BEATRICE – Southeast Community College will issue revenue bonds of up to $26.5 million to construct new student housing at the Lincoln Campus of the school.
The SCC Board approved the bond resolution on Tuesday, meeting in Lincoln at the college’s continuing education center. Bond agent Scott Keene of Piper, Sandler says the issue would be funded by dorm revenue, student fees and net bookstore revenue.


"Even though we had some modest housing capacity, we've really dramatically expanded that capacity on both the Milford and Beatrice Campuses and really improved their housing stock. Clearly at the Milford Campus, they were full right from the get-go...Beatrice is still working to get their way, up there."


SCC has used revenue bonding before. Keene says this time, the school is looking at a borrowing rate of 2.75 to 3-percent. A 2018 revenue bond issue had an interest cost of over 3.9-percent. A 2020 revenue bond issue deemed bank qualified, was about 2.75-percent.


Keene says the hope is to market the bonds shortly after Thanksgiving…to take advantage of still favorable interest rates.


Southeast has also re-bid a project to demolish Cornhusker Hall…one of the original dormitories on the Milford Campus. Campus Director Ed Koster said SCC found that state law on the bidding process was not properly followed when the board approved a bid in September.


"So, those bids were thrown out and we re-advertised and followed proper procedures for new bids. In the interim we also discovered from additional asbestos testing, we found that not as much asbestos existed in Cornhusker Hall as we previously thought when the bids went out the first time. That is why the price dropped significantly from the action taken in the previous board meeting."


The SCC Board approve the bid of Gana Trucking and Excavating for the demolition project, at a cost of $352,704.


The board postponed action on bids received this past Friday for the demolition of Jackson and Adams Halls on the Beatrice Campus of SCC. They are the final remaining original buildings on the Beatrice Campus.  College Vice President of Administrative Services and Finance, Amy Jorgens says the bids are still being reviewed. They range from a low of about $150,000 to about $180,000.