Subject
YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that on the 12th day of November, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. (or as soon thereafter as the same may be heard), a public hearing (the “Hearing”) will be held at the offices of Nabors, Giblin & Nickerson, P.A., 2502 Rocky Point Drive, Suite 1060, Tampa, Florida 33607, with respect to the issuance by the Florida Local Government Finance Commission (the “Issuer”) of its Florida Local Government Finance Commission Pooled Commercial Paper Notes (the “Notes”) in the principal amount of not exceeding $6,025,000, all of the proceeds of which will be loaned (the “Port Loan”) to the Manatee County Port Authority (the “Port Authority”). The Hearing will be conducted by Counsel to the Issuer.
The Port Authority now owns, operates and maintains a navigable port of entry known as the “Port Manatee” including storage, dockage and terminal facilities, an administrative building, warehouses, docks, jetties, quaywalls, slips, roadways and parkways and other facilities, by means of which general import and export, storage and passenger cruise line businesses are conducted (herein collectively, the “Port Facilities”). The Port Facilities are located in the northwestern portion of the County at Port Manatee whose headquarters are located at 300 Regal Cruise Way, Suite 1, Palmetto, Florida 34221, on approximately 1,150 acres of land being bounded on the East by CSX railroad tracks, on the West by the Gulf of Mexico, on the South by State owned land, and on the North by the Hillsborough County line. The Port Authority owns all improvements to the Port Facilities to be refinanced with the Notes.
The proceeds of the Notes in the amount of $6,025,000 will be loaned to the Port Authority and applied to refinance an existing loan of the Port Authority, the proceeds of which were used to refinance a portion of the cost of any of the following capital improvements:
Berth 5 Improvements. The existing Berth 5 with an adjacent dredged depth of approximately 18 feet is being dredged to a depth of approximately 40 feet and the dock and structure of said berth are being renovated to accommodate increased depth of the adjacent waters.
Berth 12 Improvements. The existing Berth 12 which accommodates only shallow draft barges and other similar vessels is being enlarged and the adjacent waters are being dredged to a depth of approximately 40 feet to accommodate larger deep draft vessels.
Warehouse Intermodal Office Complex. A 3-story facility of 45,000 square feet, of which the first floor contains approximately 12,000 square feet of usable warehouse space, the second and third floors provide approximately 24,000 square feet of usable office space was constructed. Site work, including road access, utilities, drainage and parking was included.
Intermodal Transit Warehouse at Berth 9. An intermodal transit warehouse at Berth 9 of approximately 150,000 square feet with approximately 5,000 square feet of office space, approximately 20,000 square feet of truck loading dock area and extension of rail siding to the facility was constructed.
Intermodal Access and Improvements to Newly Acquired Port Property. These improvements involve access and basic initial improvements to a newly acquired property. There are four aspects: (1) immediate road access; (2) extension of utilities; (3) road and infrastructure; and (4) rail bridge access.
Railroad Interchange Trackage. Expansion of the railroad interchange trackage between Port Manatee’s switching railroad and the CSX Transportation System. This trackage system parallels US Highway 41 by the entrance to Port Manatee.
Cold Storage Warehouse. A 65,340 square foot warehouse, of which 49,500 square feet would be chilled space and the balance would be vestibules and truck loading dock areas in the vicinity of Berth 11.
The Notes do not constitute a general indebtedness or obligation of the Issuer within the meaning of any constitutional or statutory provision or limitation, but shall be generally payable from and secured by the loan repayments made by the Port Authority to the Issuer pursuant to the Port Loan. The Port Loan is payable from and secured by revenues of the Port Authority and will also be secured by a covenant of the County to budget and appropriate non-ad valorem revenues whenever the other sources are insufficient or unavailable. The Port Loan will not be or constitute an indebtedness of the Port Authority, the County, the State of Florida or any political subdivision thereof within the meaning of any constitutional, statutory or other limitation of indebtedness.
The aforementioned meeting shall be a public meeting and all persons who may be interested will be given an opportunity to be heard concerning the same. Written comments may also be submitted to: Kathy Wall, Chairman, Florida Local Government Finance Commission, c/o Osceola County, One Courthouse Square, Suite 4600, Kissimmee, Florida 34741, and Steven E. Miller, Esq., Nabors, Giblin & Nickerson, P.A., 2502 Rocky Point Drive, Suite 1060, Tampa, Florida 33607, prior to the hearing.
ALL PERSONS FOR OR AGAINST SAID PROPOSAL CAN BE HEARD AT SAID TIME AND PLACE. IF A PERSON DECIDES TO APPEAL ANY DECISION MADE BY THE ISSUER WITH RESPECT TO SUCH HEARING OR MEETING, (S)HE WILL NEED TO ENSURE THAT A VERBATIM RECORD OF SUCH HEARING OR MEETING IS MADE, WHICH RECORD INCLUDES THE TESTIMONY AND EVIDENCE UPON WHICH THE APPEAL IS BASED.