Call to Order and Roll Call
The Capital Projects and Bond Oversight Committee met on Tuesday, November 15, 2011, at 1:00 PM, in Room 169 of the Capitol Annex. Senator Bob Leeper, Chair, called the meeting to order, and the secretary called the roll.
Present were:
Members: Senator Bob Leeper, Co-Chair; Representative Jim Glenn, Co-Chair; Senators Tom Buford, Jared Carpenter, and Julian M. Carroll; Representatives Steven Rudy, and Jim Wayne.
Guests: Representative Keith Hall; Bob Wiseman, University of Kentucky; John Hicks, Governor’s Office for Policy and Management; Zach Couch, Division of Water; Scott Aubrey, Division of Real Properties; Debby Milton, Kentucky Infrastructure Authority; Brett Antle, Office of Financial Management; Tom Howard, Office of Financial Management; Andrew Hawes, Kentucky Housing Corporation.
LRC Staff: Kristi Culpepper, Jennifer Luttrell, and Christine Robertson.
Approval of Minutes
Representative Rudy made a motion to approve the minutes of the October 18, 2011, meeting. The motion was seconded by Representative Glenn and approved by voice vote.
Information item
Kristi Culpepper, Committee Staff Administrator, said one information item was available for members to review. In response to members’ questions from the previous committee meeting, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services sent a report outlining security improvements made to Department for Community Based Services’ properties. Representative Wayne requested that a copy of the report be sent to members of the Health and Welfare Committees.
Project Reports from the University of Kentucky
Senator Leeper asked Bob Wiseman, Vice President for Facilities Management at the University of Kentucky, to present two items. The first item was a scope increase of $142,500 (15 percent) to renovate the Shively Sports Center. The project was first approved at the June 21, 2011, committee meeting with a scope of $950,000. The revised project scope is $1,092,500. The scope increase was required to address unforeseen electrical code deficiencies discovered during construction. Senator Carroll made a motion to approve the scope increase. The motion was seconded by Representative Glenn and passed unanimously by roll call vote.
Mr. Wiseman presented the second item, a lease renewal with a cost exceeding $100,000 for rental of warehouse and office space housing artifacts for the College of Anthropology. Representative Glenn asked how much longer the university planned to occupy the facility. Mr. Wiseman replied that the department was expected to move the artifacts to another campus facility by July 2013, depending on the pace on renovations to that facility. In response to another question from Representative Glenn, Mr. Wiseman said he could not recall the exact measurements of the space. Senator Carroll made a motion to approve the lease renewal. The motion was seconded by Representative Rudy and passed unanimously by roll call vote.
Report of Pool Project In Excess of $600,000 from the Finance and Administration Cabinet.
Senator Leeper asked John Hicks, Deputy Director, Governor’s Office for Policy and Management, to report on pool projects in excess of $600,000. The first item was a project funded for the Department for Environmental Protection from the Heritage Land Conservation Fund. An appropriation of $1,767,000 was made for the Wild Rivers-Burnett Property land acquisition of approximately 1,100 acres in Wayne and McCreary Counties.
Representative Rudy asked from whom the department purchased the land. Zach Couch, Division of Water, Wild Rivers Program Coordinator, responded that Ms. Karen Burnett was the current owner. Representative Rudy expressed a concern about the impact of the purchase and similar purchases on the tax base of local governments.
Senator Carroll said he shared Representative Rudy’s concerns and requested information about the amount of land owned by the Commonwealth by county. Mr. Hicks said the information was available through the cabinet and he would provide a report. Senator Carroll also requested that a copy of the report be sent to the Appropriations and Revenue Committee. Senator Leeper said that committee staff would work with the cabinet to provide the reports that members requested.
The second item presented by Mr. Hicks was a set of projects for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources that have been funded from Fees-in-Lieu of Stream Mitigation Project pools. The first project was East Fork Little Sandy #3 in Lawrence County. The project was originally reported to the committee in March 2009, but the scope had increased by $100,000, for a total scope of $1,616,400. The second project was Trammel Creek in Allen County with a scope of $712,500. The third project was Terry’s Branch Ball’s Fork in Knott County. This project was originally reported to the committee in January 2006, and updated in September 2008, but the scope has increased by $80,000 for a total scope of $738,500. The fourth project was at East Fork Little Sandy #5 in Lawrence County with a scope of $775,000. No action was required.
Lease Report Submitted by the Finance and Administration Cabinet
Senator Leeper asked Scott Aubrey, Assistant Director, the Division of Real Properties, Finance and Administration Cabinet, to present a lease modification report. The division obtained two estimates to install a mechanical keypad and interior equipment on a staff entrance on a Health and Family Services building in Hopkins County, and the lower bid of $1,835.60 was selected. Building modification costs will be amortized through the lease expiration date of June 30, 2016. No action was required.
Report from the Office of Financial Management
Senator Leeper asked Debby Milton from the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority to report a 2020 Program grant. Ms. Milton reported a $52,500 grant to the Garrard County Fiscal Court for a feasibility study. The effort is jointly supported by the City of Danville and City of Lancaster, which currently have water compliance issues. The study is intended to determine if the cities can afford to build a new plant new plant, upgrade their existing plant, or purchase water elsewhere. No action was required.
New Bond Issue Reports
Senator Leeper asked Brett Antle and Tom Howard from the Office of Financial Management two present two new bond issue reports. Mr. Antle presented a new bond issue report for up to $160,000,000 of Kentucky Economic Development Financial Authority Hospital Revenue Bonds, Series 2011, for Baptist Health Care Systems. Mr. Antle said proceeds from this bond issue will be used primarily for a seven-story building at Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington. Representative Rudy made a motion to approve the new bond issue for Baptist Health Care Systems. The motion was seconded by Senator Carroll and passed unanimously by roll call vote.
Mr. Antle presented a second new bond issue report for $1,540,000 of Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC) multifamily Housing Revenue Bonds, Series 2012, (Garden Apartments of Bowling Green Project). Bond proceeds will be used to finance the acquisition, rehabilitation, and equipping of the existing multifamily housing Garden Apartments at 415 Trent Way in Bowling Green. All of the 48 units in the building will be reserved for households earning 40 percent or less of the area median income.
Representative Wayne asked if local legislators were informed of the project. Andres Hawes, Director of Multifamily Finance for KHC, replied that legislators from the area had been notified.
Representative Glenn asked what 40 percent of the area median income was for a family of four in Bowling Green. Mr. Hawes replied that he did not have did not have the figures for Warren County with him.
Senator Carpenter made a motion to approve the new bond issue. The motion was seconded by Senator Buford and passed unanimously by roll call vote
School Bond Issues
Mr. Antle presented five new school bond issues with School Facilities Construction Commission (SFCC) debt service participation with an estimated par amount of $51,561,000. Senator Leeper made a motion to approve the school bond issues. The motion was seconded by Senator Carroll and passed unanimously by roll call vote.
Senator Leeper asked Ms. Culpepper to report three new local school bond issues. Ms. Culpepper said there were three local school bond issues with 100 percent locally funded debt service. No action was required.
With there being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 1:32 p.m.