By Brandy Nance
nance@emporiagazette.com
Lyon County commissioners passed a resolution Thursday morning allowing the newly formed Public Building Commission to issue revenue bonds on behalf of Newman Regional Health.
The Public Building Commission is authorized to issue up to $15,000,000 in revenue bonds on behalf of the hospital to refinance the bonds at a lower rate. The formation of a Public Building Commission allows the hospital to refinance bonds at Lyon County’s rate. In an earlier discussion, the move is anticipated to save more than $3 million over 10 years. According to an April article in the Gazette, the public building commission has the ability to issue debt. The public building commission, not the governing body, will hold the title to the hospital. The public building commission will then lease the hospital to the county and the county will sub-lease the property to Newman. The hospital would still retain its own Board of Trustees and govern the hospital independently just like it does now.
During a meeting on Oct. 14, the Public Building Commission met for the first time to elect officers. Lyon County’s Public Building Commission has three members, Richard Porter, Pat Wiederholt and Todd Osborn. President of the commission is Osborn; vice-president, Porter and secretary, Wiederholt.
In other business, commissioners heard from Michael Aumack, partnership specialist for the U.S. Census Bureau in Topeka about the 2010 census. Next year is the 10-year census, Aumack said. Census forms will be mailed out and will have 10 basic questions. The questions will request information such as name, birth date, gender and racial background and whether the people rent or own their homes. Information will not be collected about social security numbers or income, Aumack said.
Census day is April 1, 2010. The Census Bureau is shooting for a 75 percent response rate to forms that will be sent to every household in the United States. Many things are based on census information including FEMA response to disasters, Aumack added.
“The people who are least likely to respond to this are the ones who would benefit most,” he said.
Aumack said meetings would be held for community organizations to figure out the best way to promote the census. Also, there will be sites set up to submit census forms and to get assistance filling out census forms.
In other matters, commissioners approved:
• Warrants payable in the amount of $117,061.91.
• Minutes of the Oct. 15 meeting.
• Signing the three-year lease agreement with State Parole.
• The jail to spend up to $2,200 on floor covering for the booking and WRS office.
• Signing a contract between the Kansas Department of Health and Environment regarding Phase 3 Focus Area and Public Health Emergency Response.