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Logan County Board Finance
Committee finds potential funding for jail remodel without borrowing
[March 12, 2025]
Tuesday, March 11th the Logan County Board Finance
Committee met at the Logan County Courthouse for the monthly
committee meeting. The members present for the meeting were
chairperson Kathy Schmidt, Vice chair Joseph Kuhlman and Lance
Conahan. Committee members not present were Julie Bobell and Keenan
Leesman. In addition there were several regular board members on
hand including Board Char JR Glenn, Dale Nelson, Bob Sanders, Gil
Turner, and Hannah Fitzpatrick. Others in attendance from the county
were Treasurer Penny Thomas, Sheriff Mark Landers with other members
of the sheriff department and Vic Martinek representing Logan County
EMA.
Among the topics discussed was the funding for the
Logan County Jail expansion project. In February it was estimated
that the board needed a total of approximately $6.8 million to fund
the project plan as presented. To date, they were approximately $1
million short of that amount.
The first bit of news the committee heard was that there was a
possibility if not a probably of saving significant funds on the
sliding jail doors in the building. According to Landers, there are
18 doors that slide but do not lock properly. He had talked with a
jail door company that had indicated that the doors may not have to
be replaced, just cleaned really well. Landers said the people he
has talked to say they do a lot of doors and they have often been
able to save an existing door by taking it apart and cleaning it
thoroughly, particularly the locking mechanism.
The company had quoted just over $39,000 to clean all the doors.
Landers said that there was no guarantee that the cleaning would
solve the problem, though the company felt there was a very good
chance that it could. Landers said the quote was for cleaning only
and if the company discovers parts are needed to make the doors
workable that would be at an additional cost.
The total cost of the restoration plan was stated as being up to
$6.2 million on Tuesday night. The committee also noted that the
range of cash needed to meet that figure was between $600,000 and
$1.2 million.
Next the committee heard from Kevin Wills of Bernardi Securities
about taking out bonds to cover the gap in the plan.
Before Wills began, Glenn said that the board knew
that they were short on the funding. Board member Bob Sanders had
suggested previously that the county might take out a bond and
utilize fees paid by the Top Hat Wind Farm to pay the annual
payments.
Sanders added to that saying that Top Hat is committing $100,000
annually to be paid to the county, specifically for the Sheriff
department. If the bond payment could be paid by that funding then
the problem would be solved.
Wills went through several pages of introduction about himself, his
company, and the mechanics behind issuing bonds, which is just
another version of a loan. Wills indicated that it was possible to
secure a bond for the amount of money the county would have
available from Top Hat.
After Wills was finished and had left the building, Nelson said that
he had done some checking on the ARPA (American Recover Plan Act)
funds that are unexpended by the county. He said those funds had
been earmarked by the county with money going to the broadband
internet project. He said that he had verified that to date the
county has not signed anything with WANRack for the broadband
project. He said that he would like to consider taking that money
back from the broadband project and putting it into the jail.
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Treasurer Penny Thomas said that
was not possible, because the county had to file its committed
plan to the grant funding source by the end of December 2024 and
it did. Therefore, the funding is in place and can’t be changed.
Nelson said he had to wonder if maybe it could be changed, and
the only way to know would be to ask. He suggested that the
county ask. Glenn asked if Newson was suggesting re-distributing
the funding or omit broadband. Nelson said both. Nelson wanted
to move the $600,000 from the broadband designation to the jail,
and perhaps move all the remaining funds in the ARPA grant into
the jail project.
Glenn said that the county had made a verbal commitment to
WANRack, but Nelson said nothing had been signed. Glenn said
still, it could be that WANRack would reach out any day and say
they were ready to start, then the county would be in a jam.
In the meantime, Lance Conahan was looking at another
funding source. He said if the county were to need only the lower
amount of $600,000 it had that much in CD’s from the Community
Benefit Fund. Cresco Labs has committed to paying the county
quarterly donations that have been going into the Community Benefit
Fund. Conahan suggested that the CD’s be used as well as other
funding from Cresco for the Community Benefit fund. Then, the dollar
figure could be matched to the full $6.2 million. Then, if other
funding became available for the jail, the money taken from the
Community Fund could be paid back.
There was an additional suggestion that the county
could consider the project fully funded with the community benefits
fund, but that the community money would be the last money sourced.
Therefore what the county has on hand from other sources would be
used first, the CBF would be used last, and then only if other
funding wasn’t found.
Thomas also said that the county’s ARPA funds are drawing interest
which is unrestricted cash. That interest could also be
incorporated.
Glenn then did a quick rundown. If the county used $200,000 from
that interest, $400,000 from Top Hat payments, and $600,000 from the
Community Fund that would equal the top amount needed or $1.2
million.
Glenn suggested that the committee bring this solution to the full
board for their consideration.
Gill Turner closed the conversation saying that he felt very good
about the outcome of the committee meeting. He said it felt good to
know the county could come up with the money without borrowing.
The Logan County Board Workshop meeting will be held this evening
(Thursday, March 13th) at 6 p.m. at the Logan County Courthouse
first floor courtroom.
[Nila Smith] |
