Floyd County law enforcement center groundbreaking getting close

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Almost exactly a year and a half after voters approved a bond referendum to pay for it, the Floyd County supervisors are getting ready to break ground on the county’s new law enforcement center.

Supervisors held a special meeting Monday to approve a resolution to issue the remaining bonds for the project, which will include a new building with a county jail and sheriff’s offices, as well as updates to the county courthouse.

The board issued $6.01 million worth of bonds for the project last year. On Monday, the supervisors authorized the process to issue the remaining $7.49 million in general obligation bonds for the $13.5 million total that was approved by voters on May 1, 2018.

Included in the proceeds of the new issue will be about $1.463 million in reoffering premium, which is additional money the county will receive by offering to pay a premium to bond holders above the regular interest rate.

The effect is that the county will get more money to pay for its project, but will also pay more interest payments on the bonds over their 19-year maturity.

The supervisors have worked to come up with additional funding since bids for the project came in significantly higher than initial estimates.

In addition to the $1.463 million additional in bond premium, the county also intends to dip into its general fund reserves by about $2.5 million and look for ways to shave several hundred thousand dollars from the price of the project and to find several hundred thousands dollars in additional funding.

At the meeting Monday, Supervisor Linda Tjaden said they are at a point where they can begin planning for an official groundbreaking ceremony, possibly for next week.

“I just wanted to let you guys know that we’re trying to organize that,” Tjaden said.

“We have to really think about everybody who’s had any assistance in getting this thing going, even on committees early on,” she said. “We know that not everyone is going to be able to make it, but I want to make sure that everybody is recognized for their participation.

“This is huge,” Tjaden said.

Tjaden said she is also continuing to explore the possibility of relocating some or all courthouse offices to the 500 N. Grand building to allow contractors unrestricted access to the courthouse for update projects.

She said she will have more information on possible cost savings after a meeting with the county’s construction manager and contractors this Thursday.

Also at the meeting Monday, the supervisors:

• Discussed a partial property tax rebate incentive being sought by Croell Inc. for an 80,000 square foot cement storage building project underway on its property in the SW Bypass Urban Renewal Area, a joint tax increment financing (TIF) district managed by the county and by Charles City. One wrinkle is that the Croell project is located in an unincorporated part of the TIF district, meaning city taxes would not be involved in the rebate. The city and county are conferring with the district’s bonding attorney on how to proceed.

• Discussed a situation with the courthouse fire alarm system that results in it sometimes not operating correctly in sending a message to the dispatch center. Auditor Gloria Carr said there are other concerns as well and she has asked that the topic be discussed at the next Floyd County Communications Board meeting on Nov. 7.