NORTH WEBSTER — A tax anticipation warrant bond in the amount of $3.68 million for the Tippecanoe & Chapman Lakes Regional Sewer District was awarded to Crossroads Bank Monday evening, Sept. 14. The interest rate is 2%. The bond closing will be Oct. 1 and good through Oct. 1, 2022.

Only two proposals were received for the bond, Crossroads Bank and Lake City Bank. Lake City’s proposal was at a 2.5% interest rate. Both banks offered the options of either taking the money in a lump sum or draw funds as needed, with no difference in the interest rate.

Jeff Thornburgh, board member, noted “both (banks) are friendly to our cause,” with Chuck Simpson, board vice president, stating John Warren with Crossroads is a big supporter of the cause as well.

The bond proposals were presented by Jeff Rowe with BakerTilly Municipal Advisors, Mishawaka, via Zoom. Patricia Zelmer, attorney with Ice Miller, Indianapolis, also attending via Zoom, noted the board will need to draw down a minimum of $50,000 at closing. Invoices from Jones Petrie Rafinski, engineers; BakerTilly, and Ice Miller will be submitted to Kim Hathaway, district treasurer. Hathaway was given authority to tally the invoices and draw the necessary amount.

Jon Tyler, board president, recapped a meeting of the engineering committee with representatives from JPR to tour the district and observe every area in the maps of the preliminary engineering report. He provided points for the board to keep in mind as the project progresses. Points included: the impact the potential Warsaw Airport runway expansion/construction will have with the connection to Warsaw, potential addition of Suburban Acres Trailer Park to the district of 195-200 units, identification of existing mass producer private infrastructure and the best way to incorporate it into the system, and identify and establish a consistent classification of all recreational vehicle parks, summer camps, campgrounds or existing mass producer private treatment systems.

Ken Jones, president of JPR, noted in the future he will be presenting at least two items per month needing actions at that meeting. The information will be provided early enough for review. He also updated the board on what JPR has been working on.

Among the work was a telephone conference with officials from the State Revolving Fund and USDA/Rural Development Program. Ed Ormsby, Simpson and Rowe were also participants. Both agencies are interested in a potential joint venture to fund the project since the project is larger than either entity has dealt with. Additionally by utilizing both agencies rate mitigation is available offering low interest on long term loans.

Because the district is looking at a partnership of funding from SRF and USDA, a slight alteration is needed in the preliminary engineering report to meet USDA standards. “It’s an added effort, not a wasted effort,” Jones stated. It was also pointed out the board will have to perform a qualification based selection for engineers on the project. JPR will be participating. The QBS will be advertised with responses required by Sept. 28 and action at the October meeting. Jones noted in the worst case scenario with the QBS, all work thus far by JPR does belong to the district.

A new preliminary timeline was presented based on the deadline to submit applications for SRF/USDA funding. This timeline shows the project bidding to take place early February 2022, with final funding action taking place the end of March 2022.

The next meeting of the district will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 12, in the banquet room at the North Webster Community Center.

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By Deb Patterson
InkFreeNews