To be fair to all, Luzerne County’s Redevelopment Authority is again seeking proposals from financial entities interested in handling a new loan estimated to yield $51 million for county-owned roads and bridges.
An authority board majority had previously selected Fidelity Bank from five financial entities that responded to a request-for-proposals. Fidelity Bank partnered with FNCB on the planned transaction.
Since then, a county council majority agreed to guarantee the loan in the unlikely event that repayment funding from casino gambling falls through.
Because the initial documents seeking financial entities stated there would be no county guarantee, many argued the redevelopment authority should perform a new search. Some entities may have opted against submitting a proposal due to the lack of a guarantee, they said.
All four authority board members present Tuesday voted to withdraw the selection of Fidelity Bank and seek new proposals: Nina DeCosmo, Scott Linde, Stephen E. Phillips and Mark Rabo. The fifth board member, John Pekarovsky, was absent Tuesday.
Authority Executive Director Andrew Reilly said the new request-for-proposals should be posted within two weeks at luzernecountyredevelopment.org.
A council majority voted last month to guarantee the loan because the authority agreed all proceeds will be used to address county-owned infrastructure. Replacement of the Nanticoke/West Nanticoke Bridge over the Susquehanna River, currently estimated at $45 million, is stated as a project to be funded, although county officials will have flexibility if they deem other projects a higher priority, officials said.
Council must pass an ordinance to formalize the guarantee.
The loan is possible because new state legislation customized solely for the county redirects $3 million annually for 25 years from the casino-gambling Local Share Account (LSA) to create an infrastructure fund.
The way it is set up, the redevelopment authority must borrow to create the fund and then repay the debt using the annual $3 million LSA earmark. County council got involved because financial institutions wanted assurance the county would repay the debt if the Mohegan Sun Pocono casino in Plains Township closed down the road.
The legislation leaves it up to the redevelopment authority to recommend projects that should be funded, with final award approval by the Commonwealth Finance Authority — a state entity that already approves other LSA awards that are not part of this special program.