East Hills refinances bonds for village park

The Village of East Hills has refinanced the bonds it used to fund construction of the village park and will save $1.5 million over 15 years.

Based on its high Moody’s Aa1 rating, the village was able to refinance $11.3 million in bonds at an interest rate of 1.95 percent.

The previous rate, obtained in 2003 when the village decided to turn the defunct Roslyn Air National Guard Base into the Park at East Hills, was 4.34 percent.

The village will save more than $101,000 annually.

Mayor Michael Koblenz said the village was committed to staying within the state’s 2 percent property tax cap, and refinancing was one way to achieve that goal.

“We need to continue to be as fiscally prudent as possible,” he said in a news release.

Opened in 2006, the park has a 12,000-square-foot pool, a restaurant, senior center, playgrounds, tennis courts, ballfields, an auditorium, basketball courts and two dog parks.

The Aa1 rating from Moody’s is one step below the best quality rating of Aaa. Ratings are an indication of creditworthiness and higher ratings typically lead to lower interest rates.