Hillsboro Finance Committee signs off on funding proposal for Roberts Lane extension

After a second meeting to discuss funding plans for the Roberts Lane extension, members of the Hillsboro Finance Committee voted unanimously Wednesday, April 5 to recommend passage of two ordinances related to loan agreements for the project.

The meeting was held less than four hours after Highland County commissioners passed a resolution agreeing to commit $750,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds toward the project.

As previously reported, council voted in January to approve an emergency resolution to enter into a contract with DLZ Ohio Inc. for the design of the Roberts Lane development. The city has purchased a 69-acre lot for the expansion and worked to acquire funding to cover some of the costs.

Council members heard the first reading of several resolutions related to the infrastructure funding during their Thursday, Feb. 16 meeting, with Safety and Service Director Brianne Abbott requesting that the legislation be placed in committee. The finance committee met March 9 to review the resolutions, which had their second readings a week later during the regular city council meeting.

As discussed in March, current estimates show the Roberts Lane extension to be a $10.4 million project, according to city grant writer and economic development coordinator Kirby Ellison.

The city has already secured $2.3 million from the State Controlling Board, while Ellison said that they have low-interest loan agreements from the state water pollution control revolving loan and water supply revolving loan in the amount of $3.7 million (for storm and sanitary sewers) and $1.2 million (for water), pending council approval in the aforementioned resolutions. The city also committed over $700,000 in American Rescue Plan Act dollars toward the project, while now, as mentioned, the county has pledged $750,000.

“Bree [Abbott] received news today that the county commissioners are putting $750,000 into the project,” Ellison told the committee. “ARC [Appalachian Regional Commission] is still up in the air, but we're looking at financing about $1,123,326 — which isn't bad at all — with bonding, if we have to.”

Committee member Greg Maurer asked about the status of the ARC’s commitment.
 
“I actually approached them to begin with, and they helped with the $2.3 million,” Ellison said. “We feel pretty good that we might be able to pull in half a million off of them. It's still not bad — $1.6 million isn't bad, in a $10 million project.

“As I stated before, once you've got your infrastructure there, you've got the road there, you start selling the lots, and there's options to help pay for with tap fees and everything — I just think it's a win-win. Jobs, commerce, the county's going to get the sales tax. It’s pretty good all the way around, and it’s something Hillsboro needs to do, because there's really nowhere else [to develop].”

As noted by Ellison in March, the Tax Increment Financing [TIFs] on two businesses within the extension — Fenner Ridge Apartments and Buckeye Dentistry — currently provide sufficient funds to cover their loan payments. Any additional businesses that come into the city as a result of the extension will also be subject to a TIF, which will help with paying the loans.

“We’ll definitely be able to make the payment,” Ellison said. “After you pay that, I figure we’ll have about $78,000 a year. Over 10 years, that’s $787,000, which, you know, could go into the coffers toward the bond, which would be a pretty good bit of that.”

The remaining $1.1 million left to finance includes a $795,817 bike trail project that would take the amount left to fund down to under half a million dollars. Ellison said Wednesday that the city is looking into potential grants to cover that part of the project.

“Right now, there's a funding opportunity, that’s altogether at $650,000,” Ellison said.

Committee member Adam Wilkin asked if the committee needed to determine whether or not the trail should be included in the package, although he and committee chair Mary Stanforth both immediately added they thought it should.

“Does the trail run from the VFW area?” Wilkin asked.

Mayor Justin Harsha said it is “basically from Fenner all the way to the end of Roberts Lane, where the Mexican restaurant is.”

“It’s going to be nice for Harry Sauner off of Roberts, to be able to use that area,” Ellison added.

During the March finance committee meeting, Ellison said the extension is “a doable project at this point” from a financial standpoint. She reiterated that sentiment again Wednesday.

“When we started this, I don't think anybody had any idea that would be in this good of shape,” Ellison said. “Just the state buying into it, I think, is huge. They believe in the project, too.”

“The state and the county,” Abbott added. “It’s nice to see that both entities support the project.”

After reviewing the funding plan proposal, Stanforth asked the committee members, “Do we agree that we need to recommend that they have our approval and we believe that this is a worthwhile project and should go ahead with it?”

Wilkin responded, “I do,” and made the motion to recommend the proposal for approval by city council. The motion, seconded by Maurer, passed 3-0.

The committee also briefly reviewed the funding plan packages for proposed improvements to water, sewer, storm and streets (curbs, gutters and sidewalks) for the area of Beech, Railroad and McDowell streets, estimated at close to $4 million ($3,946,991).

Since no legislation is pending yet — although Abbott and public works superintendent Shawn Adkins said they need to get it introduced soon — the committee has not yet made a recommendation. However, as Ellison said in March, the city is projected to have “more money” than needed to make the improvements, using Residential Public Infrastructure Grant (RPIG) dollars, if awarded, and more low-interest loan funding.

“This funding package is a no-brainer,” Ellison said Wednesday. “Even if we don’t get the RPIG, it wouldn’t really hurt.

“[With the RPIG] we’d actually have more funding than we’d need, so we’ll be in really good shape then.”

Ellison added that she can give the committee more information as they get further into the loan process.

“When we get legislation ready, we can put that into committee, and then we can meet again to review it closer,” Abbott said.