The Wake County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 17 adopted a resolution authorizing the issuance of 2025 limited-obligation bonds (LOBs) not to exceed $304,500,000 to refinance drawn and undrawn amounts under a 2021 bond anticipation note for school projects and to provide debt proceeds for construction of the Cary Main EMS station.

Todd Taylor, the county’s director of debt and capital strategy, told the board the 2025 LOBs comprise two components. Series A will "take out the current accumulated draw balance of the 2021 ban and convert it to permanent debt, as well as issue the remaining undrawn amount as new money," and Series B will provide the debt proceeds needed to construct Cary Main EMS.

Taylor said the county has used a draw-program (bond anticipation note, or BAN) strategy since 2016 for large capital programs such as schools and Wake Tech. He told the board the 2021 BAN with Truist Bank initially funded school appropriations totaling $584,065,000 and that the proposed 2025 Series A LOBs will take out the accumulated draw balance and issue any remaining undrawn amounts.

Under the presentation, the county currently anticipates approximately $287,500,000 of debt proceeds will be required for Series A, and Taylor emphasized that the bonds issued will not exceed the maximum authorized amount cited to the board. He also described the collateral plan: deeds to three schools — Swift Creek Elementary, Fuquay‑Varina Middle and Rex Road Elementary — will be pledged to support the Series A LOBs (two other schools previously pledged were moved to support earlier takeouts).

Taylor said Series B will provide up to $11,500,000 in par bonds for the Cary Main EMS station. He described the facility as a 15,260-square-foot regional EMS station to be built in Cary with six bays for emergency-response vehicles and two service bays. Construction is set to begin in March and is anticipated to last about 14 months, with completion targeted around April 2026.

Taylor described planned financing steps and timing: bonds will be marketed by senior underwriters JPMorgan and Truist Securities on April 9; interest will be payable semiannually on May 1 and Nov. 1; level principal payments will begin in 2026 and be amortized over 19 years; and the issue is scheduled to close May 1. He said debt service on the proposed LOBs will begin in fiscal year 2026 and that the closing costs have already been included in the adopted FY2025 budget.

No members of the public signed up to speak on the item, and Deputy Clerk Womack reported receiving no online comments. After closing the public hearing, Commissioner Cheryl Stallings moved to adopt the resolution authorizing the issuance and delivery of the 2025 LOBs, and Commissioner Greg Adamson seconded. The motion passed by voice vote with all members saying “aye.”

The board’s materials and Taylor’s presentation included statutory references the county relied on in structuring the transaction; during the discussion Taylor referenced "North Carolina statute 160A‑20" for the Series A LOBs and "state statute 168‑20" for the Series B LOBs, noting assets are required to be pledged as collateral under those cited authorities.

Commissioners asked location details for the Cary station; Adamson asked for the street location and staff said the site will be on Kildare Farm Road, across from Glenaire Retirement Community in Cary.

Action recorded: board adopted a resolution authorizing issuance and delivery of 2025 limited‑obligation bonds not to exceed $304,500,000 to refinance certain public school improvements and to fund the Cary Main EMS station.