By Ben McNeely bmcneely@independenttribune.com

North Carolina Research Campus developer Castle & Cooke has asked for more time to look at a proposed $76 billion bond package the City of Kannapolis is pursuing.

On Tuesday, a day after City Manager Mike Legg and other city officials presented the bond package to the Cabarrus Board of County Commissioners, Castle & Cooke President Lynne Scott Safrit said a larger bond amount would be better for the development firm.

She asked commission chair Robert Carruth to delay the vote originally scheduled for Dec. 4.

Legg said the move is to give Castle & Cooke time to “maximize the bond issue.”

“They are not looking for a set amount,” Legg said. “They want to find ways that we can maximize the bond issue and it is taking longer than expected.”

The best option Castle & Cooke is considering is a letter of credit from owner David Murdock.

“If they offer an irrevocable letter of credit, that means there is cash in the bank,” Legg said. “If the bonds don’t work, then there will be enough money to pay back the bonds if they fail.”

If a letter of credit is offered, that could drop the interest rate on the bonds – which is at 5.5 percent – one or two percentage points, Legg speculated.

“We haven’t calculated how much that would be, but even one percentage point on $76 million, it could be a substantial amount,” Legg said.

Legg also said if a letter of credit were accepted, all financial risk for the city and county would be eliminated. (more…)