City working with RIHEBC to seek refunding of Middle School bonds at lower rates

Woonsocket, RI: Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt today announced that the City of Woonsocket
has successfully applied to the Rhode Island Health and Educational Building
Corporation (RIHEBC) to explore its options to refund its outstanding
bondsassociated with the construction of the Woonsocket Middle Schools. The
Citysubmitted its application to RIHEBC and will proceed through committee review
before the refunding process would begin.

RIHEBC is a quasi-public, state organization that commonly issues bonds on behalf of
Rhode Island based organizations and municipalities to fund school and hospital
buildings. RIHEBC provides tax exempt bond financing for large scale projects, which
results in lower interest rates for communities like Woonsocket. The Middle School
bonds targeted for refunding would only be reissued if a lower interest rate is
available, equaling savings for the City of Woonsocket.

The Middle School bonds were originally issued in 2009 to finance the $74 million
cost of building the Woonsocket Middle School buildings on Hamlet Avenue. The RIHEBC
refunding process represents a months-long action that would conclude in early 2017.