Council to hold public hearing on refinancing Crown Point library bond

Reissuing at lower interest rate would save about $1.2M

The Lake County Council will hold a public hearing at 10 a.m. Tuesday for Crown Point Community Public Library bond refinancing that will ultimately save the library approximately $1.2 million to be spent on various projects, library officials said.

The approximately $8.9 million general obligation bond was issued in 2011 to build the Crown Point Community Library at 122 N. Main St., director Julie Wendorf said.

The library is refinancing and reissuing the bond, similar to refinancing a mortgage, to approximately $7.7 million at a lower interest rate, Wendorf said. The $1.2 million in savings means there is no cost to taxpayers, she said.

“Our bond just became eligible to refinance and because the low rates that are happening right now we wanted to go ahead and take advantage of those as soon as possible,” Wendorf said.

The $1.2 million in cost savings will go toward C OVID-19-related expenses, like adding air purifiers to the library’s HVAC system, buying a washer and dryer to sanitize cleaning materials “because of the lack of access to sanitary wipes,” and upholstering cloth furniture to vinyl, Wendorf said.

Library officials also plan to use a portion of the money to upgrade LED lighting that, within two years of installment, will save the library $20,000 a year on energy cost, Wendorf said.

“There’s a lot of small projects that will add up to the amount of money that we’re going to have refunded, so we can do that to impact library services,” Wendorf said.

Lake County Finance Director Scott Schmal said that refinancing debt requires a public hearing so that residents can give their input.

“All they’re doing is taking advantage of lower interest rates … lowered recently by the feds,” Schmal said.

Lake County Council President Ted Bilski, DHobart, said that residents can attend the meeting either in person, wearing masks and distancing, or virtually via Youtube or Webex.

The refinancing the debt will help the library receive a lower interest rate, which benefits taxpayers, Bilski said.

“It allows the library the base to be spent on promoting the library projects and programs,” Bilski said.