Bonds for jail project OK'd

The county is ready to sell bonds for the Jay County Jail expansion with the annual cost to property taxpayers being around $35.

The Jay County Commissioners gave the nod to issue bonds totaling $10 million for an addition and renovation of the jail, which is expected to be completed by late 2010.

About $7.4 million of that is expected to go toward construction costs. The remainder will go for engineering fees and bond payments during the construction period.

The bond will increase property taxes by about $36.34 per year, which is a major decrease from the October estimate of $54.14.

The major savings came from the county's A-plus credit rating from Standard and Poors, which knocked down interest rates to low levels, saving about $330,000 over the term of the loan.

"They were very impressed," said financial consultant Greg Guerrettaz of Standard and Poors' impression of the county. "You have a very good handle on your finances.

"You're a small county with no debt," he said. "The A-plus rating really benefits the taxpayers."

Guerrettaz presented the commissioners with a breakdown, at the request of commissioner Faron Parr, of the impact of a $100,000 difference in construction costs. The commissioners were concerned when initial bids for the project came in nearly $900,000 over estimates.

But Guerrettaz's analysis shows the difference between $7.3 million and $7.4 million to the taxpayer is only 38 cents per year.

"We were looking at if we knocked $100,000, $200,000 thousand off," Parr said.

"It's very, very minimal as far as I'm concerned," Guerrettaz said.

"Most people fixate on construction costs," said Jeff Badders of SchenkelShultz. "The interested rates are hugely important. The interest rate can make (a) $10 to $20 difference."

"It's nice to know that we could jump it $100,000 one way or the other and it's only going to change it 38 cents or so," Parr said.

"It's not going to cost the taxpayer hardly anything," said commissioner Milo Miller Jr.

Guerrettaz advised the commissioners to not sacrifice on the "institutional quality" of the jail to save money, since he has seen other facilities suffer in the long run when the owners tried to cut costs. The current jail is one such example, which has experienced problems as it aged due to cost-cutting measures made by the county during its construction in the 1980s.

The commissioners decided to follow that advice and chose to take the $7.4 million for construction in the bonds.

The commissioners also discussed whether to award a bid this morning, but were advised by Badders that there was no rush. Weigand Construction Inc., Fort Wayne, was the apparent low bidder and has been in talks with Badders.

Although Badders said there was no reason not to accept their bid, the commissioners held off on any official action.

Also, after reviewing some new conceptual drawings of the expansion, Miller suggested that Badders look into options to dress up the Main Street side of the building to mesh with the historic downtown. SchenkelShultz originally planned to construct a façade to match the buildings east of the site, but it was one of the first options likely to be scrapped to cut down on costs.

Miller suggested, however, that from the conceptual drawings that the jail looks like "a box with a building up against it."

"We need to do something with that even if it's out of the infrastructure money," Miller said. Miller also is a member of the Portland Historic Preservation Commission, which oversees changes to the city's downtown area for appropriateness.

Commissioner Jim Zimmerman disagreed.

"(People) are going to drive by it and not think anything of it," Zimmerman said of the jail after some time passes after its completion.

"You're used to looking at barns," Miller said, stating he doesn't want the jail to look like a pole barn on Main Street in a dig at Zimmerman, who is a farmer.

"I'm used to building things out of my own money," Zimmerman cut back. "I think it if it adds $100,000 or more we've got to start watching what we're spending."

Miller said he wants to try to do his best to work with the historic preservation committee with the jail, since they have input on renovations or construction within their district.

"I just think it needs to look a little dressier than it does right there," Miller said.

Badders said his team can look into working with some things to try to improve the look of the Main Street side, whether it be arrangement of lights or vents or other pieces of the building.

Zimmerman agreed that they should try to work with the historic preservation committee, but took a point on where he stands.

"The final decision comes right here," he said of himself and his fellow commissioners.[[In-content Ad]]