Pike County supervisors appear to be considering the lease-purchase route for building and financing a new jail in what’s bound to be a long-term project that will come with tax increases.
The board signed a letter of intent Tuesday to “acquire, construct, finance and equip a law enforcement and criminal justice facility.”
The move will allow the county to seek out a nonprofit agency to finance construction of the facility and lease it to the county.
After the loans are repaid over a period of about 20 years, the nonprofit — most likely a quasi-governmental agency such as a planning and development district — would deed the property to the county.
“This allows you to look at lease-purchase provisions in the law,” board attorney Wane Dowdy explained.
The action doesn’t obligate the county financially to the project, officials noted.
“We’re not tied into anything on this,” board president Lee Fortenberry said.
Last year supervisors signed an agreement with a consultant who would review finances and determine how much the county could afford to spend and which method of financing — using general obligation bonds or entering into a lease-purchase agreement — would be the best option.
Either financing method is likely to come with tax increase, but officials cited some advantages with a lease-purchase agreement.
For one, issuing debt in the form of a general obligation bond would affect the county’s borrowing capacity. Plus, with a lease purchase agreement, supervisors could choose their own contractor and bypass the bid process.
The need for a new jail became a frequently discussed topic among the board last year. The discussions initially centered around the lack of a new juvenile detention center, particularly in the wake of high-profile violent crimes involving young offenders and the former youth court judge’s acknowledgement that bed space in out-of-town facilities was difficult to obtain.
However, county officials said the condition of the frequently overcrowded 30-year-old jail was a bigger priority.
With the cost of either facility in the tens of millions, the county can only afford one project at the moment.
Supervisors have in the past dismissed the notion of converting the existing jail into a juvenile detention facility, saying the facility would cost too much to renovate.
Supervisor Jake Gazzo said this step in the process will eventually lead to a ballpark figure for a new jail.
“This will let us know how much it will cost,” he said.
In a related matter, the board took no action following an executive session that lasted about 20 minutes to discuss security issues.
