Budget questions push back jail project bidding

By KEVIN YOUNG

Plans to put contract work our for bidding on the new Barren County jail will be temporarily pushed back to allow the county more time to seek funding for the project.

County Judge-Executive Davie Greer was preparing to announce dates for contract bidding when it became apparent that there were issues with some of the financial schedules going forward.

Greer said she will meet first thing Monday morning with Hilliard-Lyons financial consultant Chip Sutherland, representatives from architectural firm JKS Architects and Engineers, county treasurer Denise Riddle and the Department of Corrections to determine what the county can do next.

“Chip (Sutherland) was taking things from the budget that weren’t right. Some of the pay schedules with the architect didn’t match up how they needed to,” Greer said.

She said one of the options she is pursuing is bond funding from the federal stimulus package. The Recovery Zone Facility Bonds have bond capacity for $15 billion in local government facility construction nationwide, including some $145.6 million allotted to Kentucky.

“This is a substantial cost savings if we can get it,” she said. “We would receive the bond funding, then pay them back later. So it’s a win-win.”

According to the Kentucky Department of Treasury Web site, these bonds are designed to provide tax incentives for state and local governmental borrowings to promote job creation and economic recovery, targeted to areas particularly affected by employment declines.

During Tuesday’s fiscal court meeting, Magistrate Tommy Matthews proposed a referendum to the May 2010 ballot that would increase property taxes by five cents per $100 assessed value to help pay for the jail. The court approved the measure seven to one, with Greer voting no, to place it on the ballot, but after reviewing the matter, County Attorney Jeff Sharp said it was not allowable under Kentucky statutes.

“After I researched it, I found that the fiscal court has no authority or standing to do what it did, “ he said. “(Matthews) brought that up at the end of the meeting without consulting with me or anyone else, so I wasn’t able to check into its legality before he did it.”

Sharp said there is a certain way for citizen groups to petition to place a similar referendum on the ballot if there is enough public support.

“Or, when the fiscal court sets the tax rates for next year, they can take the four percent (increase) that is allowed, or they could take more than the four percent and citizens could petition to reject what the fiscal court does,” he said.

Specifications for the new jail site, at 200 Samson St., have been approved by the Kentucky Department of Corrections so the next steps will be construction after the finances are finalized, Greer said. The county voted in July to purchase the site for $350,000.

Acting Jailer Matt Mutter said there have been several tests conducted at the site in preparation for construction to begin.

“The last thing I heard, the next step was drilling for a geothermal system check,” he said. “They need to test the soil to make sure it will sustain the geothermal system they want to install.

The county government voted in December to replace the current, 36-year-old jail after the Department of Corrections deemed it unsafe due to the smoke evacuation system not meeting state standards.

The 20-cell maximum security wing that failed the smoke test was later shut down and some prisoners were relocated to other jails.

Greer said some corrections officials have informed her they will likely shut down the jail if a new one is not built.

“I still think we can pay for it, but it will be close. I’m working hard to find all the money I can get and I am calling everyone I know to get it,” she said.