Published: August 22, 2008 09:54 am      

$80 million bond proposed

Chelsea L. McGowan

cmcgowan@weatherforddemocrat.com

In a special session of the Parker County Commissioner’s Court, the court voted to pursue a transportation bond issue program in the amount of $80 million.

Dwain Brown, an engineer with Freese and Nichols, presented the planning and implementation program to the court.

“We want to meet the immediate short term transportation needs of Parker County as well as plan for future programs,” he said. “Our key goals are to mitigate congestion, make safety improvements and work on air quality.”

According to Brown, the list of projects to be included in the bond issue was compiled with the help of a group of private citizens who offered ratings on each individual project.

“Based on those ratings and all the other information we compiled, I believe we’ve come up with a good program and a solid list of projects,” he said.

More than 50 different transportation projects are outlined in the bond program, and Brown said the work is “pretty evenly” split among all four precincts.

“Between all four precincts, the work is pretty evenly spread out,” he said. “Everyone we’ve talked to has agreed that the loop around Weatherford in Precincts 2 and 3 is the main priority project.”

Nick Bulaich joined other speakers in congratulating the court on their efforts.

Bulaich is the assistant vice president of First Southwest Company, an enterprise that is assisting with the bond issue.

“The bond rating could not have come at a better time in the market,” he said. “I think you have a really strong plan here.”

Bulaich advised the court to consider at least a 25-year repayment plan on the bond issue, which he said would ease the impact to tax payers.

“The 25-year repayment plan allows you to layer on future bond issues and keep your tax rate comfortable,” he said. “For every $5 million added in for these bond issues, the difference to the tax rate is three-tenths of a penny.”

Following that calculation, Bulaich explained the overall tax impact for an $80 million bond would be eight and one-half cents per $100 property valuation.

Precinct 3 commissioner John Roth commented that, while $80 million is a higher bond amount than anticipated by the court even a month ago, the amount is still conservative.

“To put this $80 million in perspective, the most we could issue legally would be a $1.6 billion bond,” he said. “This is the most we’ve seen here, but it is still a very reasonable issue.”

Ultimately, the court voted to proceed with an $80 million bond issue on a 30-year repayment plan.

Following a proposition proposal on Aug. 25, the issue is expected to appear on the November ballot.