Bartholomew County Council members have unanimously approved two measures to help finance a new county highway garage.
The council has authorized selling up to $6 million in bonds and designating that the money be used to construct and equip the new garage.
Council member Bill Lentz emphasized during last week’s county council meeting that borrowing the money for the new garage will not result in new taxes.
The facility, which will be built on an 11.25-acre farm site off East 25th Street next to the Clay Township Fire Department, will replace the 66-year-old current highway garage at State Street and Gladstone Avenue in Columbus.
It could take up to three months to determine how much the facility will cost and how much interest will be paid, council members said.
Bartholomew County commissioners authorized an engineering and architectural firm to begin the schematic design phase of the garage three weeks ago.
Schematic design is the first step in the architectural design process. Next will come a more detailed design development phase, followed by a third stage that produces highly-detailed drawings suitable for use by construction bidders.
After bids are received and evaluated, county officials will know the actual cost for the highway garage, council member Chris Ogle said.
The county council needs to know those costs at least one week before Feb. 19, which is the tentative sale date for the bonds, council president Mark Gorbett said.
That will give the council time to consider using money from other sources, including reserve or Rainy Day funds, to lower the bond as low as $4 million, Ogle said.
Gorbett said he wants assurances the county won’t be hit by unexpected expenses before he supports using reserve funds.
Although the New York City-based “S&P Global” will be asked to rate the bonds, Bartholomew County government should receive a strong A-plus rating, said Caitlin Cheek, a senior consultant with H.J. Umbaugh and Associates of Indianapolis.
That’s because the bonds being issued will be backed by income tax revenue, said Cheek, whose firm advises the council on financial matters.
Once the rating is provided, Umbaugh personnel will begin marketing the bonds to find the most affordable interest rates, Cheek said.
Last July, the commissioners said they hoped groundbreaking could take place as early as next March. If that happens, it might allow the highway department and its 22 employees to move into the building by the end of next year, Kleinhenz said.
Before the bidding phase, Taylor Brothers Construction Co. staff members will break down various components into several individual projects, Kleinhenz said.
By allowing several smaller companies to bid on each section, overall construction costs can be reduced significantly, Kleinhenz said.
Although the city of Columbus has expressed interest in purchasing the current highway garage, city officials want a two-phase study to determine if the State Street building might have contamination issues, county attorney Grant Tucker said.
In early July, Kleinhenz said the city is considering the property for several possible uses, including a bus terminal or a storage facility.
