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Federal judge’s order moves along retaliation suit filed by Wilkes-Barre police officers

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<p>WILKES-BARRE TWP. &#8212; The Luzerne County Convention Center Authority approved a refinancing deal Wednesday that will save an estimated $800,000 in the long run.</p><p>The authority voted unanimously 11-0 at its public meeting at the Mohegan Sun Arena to accept the proposal from its financial adviser to change two bonds into a 15-year loan through First National Bank.</p><p>Mike Vind of Financial Solutions, the authority&#8217;s adviser, said the bonds worth a combined total of $23.7 million are from 1998 and 2012. The deal, expected to be in place by March, smooths out the annual payments and locks in an annual interest rate of 3.27 percent.</p><p>The refinancing was put out for bid and First National Bank, who Vind said has a representative in Clarks Summit, was the lowest.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s not unique,&#8221; Vind said of changing to a loan from the bonds. &#8220;It&#8217;s just depending on what&#8217;s going on in the market and what can save the most money.&#8221;</p><p>The authority will have to refinance just once more after this loan because there are two years left on the debt, Vind said.</p><p>The authority also unanimously approved the purchase of a new 2019 Nissan Titan pickup with a plow attachment for $34,126 from Ken Pollock Nissan in Wilkes-Barre Township. Gary Zingaretti, chairman of the authority&#8217;s Finance Committee, said two of the vehicles in the arena&#8217;s four-vehicle fleet are old, dating to 2001 and 2003.</p><p>Zingaretti added: &#8220;So Brian (Sipe, general manager for SMG that manages the arena) has suggested that they could actually bring the fleet down to three. Retire the two that are ready to expire and go out and replace it with one.&#8221;</p><p>The new pickup can be purchased through COSTARS, the state&#8217;s cooperative purchasing program. The arena can trade in the other two vehicles to the dealership. Quotes were obtained for Ford, Chevrolet and Dodge trucks with plows and the Nissan offered significant savings, said Zingaretti.</p><p>The authority also reorganized at its first meeting of the year and appointed the following officers:</p><p>&#8226; Gary Zingaretti, chairman</p><p>&#8226; Donna Cupinski, vice chairman</p><p>&#8226; Tony Ryba, treasurer</p><p>&#8226; Tom Woods, secretary</p><p>In addition, resolutions recognizing former authority members Ed Harry and Frank Conyngham for their service were approved.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">The Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_TTL092917arena.jpg</photo0><caption0>The Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre Township. </caption0><photoCredit0>Times Leader file photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Arena board approves refinancing, buys new pickup and appoints officers