Plans are moving ahead to issue bonds for the expansion of the Pulaski County Justice Center, while county officials continue discussing the planned renovation of the courthouse.
An ordinance allowing the issuance of up to almost $5.6 million in general obligation bonds for the Justice Center was presented to the county council Monday. The hope is that the actual project cost will be a million less than that.
The ordinance will be up for the council’s final approval during its joint session with the county commissioners next month, while the county commissioners will be asked to pass a resolution of their own. Jason Semler with accounting firm Baker Tilly said that would result in a property tax increase of about three-and-a-half cents per $100 of assessed valuation.
The renovation of the historic courthouse would be funded by a separate bond using the more complicated lease-rental process. That’s where ownership of the building is transferred to a legally-separate building corporation and leased back by the county.
But there are still some questions about what exactly that project should look like. During a walk-through Monday, a project architect and engineer believed the building’s moisture issues and other problems could be addressed relatively easily, according to project liaison Nathan Origer. But Council Member Tim Overmyer was concerned that there still wouldn’t be enough room for all the county offices, if the county were to vacate the Annex Building on Riverside Drive.
Council Member Rudy DeSabatine also disputed the idea that all of the offices would have to move out of the courthouse to allow construction to take place. The county commissioners have yet to approve a construction manager contract for the courthouse project.
