NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Board of County Commissioners (the "Board") of the County of Johnston, North Carolina (the "County") will conduct a public hearing on April 6, 2026 concerning the execution and delivery of (a) one or more short-term installment financing contract(s) with one or more third parties and (b) one or more long-term installment financing contract(s) with the Johnston County Finance Corporation (the "Corporation") or one or more third parties (collectively, the "Contracts") to finance all or a portion of the costs of (i) design, acquisition, construction, installation, renovation and equipping of one or more new or used buildings to be used as public school facilities in Johnston County including, without limitation, the design, acquisition, construction, installation and equipping of a new replacement public high school for the existing Clayton High School facility, including acquisition of necessary land, easements and rights-of-way, (ii) site development including, without limitation, demolition of any existing structures, (iii) any and all related utilities relocation and (iv) any other real and/or personal property improvements related to any of the foregoing and (v) any "preliminary expenditures" related to the foregoing (architectural, engineering, surveying, soil testing, reimbursement bond issuance and similar costs that are incurred prior to commencement of acquisition or construction, but excluding land acquisition, site preparation and similar costs incident to commencement of construction) (collectively, the "2026 Projects"). The proposed plan of financing for the 2026 Projects involves (i) the entry by the County into one or more short-term installment financing contract(s) with one or more third parties who will provide the County with up to $134,500,000 pursuant to the terms of the short-term installment financing contract(s), which amounts will be used to provide interim financing for the 2026 Projects pending execution and delivery of one or more long-term financing contract(s) and (ii) the entry by the County into one or more long-term installment financing contract(s) with the Corporation or one or more third parties who will provide the County with up to $134,500,000 pursuant to the terms of said one or more long-term installment financing contract(s), which amounts will be applied to provide long-term financing for the 2026 Projects. The County's obligations to any third party supplying short-term or long-term financing under said one or more Contracts are authorized by North Carolina General Statutes §160A-20, as amended, and will be secured by a security interest in and lien on all or some portion of the 2026 Projects and/or in all or some portion of the real property on which the 2026 Projects are located. The obligations of the County under the Contracts will not be deemed to be a pledge of the faith and credit of the County within the meaning of any constitutional debt limitation and the Contracts will not directly or indirectly or contingently obligate the County to make any payments beyond those appropriated in the sole discretion of the County for any fiscal year in which the Contracts are in effect. No deficiency judgment may be rendered against the County in any action for breach of the Contracts and the taxing power of the County is not and may not be pledged directly or indirectly or contingently to secure any moneys due under the Contracts. PLEASE TAKE NOTICE THAT THE BOARD WILL HOLD A HEARING CONCERNING THE PLAN OF FINANCING AT 10:10 A.M., OR AS SOON THEREAFTER AS THE HEARING CAN BE HELD, ON MONDAY, APRIL 6, 2026, IN the Commissioners' Meeting Room in the Johnston County Courthouse Annex, located at 207 E. JOHNSTON STREET IN SMITHFIELD, NORTH CAROLINA. ANY PERSON WISHING TO COMMENT IN WRITING ON THE PLAN OF FINANCING MAY DO SO EITHER BY DELIVERING SUCH COMMENTS TO THE UNDERSIGNED AT 207 EAST JOHNSTON STREET, SMITHFIELD, NORTH CAROLINA, 27577, WITHIN 5 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE OR BY e-mailING SUCH COMMENTS to THE Clerk to the Board DANA G. CUDDINGTON at DANA.CUDDINGTON@johnstonnc.GOV by Friday, april 3, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. The Chairman will present those comments during the HEARING on the PLAN OF FINANCING. Chad McLamb Director of Finance IPL0323319 Mar 20 2026