Previous Council Action

December 3, 2008: Presentation of potential “Mainstreet Stimulus Package” projects. Council requested that the projects be submitted to the Congressional delegation.

December 10, 2008: Staff provided an update on the “Stimulus Bill” being drafted by President- Elect Obama’s administration. Council accepted the report.

January 28, 2009: Staff gave an update on the House of Representatives’ version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment. City Council accepted the report.

February 11, 2009: Staff gave an update on the Senate’s Version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and provided an update regarding the anticipated conference process and
passage of a revised bill. City Council accepted the report.

February 25, 2009: Staff provided an update on the final enrolled version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and presented a revised project list. Council accepted the report and directed staff to provide additional information about potential projects that could be funded through the “Stimulus Bill.”

March 11, 2009: Staff provided an update and presented a list of project options under the Community Development Block Grant and Energy Efficiency Block Grant programs. Council selected and prioritized projects within these programs and directed staff to continue providing updates.

March 25, 2009: Staff provided an update and Council identified priority projects for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grants (JAG) and the Homeless Prevention and Re-Housing Program.

April 8, 2009: Staff received Council direction and approval on the implementation of an additional $662,800 in EECBG funds, and acceptance of the update on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

April 22, 2009: Council accepted a memo in lieu of public presentation providing ARRA updates.

May 13, 2009: Staff received direction to create a new Pre-Application Protocol in order to identify agencies for potential grant partnerships.

May 27: Council accepted a memo in lieu of public presentation providing ARRA updates.

June 10, 2009: Council accepted an update regarding the final change in Recovery Act CDBG projects and approved proceeding with an application for the construction of Reno Fire Department Station #5 to the Department of Homeland Security through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program.

June 24, 2009: Council approved a Pre-Application Form to be used to assess potential partners for competitive grant applications, and directed staff to research a process, including an independent board, that could be used to identify and evaluate regional competitive grant opportunities.

July 15, 2009: Council adopted Resolution No.7387, designating the entire City of Reno within the current geographic boundaries as a Recovery Zone pursuant to Section 1400U-1(b) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

How do the Bonds Work?

The ARRA authorized the creation of two new bond programs:

Recovery Zone Facility (RZF) bonds offer tax-exempt rates for private projects that otherwise would be financed on a taxable basis. The tax-exempt rate allows issuers to realize lower debt service costs. These bonds must be used to finance depreciable property in a Recovery Zone. RZF bonds are available to municipal governments, non-profits, and private developers. The City of Reno has been authorized to issue up to $65,604,000 in RZF bonds.

Recovery Zone Economic Development (RZED) bonds are only available to municipal governments for qualified tax-exempt eligible capital projects in a Recovery Zone. The bonds are taxable but are “subsidized” by a federal credit of 45% of the interest, making debt service repayment more affordable. Qualified projects include capital expenditures for property, public infrastructure and construction of public facilities, and education and job training. The City of Reno has been authorized to issue up to $43,736,000 in RZED bonds. There is a limit of 2% on the cost of issuance.

The first step in accessing either type of bonds is the formal designation of Recovery Zones. Because city-wide there were significant levels of unemployment and foreclosures, the entire City within its current geographic boundaries was designated as a Recovery Zone by the Council on July 15. .

Projects looking to be bonded by this funding have some restrictions attached to them. The funds can't be used for:

• Swimming pools
• Golf courses
• Casinos
• Zoos
• Aquariums
• RZF bonds cannot be used to finance land.
• RZF bonds cannot be used to finance “sin businesses” (e.g. racetracks, tanning parlors,
liquor stores, massage parlors).
• RZF bonds cannot be used to finance rental properties.
• RZED bonds cannot be used to refinance outstanding debt.

In addition:
• The bonds must be issued by December 31, 2010.
• The City of Reno is authorized to be the issuer.
• The bond proceeds must be expended within 36 months of issuance.

The intent of these bonds are to provide resources for projects which were in the queue for implementation but were delayed because of fiscal constraints brought on by the economic downturn. RZF and RZED bonds offer interest-rate subsidies for those projects, making debt service repayment more affordable as compared to General Obligation (G/O) bonds, and generally producing higher yields for the same repayment dollars.
The new bonds do not, however, offer bond repayment sources. It is up to the City of Reno to identify those sources.

Yes, these bonds aren't magical and fall off the money tree, they have to be paid back somehow over time. So the next logical question would be, how would these bonds be repaid if issued?

