Barbara Lawlor, Nederland.  Eight years ago, when the Nederland Board of Trustees approved funding for a library district, a 25-year payment schedule was set up. Library director Jay Mann says other libraries refinance their loans, interest rates are lower now and property values are higher. From an investor’s point of view, it was a good time to take a look at the load.

“The first step was to get a couple bids, so we went to the banks,” says Mann.

On August 29, George K. Baum & Company announced the closing of a $1.58 million bank loan for the refinancing of the Series 2009 bonds which provided the initial funding for the Nederland Community Library.

Mann says the new loan was refinanced at a fixed interest rate of 2.31 percent, which resulted in a present value savings of $205,000, in addition to the savings realized through refinancing, the NCL was able to restructure the refinancing so that the debt will be paid off two years earlier than originally planned in the 2009 Bond Issue. Instead of having 17 years of debt remaining, there are only 15 more years to go.

“Getting two years off is great,” says Mann. “We are a full service library and doing the best we can to also be responsible with our funding.”