The Kansas Department of Commerce has allocated $30.617 million in Recovery Zone Facility Bond authority for four business projects and $11.93 million in Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds for three public improvement projects, officials announced today.

The four municipalities receiving Recovery Zone Facility Bond authority and their beneficiaries are:

Issuer                          Beneficiary                             Amount

Ford County               Dodge City Cheese                $12.617 million

Harvey County           Atlas CTB Mfg.                         $11 million         

Edwardsville              Earp Meat Company               $5 million

Concordia                  Concordia Tractor Inc.             $2 million

The three municipalities receiving Recovery Zone Economic Development Bond authority and their planned projects are:

Issuer                          Public Improvement             Amount

Norton County            Street Improvement                 $65,000

Bonner Springs          Street Improvement                 $2,500,000

Topeka                        Sewer Improvement                $9,364,054

Recovery Zone Facility Bonds and Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds are two new types of bonds created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to help economically distressed areas. Recovery Zone Facility Bonds are much like Private Activity Bonds and can be used for privately owned or used projects. These bonds are federally tax exempt, which can provide the issuer with a lower cost of capital. Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds, which are used for public infrastructure, are fully taxable to the bond holders, but the U.S. Treasury will pay to the issuer (cities, counties) an amount equal to 45 percent of each interest payment.

The Kansas Department of Commerce reviewed applications for these two categories of bonds through a competitive process. The Recovery Zone Facility Bond process was exceptionally competitive, with the Department of Commerce receiving $99 million in requests for $30.617 million in available authority.

Organizations that have been issued bond authority through the first round of this reallocation process must confirm their intent to issue bonds with the Department of Commerce’s Bond Allocation Administrator by February 17, 2010. Allocations that are not confirmed by this date will be surrendered and redistributed among other applicants. The bond authority allocated to a project may be combined with other funding sources. This bond allocation expires if the bonds are not issued by May 31, 2010.

For more information, contact Joe Monaco at (785) 296-3760 or jmonaco@kansascommerce.com.