The Sherburne County Board last week agreed to move ahead with the sale of $39,210,000 in General Obligation Capital Improvement Plan Bonds to pay for the Government Center Expansion Project.

 

The 25-year bond carries an estimated interest rate of 3.39%. Debt service payments will begin in February, 2018 and continue until February, 2042, with an average payment of $2.718 million a year.

 

The actual cost of the expansion project is $59 million. Administrator Steve Taylor said the county is paying about $22 million of the cost in cash to lower the bond amount. That money comes from savings over the past 11 years from the time the board first considered expanding. There is also jail revenue, solid waste unrestricted funds and year-end savings from 2015 and 2016.

 

Proposals for the sale of the bonds is set to take place May 15, with the board’s final acceptance resolution taking place at the May 16 board meeting.

 

At a finance workshop last week, Jessica Green of Northland Securities said the county’s annual debt service will actually decrease $32,047 because of two existing debts that will retire soon.

 

The county will also gain $48,000 a year in additional revenues through leasing opportunities when the expansion is completed. Taylor said a lease with Sherburne Soil & Water Conservation District will bring in $15,600 a year. The Dept. of Motor Vehicles will pay $17,280 a year. Tri-Cap will pay $1,000 and the county will save another $14,000 a year when the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) off-site lease is eliminated.

 

As part of Tuesday’s action, the board also approved a service agreement with Northland Securities to assist with the sale of the bonds at a total cost of $61,025.