After the counties bond counsel went over the numbers concerning the bonds and what interest rate will be paid, it appears to be great news for the county. They were able to lock in an interest rate of 1.88%, which according to County Commission Chair Dan Deming is much better then the 2.4% projected earlier.

Kevin Cowen with Gillmore-Bell who is the bond counsel for the county says with sales tax projections and other factors, the county could be in a position to pay the entire jail project off much sooner then the 10-years presented to voters.

The county received approval from voters last month to finance of the jail with a one half precent sales tax. That will also include other related projects at a cost of 28-million, 900-thousand dollars.

The county also approved hiring J-E Dunn for construction management services for the jail. County Administrator Gary Meagher says this company was picked because of their expertise on these kinds of projects. They have worked on the construction of 80-other correctional facilities. They are also good at working to bring in local contractors and sub-contractors to work on these types of projects.