Hi there, everyone! Happy Friday! I know this dispatch from Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting is quite delayed. I have two excuses, one legitimate and the other less-so. Because of some technical difficulties on the county’s end, I couldn’t access the full livestream of the meeting until this morning. That, compounded with the fact that the meeting was pretty uneventful (read: boring), made the process of writing it up a little slower.
(Nobody loves a public meeting more than me, and I both understand the importance of big, expensive financial decisions AND appreciate the Board for their careful deliberation. But more than an hour of discussion about a financing package would exhaust anyone!)
I was, of course, also working on other stories this week. I thought I’d share this piece about the Christiansburg Institute and Black History in Appalachia more broadly. CI Vice-Chair Ray Williams offered some great insights. Thanks for following along and have a great weekend!
-Ashley
Refinancing will save Floyd County $665,000 on interest payments
The Floyd County Board of Supervisors spent much of its two-and-a-half hour meeting on Tuesday discussing how to fund $8 million in capital projects. David Rose, a representative from Davenport & Company, LLC, which advises the county on financial management, began his presentation with good news.
In 2020, Rose said, interest rates were highly favorable and the Board decided to refinance some of its existing loans, including the $14.5 million it borrowed for the Collaboration & Career Development Center at Floyd County High School. This refinancing led to $665,000 in savings, Rose explained. That money will be useful as the Supervisors explore options for financing another $8 million.
That’s the topic Rose was at Tuesday’s meeting to discuss. The Supervisors need to finance several upcoming investments, including a new ambulance, fire engine, trash truck, and an upgrade to the county’s emergency communication system. After they agreed to a strategy, Davenport & Company would solicit loan packages from various lenders for the Board’s review.
“The county is in solid financial shape,” Rose told the Board on Tuesday. “We think we can borrow this $8 million strategically and cost-effectively.” In Davenport’s suggested scenario, the Supervisors would first establish a capital reserve fund using about $200,000 of its refinancing savings. The county can also avoid borrowing about $350,000 for a new building at the Recreation Park and an office remodeling by simply paying cash, Rose pointed out.
The county has accumulated about $460,000 from meals taxes since that additional tax, restricted to funding capital projects, was instituted. Rose said that meals tax also generates about $175,000 annually, which is roughly equivalent to the annual debt service on the shell building at the Floyd Growth Center.
Therefore, instead of needing an additional penny in property taxes to fund that project, as the county had anticipated, they can use the existing meals tax revenue stream. Davenport is also recommending that the county fund its upgraded radio system over 15 years, instead of 10. Rose said the financial services firm can have a lending proposal prepared by the start of the new fiscal year in July.
Assistant County Administrator Cindy Ryan pointed out that the county needs funding before that, as several projects are already under contract. Rose explained that the county can pay out some of that money and then reimburse itself after the financing package is complete.
The consensus of the Board was generally in favor of Davenport’s proposal. However, Locust Grove District Supervisor Lauren Yoder raised some concerns about funding the radio system over 15 years. “I don’t want to put ourselves in a situation where we’re paying for something 14 years from now, and a new technology comes out,” Yoder said.
Courthouse District Supervisor Jerry Boothe pointed out that while 15 years is a long time and there may be advances in technology before then, some of the equipment the county will be replacing is nearly 30 years old.
Yoder agreed, and said ultimately, the Board needs to spend this $8 million now to set the county up for future economic growth and financial stability. That is why he supports, for instance, the CCDC at the high school and the developments at Floyd’s Commerce Center. They will enable the training of a new generation of employees in the county and foster commercial development. “At some point, you can’t just continue to tax landowners, you need some other sources of revenue,” Yoder said.
He added that, “We’re putting a lot of miles on the ambulance…Solid waste, our numbers keep going up; things are made more and more disposable, it’s just what we’re dealing with.”
Boothe agreed. “Like you said, none of this is fluff,” he said of the capital project list. “None of this is a wish list; it’s a need list.”
The Supervisors approved a motion to establish the capital reserve fund and authorized Davenport to print a Request for Proposals for the financing.
During public comment on Tuesday, Bob Smith, who is both the treasurer of the county’s Electoral Board and a resident of Indian Valley, raised the issue of the district losing its Green Box site. “Now I’m having to drive all the way to Willis,” Smith said. “People are not quite happy with it, and are hoping that we can get the situation resolved.” Supervisors revisited the topic later in the meeting.
Indian Valley District Supervisor Justin Coleman reported that a property owner in his district has offered some land to host a new Green Box site. The site will also include a recycling bin. The land, Coleman explained, “just needs some maintenance to get it where it needs to be and (make it) safe for the trucks to operate on.” Thus, the Board moved to accept a bid of $66,500 for grading, gravel fill and other improvements to the property. Coleman said the land owner is willing to sign an agreement for the county to use the site for several years, in order to protect its investment.
Little River District Supervisor Linda DeVito Kuchenbuch said approving the new Green Box site in Indian Valley is only one aspect of solving the county’s insufficiencies when it comes to solid waste. She pointed out that the county’s last solid waste study was completed at least five years ago, and suggested the Board plan for another.
In other matters before the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday:
The New River Health District informed Floyd County it had unspent funds, which could either be applied to the district’s funding next year or be reimbursed to the county. The Board moved that the funds be reimbursed.
After surveying eight of the county’s largest employers about the need for a COVID test site in Floyd, Assistant County Administrator Cindy Ryan recommended that the Supervisors not fund such a site. “ It sounds like a lot of (the businesses) have already gotten their employees vaccinated or made other arrangements (for testing),” Ryan reported.
The Board approved a $7,230 bid for new lighting at the Transfer Station Maintenance Building and a $27,742 bid for its new roof.
Supervisors reviewed an RFP for a concessions provider at the county’s Recreation Park, but decided the document needed revisions and another edit by County Attorney Steve Durbin before being printed. Ultimately, the goal is to solicit bids from restaurants, food service providers, churches and others within the county, Supervisors said.
The Floyd County Board of Supervisors will begin budget work sessions in March. The budget will be finalized this summer.
The Board of Supervisors next meets on Tuesday, March 9 at 8:30 a.m.