Harrison County (West Virginia) Commission to consider taking on financial responsibility of restructuring Charles Pointe bonds

“When they restructure these bonds — if they get that accomplished — they want to make sure they’re still tax-exempt,” said Commissioner David Hinkle.

Because the TIF agreement for Charles Pointe has been extended, bonds can be restructured to extend their maturity date, which lowers annual payments.

TIF agreements allow a developer to keep property tax revenues that would normally be paid to the county, then use that money to pay for bonds to finance development.

The county currently contracts Tom Aman of Steptoe & Johnson for counseling on TIF agreement matters.

An additional contract has been drawn up to potentially hire an attorney from Ballard Spahr LLP to assist in restructuring the Charles Pointe bonds.

“It appears we need someone who is an expert in taxes,” Commission President Susan Thomas said.

After applying a 10% discount, Ballard Spahr’s services would cost the county $922 per hour.

“It’s starting to get very expensive for the county,” Hinkle said.

Whether or not the county should keep Steptoe & Johnson engaged in the project is “something we’ll have to discuss,” Thomas said.

Ballard Spahr’s fees will be paid from the commission’s general fund until the trustee of the district’s bond issues agrees to pay the fees or until Charles Pointe’s bonds are restructured, according to the engagement letter.

“We are hiring somebody for bonds that we don’t even know (will) ever be resold or if he’ll be able to make them non-taxable. And the taxpayers are taking on that debt,” Hinkle said.

After postponing consideration at their Jan. 15 meeting due to procedural issues, commissioners will now consider applying for relief from erroneous assessment of community enhancement district (CED) assessments from tax years 2017 through 2022.

In 2022, WV News reported that forbore CED assessments at Charles Pointe totaled $10.3 million for tax years 2017 through 2021.

If CED assessments kept the same pace, the total amount the county may seek relief for would total more than $12 million. But Harrison County commissioners did not offer the exact figure owed to the county — at the recommendation of their attorney.

Commissioners approved forbearance of the assessments to give Charles Pointe’s developer, Genesis Partners, additional funds to establish more tax-revenue-generating businesses to pay down the bonds by which the development was financed.

At a public hearing on the extension of Charles Pointe’s tax increment financing agreement last July, Bridgeport Mayor Andy Lang, who opposed the extension that ultimately passed, said Charles Pointe was delinquent on about $93 million in bond payments, including interest.

Prior to July’s public hearing, the commission signed a letter in support of Genesis Partners, requesting bondholders release deeds of trust and waive CED assessments on a parcel of land that includes the proposed construction site of the Mon Health Harrison Neighborhood Hospital.

The concessions requested are part of a larger overall agreement tied to restructuring the bonds on the property, Aman has said.

The commission’s letter of support said the concessions were also necessary for construction of the hospital to begin in a timely manner.

In December, construction of the hospital was delayed due to the issues, Mon Health President and CEO David Goldberg confirmed.

“Time is of the essence,” the letter warned.

“We want to be at Charles Pointe. But if they can’t solve their issues, we will find an alternative site,” Goldberg said in December.

Also Wednesday, commissioners will:

— Consider putting several projects relating to the Harrison County Courthouse out to bid.

These projects include replacing the elevators, conducting a space use study and demolishing the jail annex which houses the magistrate courts.

These projects were considered by the commissioners last September, but they were not approved.

Hinkle said he has put the projects back on the agenda because he has had a change of mind and now believes that continually repairing the jail annex will be more costly than demolishing it and bringing its tenants into the courthouse proper.

Thomas said she supported putting the jail annex demolition and courthouse usage study on hold because there were too many other projects on the commission’s agenda that demanded attention, including ongoing issues at the Harrison County General Services Annex.

“I think we need to continue what we started, unless it would be a life-threatening situation,” she said.

— Hear updates on eight projects relating to the Harrison County Rail Trail, including a project master plan.

— Discuss seeking bids for a master study for the site of the Sunset Ellis Drive-In, which the county bought following a fire that prompted the proprietors to shutter the business last September.

Commissioners will also consider seeking bids on the construction of an upgraded Harrison County Animal Control Facility and a livestock barn to be used by the Harrison County Livestock Association, 4-H and other agriculture groups.

Both of those projects have been proposed for the Sunset Ellis property.