County explains courthouse renovation, funding

An outcry from the public led to a joint session of the Pulaski County Commissioners and County Council Monday evening. 
The meeting regarding the proposed courthouse renovation and addition was mainly for the benefit of the public, although a majority of those who were in the audience were county employees or local candidates.
During the presentation Pulaski County Maintenance Director Jeff Johnston opened the meeting explaining how the project began three years ago. 
He said since then there have been several studies or reviews done on the building including the conditions of the exterior of the courthouse, the air quality inside the building, how Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant the building is and a site review.
Johnston said the county has looked at different options including alternate existing locations, construction on current sites and new buildings on other sites. Each option is not as feasible as the current plan. 
Engineers from two different companies talked with those in the audience regarding the problems they have found. Each gave their opinion of the situation including an assessment of the exterior and the interior of the building. Some of the areas that were assessed were photographed by a drone and gave a clearer picture of what work needs to be done. 
Work includes repairing the outside of the building; fixing the concrete steps; securing of the perimeter wall; securing the attic framing structure; making the building ADA compliant; and creating a single-point entry. 
The proposed addition would include the single-point entry, a meeting room that can be closed off from the courthouse, an ADA-compliant entry and additional offices. 
After the audience was given a detailed picture of what needs to be addressed, they were told how the county can fund the project. 
Umbaugh Executive Partner and CPA Todd Samuelson gave an idea of what kind of impact this type of project would have on taxes. Umbaugh specializes in assisting public entities. 
For a county to fund this type of project they need to consider how much the county debt limit is and property taxes would be used to repay the financing. Samuelson said it would not impact income taxes. 
Samuelson broke down the total budget. The new addition is estimated at $2.8 million; the structural repairs to the existing courthouse are estimated at $1.1 million; courtyard repair could be about $120,000; attic repairs are about $75,000; and the other renovations beyond the structural repairs are estimated to cost $2.5 million. The total would be  less than $6.6 million. 
Additional costs include contingencies and soft construction costs  for $1.65 million. Costs of financing could be about $200,000. Underwriter and other administrative costs were also estimated for a total project budget of $8.6 million. 
After Samuelson gave an idea of how much the project will cost, he translated the numbers into how much it will impact the taxes. He estimated that the county would need to come up with about $850,000 per year to repay the bond in 15 years. 
Samuelson said based on the current market rates and other variables, the impact on the tax rate will be about 5 cents.
He used the example that if a home is valued at $92,300, which is the average homestead value in Pulaski County, there would be a tax increase of $15.32 per year. He estimated the impact per 100 acres of farm ground would be $115.92. A company that is valued at $1 million would see an impact of $552 per year. 
At the end of the meeting, the audience was given a chance to ask questions.