By EMMA PEREZ-TREVIÑO Valley Morning Star HARLINGEN — The Harlingen Housing Finance Corporation plans to have a public hearing today on the requested issuance of $26.9 million in tax-exempt bonds to finance an apartment complex — but the notices have been confusing. On June 28, the corporation, through the city, published a legal notice in the Valley Morning Star that it will hold a public hearing on the proposal at 11 a.m. today at City Hall at 118 E. Tyler St. pursuant to the federal Internal Revenue Code. However, an agenda for the corporation’s gathering, pursuant to the state Texas Open Meetings Act, was not provided on the city’s website as the city customarily does with the sessions of other city-affiliated boards. A meeting agenda was posted on the corporation’s behalf late Thursday on the city’s website, but it calls for a 2 p.m. meeting at City Hall today. Items on the agenda for the 2 p.m. meeting include a presentation regarding the project that David Starr of AAF – Vantage At Harlingen Inc. proposes, discussion on the bond issue, the project, and the public hearing, and a vote on whether to approve the issuance, pass the bond resolution, authorize execution of required documentation and issuance of the bonds and authorization to retain a financial advisor to provide oversight of project compliance. City Secretary Amanda Elizondo was not available late Friday to address questions regarding the two sessions and which one the public should attend. The legal notice that the housing finance corporation published on June 28 specifies: “In order for the interest on the bonds to be exempt from federal income taxation, the (IRS) Code requires that the issuance of the bonds be approved by appropriate elected public officials of the City of Harlingen, Texas, following a public hearing.” The members of the housing finance corporation are appointed. They are not elected public officials. The corporation’s financial advisor Steven Harris with Harris Housing Advisors LLC of Houston also was not immediately available Friday to explain this aspect. The full details of the project also have not been made available. A report that Harris presented to the corporation’s board at a June 26 meeting, with a copy to the city, containing details on the proposal has not been released despite several requests from the Valley Morning Star. At the June 26 meeting, Harris told the board that it could be released days prior to the public hearing. The Star’s request for a copy of the report was first made following the June 26 meeting. Elizondo responded that she checked with corporation board President Sam Lozano, and that he said that, “the information that was presented to the board is confidential and is in preliminary form. It is not available for release to the public.” The Star reurged the request Thursday. The city also declined to provide the report because city counsel said that it is stamped “confidential,” Elizondo said. Eperez-trevino@valleystar
Posted on: Mon, 15 Jul 2013 04:50:49 +0000
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