By SALINA POST
A proclamation, educational facilities revenue bonds, jail update, and initial 2023 budget requests are among the items on the Saline County Commission agenda for Tuesday.
About the meeting
Saline County Commission is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday in room 107 of the City-County Building, 300 W. Ash Street. The meetings also can be viewed on Saline County’s YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwwZp_cTSJ3Nepp_5rOGevA.
To participate in the meetings, citizens will need to use the Zoom link. Use the following link and put in the Meeting ID and passcode:
https://zoom.us/j/96835819901?pwd=bUEvaExUb2ppMEFaUnd6cUd6MmNMUT09
Meeting ID: 968 3581 9901
Passcode: 144636
For further information, contact the County Commission’s Office at (785) 309-5825.
Agenda items
Commissioners are scheduled to consider a request to proclaim Elder Abuse Awareness Month.
Additionally, commissioners are scheduled to conduct a public hearing and then consider adopting a resolution that would allow for the issuing of educational facilities revenue bonds on behalf of Kansas Wesleyan University.
"In 2012, Saline County issued revenue bonds on behalf of Kansas Wesleyan University (KWU) to finance various campus improvements. In 2020, the County issued new bonds to refund the 2012 bonds and add money for additional campus improvements. Today, KWU is seeking up to $6.3 million in funding for more campus improvements and is again requesting that the County serve as a conduit issuer to qualify these bonds as tax-exempt under federal law and reduce interest costs," according to information in the commission meeting packet.
There would be no county financial responsibility or liability for the bonds.
"The County will have no financial responsibility or liability for the bonds. This transaction does not present any credit risk to the County, nor does it jeopardize the potential issuance of remaining bonds for the jail project, as those are not anticipated to be issued until the summer of 2023," the meeting packet info noted.
Other items on the Saline County Commission agenda for Tuesday include the following.
●Hear an update and proposed changes for American Rescue Plan Act funding from County Administrator Phillip Smith-Hanes.
●Consider a franchise fee for Cox Communications, which has plans to expand its cable television service area in the unincorporated part of the county near Assaria.
●Hear an update about the new jail project.
●Hear initial 2023 budget requests from Smith-Hanes.
Additionally, commissioners are scheduled to meet in executive session for employer/employee negotiations.
To see the Saline County Commission meeting packet for Tuesday (a 200-page pdf), click here.