MINUTES OF MEETING OF THE
PRIVATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES AUTHORITY
A meeting of the Private Colleges and Universities Authority (the “Authority”) was held on Thursday, May 25, 2023 at 10:00 a.m., in person at the offices of the law firm of Alston & Bird LLP (“Alston & Bird”), at 1201 West Peachtree Street, Atlanta, Georgia, and also by Zoom virtual conference. Authority members Ray Cobb, Joe Evans, George Andrews and Jim Lientz were present in person.
Carlos Encinas, Zach Ladu and Cindy Hamilton of Alston & Bird were also present in person.
Guests present in person and by Zoom virtual conference (where noted below) were as follows:
Murray Barnes Finister (Counsel on Behalf of Emory University)
Caroline Loftin
JP Morgan (Zoom)
Jim Costello
Holly Benedict
Tom Lauth (Counsel for JP Morgan)
Call to Order
Chairman Cobb called the meeting to order. All members and guests introduced themselves.
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Emory University Supplemental Bond Resolution
Ms. Caroline Loftin provided an overview of the pricing of the Series 2023A bonds. Given the volatility in the market, the Series 2023A bonds will be issued in an aggregate principal amount of $142,500,000 at an interest rate of 5.0% and a yield of 3.33%. Emory will issue the remaining portion of the approved bonds at a later date. The TEFRA approval expires on June 2, 2023 and Ms. Loftin stated that a new TEFRA hearing will need to be held. There were several questions from Authority members, including doing a private placement instead of commercial paper. Ms. Bennett and Mr. Costello explained it would have been more expensive to do commercial paper. A motion was made by Mr. Evans and seconded by Mr. Andrews to approve the Supplemental Bond Resolution. The motion was approved unanimously by the members of the Authority.
Approval of Minutes of May 2, 2023 Meeting of the Authority
A motion was made by Mr. Evans and seconded by Mr. Cobb to approve the minutes of the May 2, 2023 meeting as presented to the members of the Authority. The motion was approved unanimously by the members of the Authority.
Treasurer’s Report
Mr. Evans presented the Treasurer’s Report. Mr. Evans emailed the Authority members the April 30, 2023 financial information for the checking account, money market account, and the bonds maturing under 1 year.
An invoice in the amount of $21,571.58 from Alston & Bird was presented for approval. There was a discussion regarding the amount of the fees. Mr. Cobb explained that the invoice was for January 1, 2023 through May 24, 2023.
A motion was made by Mr. Evans and seconded by Mr. Andrews to approve the Alston & Bird’s invoice. The motion to approve the invoice was approved unanimously by the members of the Authority.
Other Business
There was a discussion regarding the Authority fees for the recent Mercer University Amendment. Mr. Encinas stated the Authority historically did not charge or for similar Amendments. The suggestion was made that if a special meeting is required, the Authority should charge $1,500 – $2,000 to cover Authority’s time and expenses.
Mr. Encinas and Mr. Ladu then presented the Legislative report. Mr. Encinas stated that new legislative bills are reviewed during the Georgia Legislative session for anything that would affect the Authority. Mr. Ladu reported the only bill that directly or indirectly affected the Authority was SB 26, which would give the Authority the potential
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option to conduct meetings via teleconference. Mr. Ladu stated SB 26 passed both houses and is on the Governor’s desk waiting to be signed. Mr. Cobb requested that going forward, a Legislative Report be presented to the Authority. Mr. Lientz suggested that the Authority wait for the return of Ms. Pelot from maternity leave to discuss further.
Mr. Andrews presented next on the proposed grant program. Mr. Andrews partnered with 1 Ignite Capital, LLC to prepare a grant program overview. Mr. Andrews stated this program would assist smaller private colleges and universities in Georgia with their capital planning process. The program would also provide financial strategy advice. There was a discussion regarding whether the program would have to register municipal security advisors. Mr. Encinas explained that grants do not need to be registered. A suggestion was made to contact Jenna Colvin, President of the Georgia Independent College Association, to get her input on the grant program. After further discussion, it was decided that Mr. Encinas and Mr. Andrews will work together on developing the grant program and overview and will report back to the Authority at a later date.
Adjournment
A motion was made by Mr. Andrews and seconded by Mr. Evans to adjourn the meeting. The motion to adjourn was approved unanimously by the members of the Authority.
Mr. Cobb then adjourned the meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
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