Okeechobee County commission approves $15 million line of credit for first phase of jail construction

Posted 5/13/21

Okeechobee County Commissioners voted Thursday to obtain a Line of Credit Banking Services from PNC.

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Okeechobee County commission approves $15 million line of credit for first phase of jail construction

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OKEECHOBEE – Okeechobee County Commissioners voted Thursday to obtain a Line of Credit Banking Services from PNC for the first construction of phase of the Okeechobee County Jail Expansion Project, in an amount not to exceed $15,000,000.

Commission Chair Terry Burroughs noted the county jail is crumbling. He said the costs of financing and construction are just going to go up.’

“The longer we put this off, the worse it gets,” he said.

Commissioner Kelly Owens voted against the motion. She noted the county plans to ask the voters to approve a tax to pay for the jail. If referendum is unsuccessful, how will they pay back the loan, she asked. If the referendum fails, the loan repayment would have to come from sales tax, which would leave less funding for other services, she was advised.

According to the staff report, on March 25, 2021, the Board of County Commissioners, discussed the options of financing and phasing of the Okeechobee County Jail Expansion Project to continue moving forward with the project. Phase I of the project was presented by Commissioner Hazellief that consists of, building proposed Housing Pod “C”, repair of plumbing in the existing kitchen, demolition of existing Pod and completing portions of the site work as required for an estimated cost of $15,000,000.

If additional funds are available, the demolition of the existing housing pod would be in preparation of Phase II that consists of the construction of the proposed kitchen and laundry building.

Based on the information provided to the board, Commissioner David Hazellief and staff worked with the county’s financial advisor PFM, to discuss how to move forward with the project and the potential for financing of Phase 1. The board approved PFM to move forward with the solicitation of a line of credit in the amount of $15,000,000.

On March 30, 2021, the commissioners advertised for banking services from financial institutions for a non-bank qualified, tax-exempt, line of credit with a fixed and/or variable rate option in an amount not to exceed $15,000,000. Funds are to provide the county with interim funding to pay costs related to the construction and renovation of its jail facilities. The line of credit will be secured by the county’s covenant to budget and appropriate from legally available non-ad valorem revenues.

On April 29, 2021, the County received three bids from financial institutions: Trust Bank, PNC Bank, and Key Government Finance, Inc.

line of credit, jail, Okeechobee

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