ONB BUILDING
The recently purchased Old National Bank building on Main in Washington was the focus of a joint Daviess County Council and Commissioners meeting on Wednesday.
Because of state mandates for adding new offices and retaining documents in storage the courthouse has run out of space and there is need for a 3rd court room, and the Daviess County Health Department, Community Corrections, and Extension Offices are already housed in other buildings. Since the construction of a new courthouse annex would be $20 million or more, officials at looking at the Old National building.
Jonathan LaMar of LaMar Architects and Design addressed the elected officials and projected the cost of refitting building at between $4.6 million and $5.3 million. The building would include offices for the Assessor, Auditor, Treasurer, and Recorder’s offices along with a combined 9-1-1 dispatch center and a public meeting room for the Council and Commissioners. The idea is that the Extension Office would relocate to a new 4-H Center and Community Corrections could occupy some of the vacated space in the courthouse. The Council and Commissioner also discussed other design options but felt they needed soil samples to determine the viability of a basement area before deciding in which direction to proceed.
BOND PAYMENTS
At a regular Daviess County Council meeting on Wednesday the council heard information from Jason Semler of financial consultants Umbaugh and Associates about paying off several bond issues before maturity. Semler told the Council that repaying the bonds early, some carrying a 6.75% interest rate would save the county $520,000 over the next four years. But Semler also noted that repaying the bonds would lower the county’s cash balance over the time frame. After weighing the options, the Council directed Semler to proceed with the bond buy-back.