150-23 - Courthouse Project

NOTICE OF PRELIMINARY DETERMINATION OF
THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF PULASKI COUNTY, INDIANA,
TO ENTER INTO A PROPOSED LEASE OF A FACILITY OPERATED BY
PULASKI COUNTY, INDIANA IN CONNECTION WITH THE
PULASKI COUNTY COURTHOUSE PROJECT

Owners of real property, and registered voters residing, in Pulaski County, Indiana (the “County”), hereby are given notice that the Board of Commissioners of the County (the “Board”)  preliminarily has determined, at its meeting held August 21, 2023, that (I) a need exists for the proposed renovation and equipping of a county courthouse (the “Facility”) located at 112 East Main Street, Winamac, Indiana, and upon completion is anticipated to include, but not be limited to: (i) expanded public gathering space with new retaining walls; (ii) plaza pavers, landscaping and two covered canopy structures; (iii) north stairs to be rebuilt with new planters and bench; (iv) historic retaining wall surrounding site to be removed, salvaged, repaired, cleaned and reconstructed; (v) sidewalks surrounding site to be removed and rebuilt; and (vi) utility enclosure added at southwest corner of site enclosing generator and chiller; (b) renovations, improvements and upgrades to the three story, approximately 23,100 square feet of the existing courthouse interior including: (i) new mechanical, electrical, plumbing and telecommunications systems throughout the facility; (ii) new flooring, updated paint and refinished woodwork along with new ADA compliant restrooms; and (iii) new furnishings and refinished existing furniture; (c) improvements to the lower level, including but not limited to: (i) the existing concrete slab to be removed and re-poured; (ii) all existing walls to be removed back to masonry and furred out with new wall board; and (iii) new restroom facilities and break room provided along with Clerk Department, Security, Veteran’s Services, Maintenance and Storage to be located in the lower level; (d) the first floor will contain Recorder, Assessor, Treasurer, and Auditor departments along with vault and storage for each; (e) updates to the second floor, including but not limited to: (i) repurposing of existing courtroom as a council meeting room and (ii) Surveyor, Building, Planning and Zoning, Economic Development and future IT Departments relocation; (f) restoration, replacement, or repair of bell tower and clock equipment; (g) scanning and digitization of County records; (h) miscellaneous capital improvement, renovation and/or equipping projects at one or more facilities operated or to be operated by the County, furniture and equipment, IT infrastructure costs, professions moving costs, and all projects related to any of the foregoing, all of which will be operated by the County (collectively, the “Pulaski County Courthouse Project”); and (II) to the extent permitted by law to take all of the necessary steps to finance all or a portion of the costs of the Pulaski County Courthouse Project by entering into a proposed lease between the Pulaski County Courthouse Building Corporation, a nonprofit local building corporation controlled by the County, as lessor (the “Building Corporation”), and the County, as lessee, relating to all or any portion of the real estate upon which the Facility is located and all or a portion of the Facility which will be operated by the County (collectively, the “Lease”). The Building Corporation, as lessor, will issue one or more series of bonds secured by and payable from the lease payments under the Lease (the “Bonds”).  The total maximum original aggregate principal amount of the Bonds will not exceed $12,750,000.

The maximum term for the Bonds will not exceed twenty (20) years, and the Lease with respect to each facility will have a maximum term not to exceed twenty (20) years, beginning on the date all or a portion of the real estate upon which the Facility will be constructed is acquired by the Building Corporation.  Based on an estimated maximum average interest rate that will be paid in connection with the Bonds of 6.50% per annum, the total interest cost associated therewith, not excluding any funds of the County or the Building Corporation used to pay capitalized interest, will not exceed $10,000,000 (which amount is net of any funds received by the County or the Building Corporation from the United States of America as a result of any or all of the Bonds being issued under one or more federal tax credit programs).  Including interest costs, the maximum annual lease rental to be paid by the County under the Lease is $1,135,000 (which amount is net of any funds received by the County or the Building Corporation from the United States of America as a result of any or all of the Bonds being issued under one or more federal tax credit programs), and the maximum total lease rental paid by the County over the term of the Lease is $22,700,000 (which amount is net of any funds received by the County or the Building Corporation from the United States of America as a result of any or all of the Bonds being issued under one or more federal tax credit programs), not taking into account any funds of the County or the Building Corporation available for capitalized interest. The County’s certified total debt service fund tax levy for 2022 pay 2023 (which is the most recent certified tax levy) is $316,781, and the County’s debt service fund tax rate for 2022 pay 2023 (which is the most recent certified tax rate) is $0.0313 per $100 of assessed value.  The estimated total maximum debt service fund tax levy for the County and the estimated total maximum debt service fund tax rate for the County after the issuance of the Bonds is expected to be $1,471,000 and $0.1381 per $100 of assessed value, respectively, in 2023 pay 2024 as a result of the payment of the lease rentals under the Lease.  In addition, such estimated total maximum debt service fund tax levy and such estimated total maximum debt service fund tax rate which takes into account the anticipated pay-off of other currently outstanding obligations of the County is expected to result in no incremental increase in the total maximum debt service fund tax rate of the County in any year over the first ten years after the issuance of the Bonds.  The percent of the County’s current annual debt service/lease payments and projected maximum annual debt service/lease payments after the issuance of the Bonds compared to the net assessed value of taxable property within the County is approximately 0.15%.  The percent of the County’s outstanding long term debt, together with the outstanding long term debt of other taxing units that include any of the territory of the County, compared to the net assessed value of taxable property within the County is approximately 3.60%.

Petitions requesting the application of a petition and remonstrance process to the issuance of the Bonds and the lease rental payments under the Lease related to the Pulaski County Courthouse Project may be filed with the Pulaski County Voter Registration Office within thirty days after the date of the publication of this notice in the manner provided by Indiana Code § 6-1.1-20-3.1, as amended, and any such petitions must specifically reference that they are being filed in connection with the Pulaski County Courthouse Project set forth in this notice.

Dated:  August 30, 2023.

PULASKI COUNTY, INDIANA

150-23 G 8/30