Alva Arena Authority takes action to secure financing of project

The Alva Arena Authority made some major progress toward the construction of an arena in Alva during a special meeting Tuesday noon. All seven trustees were present. Chairman Gregg Glass opened the meeting with Mike Hood, Daren Slater, Dr. Janet Cunnigham, Melinda Barton, Darrel Kline and Todd Holder present. Also attending were Sonja Williams, assistant secretary, and Jalynn Fausnaugh, second assistant secretary.

The trustees approved minutes of their April 17 special meeting.

Having been emailed a copy of the audit for the year ending June 30, 2023, the trustees voted to approve the audit by Jana A. Walker, CPA from Woodward. They approved paying Walker's bill for this service, and they voted to approve Walker to perform the audit for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024.

Holder gave the treasurer's report, stating the bank balance is $95,858.32. He said they have one outstanding bill for approximately $70,000 to Priefert Engineering and Design, which is about 90 percent of round two of engineering fees.

The trustees then went into a closed executive session, which lasted a little less than an hour. After a return to open session, several motions were made concerning contracts and agreements.

Holder made a motion, seconded by Hood, to approve a contract with Forvis to do a new feasibility study. The motion passed by unanimous vote. An earlier feasibility study is now out of date, having been done two years ago and for a different financing entity. The first study took two months, but Holder said he hoped this one can be finished more quickly.

Cunningham, seconded by Barton, made a motion to approve an agreement with Community Health Development Partners, striking the right of first bid section and updating the terms and termination section. CHDP is a Nebraska company that proposes to help the AAA secure New Markets Tax Credit financing for the project which could provide $5,000 to $8,000 in added funds. CHDP charges a percentage of the tax credit received. If they are not successful in obtaining the funds, they will not charge a fee. This motion also passed unanimously.

Slater made a motion, seconded by Hood, to approve an engagement letter with Gilmore Bell to serve as bond counsel in issuing tax free bonds for the project. That motion also carried 7-0.

Barton made a motion, seconded by Kline, to approve a contract with Crossland Construction for $132,000 for the engineering and shop drawings of the main arena building. The motion carried. By starting this work now, it is hoped to speed up the delivery of the parts for the pre-engineered building. This is the part of construction that takes the longest.

In their final action, the trustees approved a motion by Holder, seconded by Hood, to enter into a contract with Raymond James & Associates for the sale of the tax free bonds.

None of the trustees want to make a prediction on the date of groundbreaking for the project because they've experienced delays and setbacks in the past. However, the actions taken in this meeting are a significant step forward in the process.