Lancaster May Get a Windfall for Facilities : Development: City officials are proposing to finance the new buildings with debt that would be repaid by the county. They say Supervisor Mike Antonovich backs the $144-million plan.

The Antelope Valley could get $144 million worth of new county facilities within several years--including a courthouse, library, hospital and other buildings--under a financing plan being considered by county and Lancaster city officials.

City officials said the plan is backed by County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, who represents the Antelope Valley and is seeking reelection this year. Antonovich could not be reached for comment, but political observers said such a deal also could solidify his support in the region.

Rather than waiting years for county officials to accumulate enough money to build all the projects, city officials are proposing to speed the process by financing the buildings themselves now with debt that would be repaid by the county’s share of property tax revenues from the city.

“This is the biggest thing that’s ever happened in the Antelope Valley,” said Lancaster City Manager Jim Gilley on Wednesday. He said the proposal also could fund a new sheriff’s station, four fire stations and an expanded animal control shelter. And all would be located in Lancaster.

The proposal is scheduled to be considered by the County Board of Supervisors on March 10, and could be considered by the Lancaster City Council on March 16, city and county officials said. However, county officials said many details remain to be settled.

“We don’t even have a draft agreement written on this. It’s very wide open at this point,” cautioned Delta Uyenoyama, a management analyst in the county’s chief administrative office.

City officials said the key to the package is the estimated $10 million a year the county now receives as its share of so-called tax increment funds, a type of property tax revenue, generated within Lancaster’s redevelopment areas.

Under the proposal, according to Lancaster officials, the county for the next five to seven years would commit most or all of that money to paying off the city’s debt from building the projects, serving as so-called “bridge financing” until grants or other money become available.

Although other county supervisors might balk at the plan because it would reduce the amount of money available for other districts, city officials said the package would save the county money by permitting the facilities to be built soon at lower prices and at current low interest rates.

City officials said the county has recognized that its often old and small facilities in the Antelope Valley are not adequate to serve what was one of the fastest-growing areas of the state prior to the recession. And city officials believe the growth will resume.

Gilley said the city would take the lead in building the projects, including $60.5 million for the courthouse, $30 million to start a new hospital, $25 million for a sheriff’s station, $16 million for a library, $12.4 million for the fire stations, and $500,000 for the animal shelter.

All of the projects have been in planning stages by the county. But under normal financing methods, they would probably take a dozen years or more to complete. Gilley predicted that if the proposed financing plan is adopted all could be well under way within two to three years.

Steve Dukett, Lancaster’s redevelopment director, called the proposal unprecedented in the county.