Bond financing from Delaware County to bring Liberty Township buildings
Liberty Township, one of Delaware County's fastest-growing areas in Ohio's fastest growing county, has for years squeezed itself into office space that it leased along Sawmill Parkway.
Its meeting room held just enough seating for three trustees, other officials and a handful of residents, who often had to stand outside the door to listen. Larger meetings have been held in a fire station.
So when the lease was up for renewal and the rent was raised, township officials jumped at the opportunity to construct its own building. And there was little debate about doing so with all three current trustees agreeing.
Construction of the new township hall has begun with completion expected this fall.
Bryan Newell, chairman of the Liberty Township board of trustees, called the groundbreaking earlier this month a "milestone for our community," noting that it is needed to provide flexible meeting space.
The building, estimated to cost $1.9 million, required no new taxes, Newell said. Instead, the township has purchased bonds through the Delaware County Finance Authority.
The project is a response to growing demands for meeting space within the township and the city of Powell, and was made possible by attractive bond service rates, said Delaware County Treasurer Donald Rankey, Jr.
The bonds will be paid off at 1.75% for the first 10 years and 1.99% for the next 10, he said.
Helped by a healthy local economy and more aggressive property tax collections, the county has amassed a stockpile of funds that help it maintain the highest possible bond rating and lower rates for bonds, he said.
"We're sitting on a lot of dormant funds, north of $300 million," Rankey said. "I think this should be reinvested in our townships."
Two other township buildings, a roads/park office maintenance and facilities building (estimated to cost about $400,000) and a replacement for outdated Fire Station 321 (estimated to cost more than $6 million) — all to be situated in or near Liberty Park — also will be financed with bonds. The other projects could be completed in 2023, officials say.
"We saw this as an investment, especially getting this tremendous of a deal," trustee Shyra Eichhorn said. "It's a win all around."
Mike Schuiling, Liberty Township administrator, said the new building for offices, meetings and special events is long overdue.
"I don't know of any township in the county that doesn't have its own township hall," he said. "Using the county's AAA bond rating brings some equities that we normally wouldn't have access to."
dnarciso@dispatch.com
@DeanNarciso
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Growing Liberty Township using bonds to construct new township hall
