expected remaining borrowing capacity of about $6.1 million after the transaction, assuming standard parameters; staff and Davenport will present bank proposals and VRA results for the board’s Sept. 8 meeting decision.
