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Council to consider $11.1 million in construction contracts for Preschool, Senior Center

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A rendering of the new Oak Ridge Preschool at Scarboro Park. (Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Studio Four Design)

A rendering of the new Oak Ridge Preschool at Scarboro Park. (Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Studio Four Design)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council in a special meeting on Thursday will consider $11.1 million in construction contracts for the new Oak Ridge Preschool, Oak Ridge Senior Center, and Scarboro Park improvements.

The contracts could both be awarded to Jenkins and Stiles LLC of Knoxville.

There were four bidders for the Senior Center project and three for the Preschool and Scarboro Park improvements, according to Jacene Phillips, senior project manager for Studio Four Design. Her company recommended both contracts be awarded to Jenkins and Stiles because of cost, but also because the Senior Center could be operating two months earlier under that contract than under any other bid and the Preschool would be complete three days before it would be under the other bids, Phillips said.

Both projects would be funded through general obligation bonds, a type of debt that could be issued in November.

The first contract that could be awarded Thursday is for the construction of the Preschool and improvements to Scarboro Park. The contract would be worth up to about $8.4 million. The Preschool would be built at Scarboro Park. [Read more…]

City Council to consider $16.5 million in bonds for Preschool, Senior Center projects

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A rendering of the new Oak Ridge Preschool at Scarboro Park. (Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Studio Four Design)

A rendering of the new Oak Ridge Preschool at Scarboro Park. (Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Studio Four Design)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider whether to issue bonds of up to $16.5 million to build a new Oak Ridge Preschool and Oak Ridge Senior Center, and redevelop Scarboro Park.

The two projects have an estimated cost of roughly $16 million, according to the City Council agenda for Monday. The bond resolution includes about $500,000 extra for the costs of issuing the bonds and for project contingencies.

The Preschool and Scarboro Park improvements have a total estimated cost of about $12.5 million. About $11.1 million of that is for construction.

The Senior Center has a total estimated cost of roughly $3.5 million. About $3.1 million of that is for construction. [Read more…]

Guest column: Roane County saves more than $800,000 on refinancing debt

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Ron Woody

Ron Woody

By Roane County Office of the County Executive

Roane County Executive Ron Woody announced this month that the county saved more than $800,000 by refinancing outstanding debt to lower interest rates.

Woody, his staff, and the Roane County Commission have created and adopted a multi-year debt service budget along with a county capital improvement plan. By having both a debt management plan and a capital plan, the county is able to more efficiently manage the county’s limited resources.

The debt plan and multi-year debt budget further identifies bonds that are eligible for refinancing. The county can then analyze whether refinancing allows for savings. The county identified a Rural School Bond of more than $11 million that had an interest rate of over 4 percent and was eligible for refinancing. The new interest rate is 2.8 percent, which is a savings of $854,600 over the term of the bond, including a savings of $185,735 in interest the first year. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge electric bond rating upgraded

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Standard and Poor’s Rating Services recently raised its rating on Oak Ridge’s electric system’s revenue debt one notch, from “A-” to “A.”

“This is very good news for the City of Oak Ridge,” City Manager Mark Watson said. “Bonds for the city’s electric utility systems were upgraded and recognized for the stable outlook observed during Standard and Poor’s normal review. A better bond rating will have a positive impact on lower interest rate considerations in the future, if needed.”

[Read more…]

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