RALEIGH — The North Carolina Local Government Commission has greenlit financing requests totaling more than $335 million for various projects across the state, including school construction financing for Macon and Rowan counties.
The approvals came during the Local Government Commission’s (LGC) monthly meeting held Sept. 10.
Rowan County secured the largest single financing approval, with $73 million in limited obligation bonds authorized for school-related capital projects. The funds will be used to address aging facilities in the Rowan-Salisbury School System and Kannapolis City Schools. A significant portion of this money will go toward constructing a new school in Salisbury for third through eighth grades, as well as building a 31,000-square-foot addition to Fred L. Wilson Elementary School in Kannapolis. The county plans to repay the debt using general fund money without increasing taxes.
Macon County received authorization for $69 million in financing to build a new high school, a replacement for the existing Franklin High School, which reportedly had safety issues and compliance problems with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The new facility will accommodate 1,400 students. The total cost of the project is expected to exceed $100 million, with additional funding coming from a $62 million state needs-based capital fund grant.
The Onslow County Water and Sewer Authority obtained approval for $35 million in revenue bonds. These funds will be used to install a new 36,000-foot, 18-inch sewer main and construct two associated pump stations. The project also includes the rehabilitation of two existing pump stations. This work is intended to connect the Swansboro and Piney Green sewage systems and expand sewer service to previously untreated areas.
Onslow County also obtained approval for $16 million in limited obligation bonds to renovate and expand Northwoods Park Middle School in Jacksonville and increase the school’s capacity to 656 students. Completion is expected by April 2025.
In another $35 million approval, the N.C. Medical Care Commission received authorization for conduit revenue bonds. These funds will be loaned to EveryAge (formerly United Church Homes and Service) to purchase portions of a High Point retirement community in Forsyth County.
Lee County’s request for $28 million in limited obligation bonds was also approved. The county plans to use the funds to construct a new 33,000-square-foot library in O.T. Sloan Park and purchase communications equipment for emergency services.
The town of Chapel Hill secured approval for $27 million to lease a building that will house its police department, emergency operations center, and technology solutions team. This move is necessitated by the poor condition of the existing police facility and its location on a coal ash disposal site.
In Wake County, the Raleigh Housing Authority received authorization for $21 million in conduit revenue bonds. The funds will be used to develop Parkside Apartments, a 144-unit low- and moderate-income multifamily rental housing project.
Several smaller projects also received financing approvals:
• Morehead City: $4.9 million for a new fire station to replace one damaged by Hurricane Florence in 2019.
• Reidsville: $4.9 million for a backup power source for its water treatment plant.
• Morrisville: $4.5 million for a portion of a parking deck as part of a town center development project.
• Morehead City: An additional $1.8 million for a fire department ladder truck.
• Lincolnton: $1.6 million to rehabilitate parts of its water treatment plant.
• Vance County: $1.6 million to extend water service and refurbish a water tank.
• Rural Hall: $1.5 million toward a new fire station.
• Wake Forest: $1.4 million for parks and recreation facilities.
• Tryon: $852,459 for a fire engine and $612,355 for sewer pipe rehabilitation.
• Black Mountain: $194,000 for police and administrative vehicles.
The LGC also approved numerous smaller financing resolutions for lead service line inventory projects across the state. The largest approvals were $400,000 each for the Fayetteville Public Works Commission, Henderson and Sanford.
