Members of the Mississippi County Quorum Court are considering participation in a low-interest loan program with the United States Department of Agriculture to fund its possible upcoming new courthouse construction.
The new courthouse project is in the early, theoretical stages. Before such a project could even begin, a public vote would be required to approve the consolidation of two county seats into one, as well as to approve a location for the new county seat and funding options for the new facility.
Justices Michael White, Barry Ball and Rick Ash met this week with Justin Ladd, an area USDA specialist, to discuss the department's low interest loan program. The court has said it wants to spend around $10 million on the new courthouse, but results from a recent survey by Allison Architects of the county's needs showed a cost of approximately $20 million.
If the county borrows $20 million from the USDA at a fixed rate of 3.5 percent, payments could be $77,600 a month or $931,200 for a 40-year term. For a loan of $15 million on a pared-down plan, payments would be $58,000 a month or $698,000 a year for the same 40-year term.
Participation in the program requires that the county be unable to afford payments on traditional financing, and must be "construction financing," which may come at a lower interest rate than the final fixed one. Included in the loan would be construction costs, a contingency fund, architect and legal fees, as well as some furnishings and equipment.
Justices were told the county can begin the loan application process without making any commitments, and withdraw right up until the time the money is allocated and/or spent.
"We've just been finding out what we want and what it's going to cost and where we can put it, and then we can go to the voters," said White, who is heading up the project. "If we thought the citizens would be willing to pass a tax, we could get more short-term financing with a bank or other lender, but if we're not so sure it might be better to go with this plan. We want to come up with the best option -- one location, one building, one big proposition and then bring it to a vote. We're just going to give our voters our best option and see if they want it."
The next step in the process, White said, is making revisions to the initial plan for the facility presented by Allison Architects -- to get an updated cost estimate.
sspears@blythevillecourier.com