That's a tough one. The Nevada Legislature has recently severely reduced ongoing City revenue sources that would have been previously available for bond payment. Each state has different laws, revenue allocations etc, and Nevada happens to make it a bit tougher on local municipalities (understatement of century). These actions include the cap on property taxes, the increase in administrative fees for collection of sales tax, and the loss of the ad valorem taxes for capital projects. If that weren't enough of a downer, Consolidated Taxes and Room Taxes are not producing sufficient revenues to provide additional funds for bond repayment, due to the downturn in tourism and the economy. That leaves two mechanisms for bond repayment:

1) fee/rate increases, and
2) annual Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) allocations from HUD.

However to add to the challenge of finding repayment sources, these sources have different flexibility and restrictions. Let's focus in on Option 2, Community Development Block Grants. The City would be held to HUD’s national objectives which direct that funds be used for projects which:
• Eliminate blight (However there is an annual cap on the amount of funding that may be expended for this purpose.)
• Create jobs for low- and moderate-income (LMI) persons
• Create affordable housing for LMI households
• Provide public services for LMI persons
• Address the needs of residents in an area predominantly occupied by LMI households. HUD prohibits the use of funds for the maintenance or repair of government-owned facilities or to support government functions. HUD requires environmental reviews, which can affect implementation time frames. HUD must approve the use of CDBG for bond repayments in advance of a bond issuance, limits the repayment period to not more than 10 years, and may limit the amount of funding authorized for repayment. In addition, HUD may also require agreements on the use of its funds, which must be reviewed and approved by HUD’s administrators before a project can move forward. Finally, all funded projects would have to meet a CDBG national objective and comply with all federal regulations.

Eligible City of Reno Projects

Per Council’s direction on July 15, staff assembled a City-wide list of potential projects that could be funded through Recovery Zone bonds. The list shows projects which have been identified through the CIP process, intra-departmental facilities’ assessments, and Council interest. For each project staff has estimated the costs of construction and identified 1) potential repayment sources and 2) the type of Recovery Zone bond program which could be used.

City of Reno Project	Est. Cost	Potential Repayment Source(s)	RZ Bond Program
Public Safety
Damonte Station	20,000,000		RZED
Keystone Station	25,000,000		RZED
North Valleys Station	20,000,000		RZED
Fire Station #1			RZED
Land Acquisition	Ineligible
Construction	$4,500,000		RZED
Community Centers

Foster Drive	14,000,000		RZED
Linden Grove	TBD	CDBG	RZED/RZF
Oliver-Montello	TBD	CDBG	RZED/RZF
EMNECC Roof	973,000		RZED
Neil Road	110,000
PRCS
Mira Loma Maintenance Center	5,000		RZED
Greenhouse Roof	25,000		RZED
Sky Tavern Roof	35,000		RZED
Plumas Tennis Center	1,000,000		RZED
Virginia Lake Park	400,000		RZED
California Building	160,000		RZED
Paradise Park Activity Center	100,000		RZED
McKinley Arts & Culture	77,000		RZED
Oxbow Nature Study Area	60,000		RZED
Horseman’s Park	50,000		RZED
Parks Office/Urban Forestry	40,000		RZED
Southside School	500,000		RZED
ReTRAC
Cover(s), each	6,000,000		RZED
Enhancements	TBD		RZED/RZF
Post Office
Land Acquisition	Ineligible
Maintenance	TBD
Renovation	20,000,000	CDBG	RZED/RZF
Terraces	3,300,000	CDBG	RZED
Parking Structures
New Downtown Garage	30,000,000		RZED/RZF
Renovations: Parking Gallery	400,000		RZED
Gateways
UNR Gateway	1,200,000		RZED
Kietzke Gateway	150,000
S. Virginia St. Improvements	600,000/ block	SAD	RZED
Façade Program Downtown	500,000	CDBG	RZED
Amtrak Visitors’ Center	100,000		RZED
Public Alley Rehabilitation	10,500,000	Street Funds	RZED
Whitewater Park Extension	10,000,000		RZED
Infrastructure
Keystone Bridge Replacement	18,000,000	Street Funds/ FHWA/ NDOT	RZED
N. Virginia Sewer Trunk Ph 1B	4,066,000	Sewer fees	RZED
Sewer Repl - City Streets Yr. 3	13,385,000	Sewer fees	RZED
Digester Lids @ TMWRF	758,868	Sewer fees	RZED
Electrical Switch. @ TMWRF	1,946,347	Sewer fees	RZED
N. Virginia Street Manholes	97,802	Sewer fees	RZED
Lakeside Dr Sewer Trunk	2,800,000	Sewer fees	RZED
Collection System Odor Control	1,000,000	Sewer fees	RZED