OTTAWA — A bond counselor for Franklin County has recommended that the county dust off its county public building commission to build and pay for a $4 million juvenile detention center. Although the county has had a public building commission for four years, it has never used it, but given bond interest rates, timetables and other factors in comparison to issuing general-obligation bonds, it is the best option for paying for a new center, said Tom Kaleko, a counselor for Springsted. The county wants to buy the Neosho County Community College campus at Second and Beech after the college moves to its new campus on K-68 in eastern Ottawa. An architect has offered a proposal to build a new specially-built detention center at the southwest corner of the college building, which would be used for sheriff’s department and other departments’ administrative offices. Under Kaleko’s proposal, the public building commission, which has been would buy the site and build the new center, then sell it to the county over 20 to 30 years through a lease-purchase agreement. The county would pay a lease rate equal to rate for paying off the bonds, he said. The county could use rental income it receives from the county annex to help pay off the detention center bonds. If the county were to issue general-obligation bonds, they would have to put the issue to voters. The bonds could be issued by a public building commission unless enough voters signed a protest petition — approximately 800 signatures. In any case, an election couldn’t be scheduled for November; it would require a special election, county administrator Lisa Johnson said. Presently the county commissioners are the only members of the public building commission.
Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2:30 p.m.
