Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Staff writer
Eastern New Mexico University hopes to issue $12.3 million in bonds to put toward existing projects.
The ENMU board of regents will vote on the proposal today in during its meeting at the university’s Roswell campus.
Scott Smart, ENMU vice president of Business Affairs, said the university is looking to issue System Improvement Revenue Bonds that will be split between three projects.
ENMU President Steven Gamble said the bond issue will be funded through student fees and other institutional resources.
Smart said $6.3 million will be used to fund the multi-purpose athletic facility the University plans to build to replace the Greyhound Stadium.
ENMU has received $5.6 million towards the project to date and will combine the amount with the $6.3 million in System Improvement Revenue Bonds.
Smart said the state Higher Education Department and the State Board of Finance require the university to the project can be approved.
The remainder of the System Improvement bonds would be used for apartment renovations at the West Campus Apartments and for the renovation and re-purposing of the Golden Library.
Smart said half of the 99 West Campus apartments have already been renovated and $2 million from the system improvement bonds would be used to complete renovations on the remaining units.
The remaining $4 million will be committed to the Golden Student Success Center project that the university has planned for 2016.
According to Smart, the project has been budgeted at $26 million and will be funded with $11 million from the 2014 General Obligation Bond and an additional $11 million that the university will ask for through the 2016 General Obligation Bond.
Smart said the university plans on beginning the renovations to Golden Library in the summer of 2016.
He said the university should know if they have received approval of the new bond issue from HED and SBOF after February.
The university will also be requesting refinancing of $6.3 million in existing debt.
Smart said current interests rates are lower than they were in 2005 when the original debt was issued and could save the university about $46,000 a year.
