photo by: Journal-World

The west side of the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St.

Douglas County commissioners on Wednesday will consider issuing a roughly $55 million bond sale for renovations to the Judicial and Law Enforcement Center and the construction of a new Public Safety Building.

Bonds provide long-term infrastructure funding by borrowing from investors and repaying them over time with interest. As the Journal-World reported, county staff delayed this bond sale – which was originally scheduled for May 7 – because of concerns from the county’s bond pricing group.

The group told the county that not enough institutional investors would be interested in the bonds at that time to secure the best deal for the county. There was also uncertainty surrounding the Federal Open Market Committee meeting that was scheduled to happen on May 7, and there was a chance it could impact interest rates.

According to county staff, the projects will be funded without increasing taxes for residents. In addition to using $55 million in bonds, Douglas County has set aside $25 million in cash reserves for the construction as well.

The new closing date for the bonds will be June 11, according to the memo in the agenda. County staff has previously said the postponement of the bond sale will not affect the timeline of construction.

The JLEC building — which currently houses the District Court, District Attorney’s Office, emergency communications, Sheriff’s Office, IT department, and maintenance staff — will be expanded on its south side to accommodate additional courtrooms, judges’ chambers, conference rooms and other critical facilities. Meanwhile, the Public Safety Building, located close to the Douglas County Jail, will become the central hub for the Sheriff’s Office, 911 dispatch and emergency management operations.

In other business, county commissioners will:

• Consider appointing Adam Zenter as special counsel in the case of the State vs. Justin Royer. This was at the request of Douglas County District Attorney Dakota Loomis, who previously served as Royer’s defense attorney. Loomis and staff estimate that the cost will not exceed $25,000 and funds are available in the District Attorney’s Office budget, and Zenter has agreed to take the case along with the negotiated rate, the memo said.

• Consider executing an agreement to accept funding from the state’s High Risk Rural Roads program, a federal-aid initiative aimed at enhancing safety and reducing crash rates on rural roads. The funds will cover high-friction surface treatment in two locations – the first is on a curve on Route 1055 and the other is to an intersection on Route 1061, as the Journal-World reported.

The total project cost is an estimated $553,000. Funds from the HRRR program will cover 90% of the project cost, and the county will cover the remaining 10%, a memo to commissioners said.

• Consider approving a resolution that instructs the county counselor to start foreclosure proceedings in Douglas County District Court for properties with unpaid taxes that are more than three years overdue.

• Consider awarding a bid contract with Central Salt for the supply of 3,500 tons of de-icing salt at a total cost of $171,465.

The County Commission’s business meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Douglas County Commission meeting room at 1100 Massachusetts St. The meeting will also be available via Zoom.