PORT ANGELES — The Port of Port Angeles commissioners voted unanimously Monday to issue $4 million in bonds under the authority of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to finance expansion of the Airport Industrial Park for Angeles Composites Technology Inc. (ACTI).
The stimulus bill, as it is commonly known, granted states authority for bonds, which then allocated amounts to counties.
Clallam County a year ago determined that it would not use its bonding authority and transferred its $2 million allowance to the Port of Port Angeles.
The other $2 million comes from Clark County through a reallocation throughout the state.
Taxes won’t rise
The action will not raise taxes — the bonds will be repaid over the course of 20 years using the in-place tax levy and revenues from renting the buildings.
The resolution allows up to $5 million to be spent to give leeway for closing costs and other expenses associated with issuing the bonds — but port Finance Director Bill James said it is likely going to be much less than the $1 million allotted.
Mike Rauch, ACTI president, has said that other composites companies have expressed interest in moving closer to ACTI — and the company, which is based in the industrial park, will have some expansion of its own.
“This is more than a financial decision — it is an investment decision,” said John Calhoun, one of the three port commissioners.
“This will bring 100 more jobs to our area. That is what we are about.”
Three categories of bonds are allowed through the stimulus bill, which will all have different interest rates, James said.
The breakdown of which categories the $4 million will go into is still being determined, he said.
The interest rates also change on a day-to-day basis and will be finalized on the day of the sale, Dec. 8.
A public hearing for community input on the bonds will be held in the port commissioners’ meeting room, 338 W. First St., Port Angeles, at 11 a.m. Dec. 8.
“That way, if someone says that you shouldn’t do this and gives a really good reason, you could always cancel the sale,” said Scott Bauer, the financial consultant hired to help with the matter.
Log ship
The commissioners Monday also heard a report about another log ship that arrived last week and continues to be loaded.
“We didn’t budget for any log ships this year, but this one will be loaded with 20 million board feet [of logs],” said David Hagiwara, port director of trade and development.
“This is the first fully loaded log ship since about 2004, probably.”
The ship, Portland Bay, will bring about $275,000 of revenue to the port.
The logs are bound for Korea and China, Hagiwara said.
At least three other log ships have loaded in Port Angeles so far this year.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.