A $4 million bond issue, which includes paying off a current outstanding bond and refinancing, will allow the Terre Haute Convention & Visitors Bureau to pay off its visitors building and make improvements to the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course.
The CVB’s board of directors approved the bond issue Tuesday in a public hearing. The measure next is scheduled to go before the Vigo County Council on Sept. 9 for approval. If approved, the bond issuance through First Financial Bank could be closed by Sept. 23.
The new bond issue will be paid off over a 12-year period, at between $425,000 to $428,000 per year, funded from a county innkeeper’s tax, said Gary Malone of H.J. Umbaugh & Associates, an Indianapolis accounting firm.
Paying off a $1.37 million bond, that was to mature in 2022 with a 5.4 percent interest rate, and refinancing about $1.41 million at 2.86 percent interest, will save about $84,000, Malone said.
The bond issue includes more than $2.59 million in additional money, making the total bond issue $4 million at 3.64 percent interest, Malone said.
The bond issue will pay off the CVB’s visitor center near Margaret Avenue and Indiana 46 and provide $1.035 million for improvements to the championship cross country course, Malone said.
The course, opened 17 years ago, has attracted about 25,000 people annually for the past 15 years, said CVB Executive Director David Patterson, with an annual economic impact of about $925,000.
About $100,000 of improvements have been made this year to the course, with about $10,000 remaining, Patterson said.
Improvements include 13,000 square feet of drainage title; 1,300 tons of dirt fill; $6,000 in grass seed; and electrical changes. “We had to raise the irrigation heads,” Patterson said.
“Through the natural wind and soil erosion, plus the fact we have had thousands of runners on it every year, there were wear spots that evolved and became low, so drainage became an issue,” Patterson said. Last year, the starting line for the NCAA Division 1 Cross Country Championship was relocated because of water.
“We have to keep improving to keep [the NCAA] coming back as we are competing against all other colleges,” said Greg Gibson, a member of the CVB’s board of directors. “Texas A&M is building and Florida is building (cross country facilities), so we have to keep improving.”
Other improvements are to include creating an 800-foot long by 120-foot wide rock parking lot, in addition to current parking, which is a mix of asphalt and rock. “This will allow all vehicles to be on hard surfaces for all races,” Patterson said.
A new Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant awards stand is also planned for the facility, Patterson said.