A majority of New Hanover County commissioners have given their support for issuing up to $40 million in voter-approved debt that remains from a 2008 bond referendum for a final round of buildings for Cape Fear Community College.
Commissioners voted 4-1, with Woody White dissenting, to authorize staff to apply with the Local Government Commission for up to $40 million in bonds that would pay for a planned Advanced Emerging Technologies Center at CFCC’s North Campus in Castle Hayne.
The bonds would finish out $164 million in debt that county voters approved in the 2008 referendum, which authorized construction that has included the college’s Union Station building, a related parking deck and the Humanities and Fine Arts Center in downtown Wilmington.
White, who has argued that student enrollment is not as high as the college’s projections and does not justify the additional construction, maintained his opposition at Tuesday’s meeting, contending that the college has veered from its facilities master plan and built “lavish and extravagant buildings” with less assignable classroom space.
“No one wants to acknowledge, I don’t know why, the lack of oversight or management of how the bond funds have been spent to date,” White said, adding that much of it has been spent on buildings “that lack adequate classroom space and student use.”
“That’s been used as a justification for issuing this debt today,” he said, “the need for more assignable square footage, when it obviously has been ignored as we assigned square footage for the first two buildings.”
White has noted a change in plans has included moving the college’s administrative offices to the top floor of the Union Station building—a decision he said decreased the amount of classroom space in that building while freeing up space in older buildings that is currently unused.
White also said the county’s debt has increased 700 percent in the past 20 years while its population has increased 61 percent—a trend he said cannot continue and hinders the county’s ability to maintain a low tax rate.
Commissioner Skip Watkins, while voting in support of the bonds, likewise called for frugality in county spending and debt service, contending that New Hanover needs to “learn to control our spending and to live within our means.” But fellow commissioners Jonathan Barfield, Beth Dawson and Rob Zapple pointed to an audit report received moments earlier that they said showed the county’s financial status as strong.
They also contended the buildings are adding value to the area’s educational offerings and economic recruitment efforts, with Barfield noting the Advanced Emerging Technologies Center would add a veterinary technician program that is not currently offered in the area, among other programs that would add to the college’s offerings.
Barfield, the board chairman, noted the audit presentation showed the county’s fund balance—a savings account of sorts—is 2 percent higher than the county’s own requirement (21 percent of the general fund; above the state recommendation of 8 percent) and continues to grow. He also noted the county has not raised taxes since the bonds were approved in 2008. County Manager Chris Coudriet has said such increases could be necessary over the next two fiscal years.
Related story: Debt, reserve policies credited for county’s improved AAA bond rating
“I’m a big supporter of the community college, but I’m also a big supporter for paying for what you’re buying,” Barfield said, responding in part to a previous comment by White that a low tax rate aids economic development. The county’s property tax rate currently stands at 55.4 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.
Added Dawson: “Our fiscal health was apparent in our just-presented audit, and with the amount of debt being paid down over the next couple of years, I feel we are on the right track for remaining in the percentages that we have established.”
With the 4-1 approval, county staff will coordinate with the Local Government Commission on the bonds, which Finance Director Lisa Wurtzbacher said could be sold this spring.
Asked after the meeting about White’s description of the bond-funded buildings as “lavish and extravagant,” CFCC spokesman David Hardin said: “Our facilities that we have on campus are very appropriate for the function that they serve, and that goes for the building that will be constructed up on the North Campus as well. It will be appropriate for the job-training role for which it is being designed.”
Related stories:
- Commission to decide $40M CFCC bond issue at meeting Tuesday
- Enrollment disagreement adds to CFCC building debate
- Construction underway on CFCC’s fine arts center
Jonathan Spiers is a reporter for Port City Daily. He can be reached at (910) 772-6313 or [email protected]. On Twitter: @jrspiers
