New Kent supervisors defer bond refund request from Preston Hollow LLC

New Kent’s Board of Supervisors have deferred taking any action on a request to refund bonds and finance money for a portion of the Farms of New Kent at the Nov. 15 regular meeting.

The deferral comes as no surprise as county leaders still had several questions regarding Preston Hollow LLC (PHLLC) pitch to refund a portion of 2021 bonds for Land Bays IV and V.

At the Oct. 31 work session, PHLLC proposed $97 million in bond refunds, with $45 million as new money. Representatives commented that the advancement would assist in the expedited construction of several developments as the growth they had expected is moving faster than anticipated.

As the regular board meet, PHLLC had hoped to receive approval to begin working on several projects. However, the large amount that could be borrowed along with $45 million in new money posed lots of questions from county leaders.

“I’m not saying I’m against it, but I need some numbers,” said District 1 representative Thomas Evelyn. “I don’t want to put the county in any type of predicament.

“This is a big ask and a lot going on,” he added. “Numbers are pretty important.”

District 5 supervisor John Lockwood agreed with Evelyn, questioning the supervision of the money and how it’s used.

“Who approves those draws when money is needed?” Lockwood asked. “There is a lot of questions on how that money will be used specifically for.

“Originally, it was presented to us that the $45 million would be used to develop the business side, not residential side,” the District 5 representative continued. “I’d like to have a better, independent explanation.”

While members of PHLLC said that the county would not be obligated to the bonds and the risk was specifically on them, District 2 and board chairman Tommy Tiller pointed to past experiences in dealing with the Farms of New Kent.

“What if the $45 million ends up being $60 million? Where would the other $15 million come from?” Tiller asked. “In 2006, the Farms of New Kent had goals that they were supposed to reach based on the number of homes.

“Those goals were landmarks based on bringing amenities when they reach a threshold,” the chairman continued. “What happened to that? Now we’re dancing around these bonds two years later and I’m afraid that in 13 years [when the proposed bonds would run out] I don’t know where we would be if they (PHLLC) continued to borrow against these bonds.”

New Kent supervisors unanimously agreed to defer any action as they have requested Davenport and Associates financial group to conduct an evaluation.