County officials discussed the scope and dollar amount for a planned certificates-of-obligation issuance set for Sept. 29 and asked staff to produce a prioritized project list with cost estimates. The judge said the hospital bond issue will be about $14,900,000 and noted that the county-side plan had been discussed at $10,000,000 but that project totals exceed that amount. Chris and Avery told the court the full prioritized list — with refined estimates and the removal of ineligible items — will be prepared for discussion on Monday so bond counsel can complete required paperwork. Avery said earlier aggregated estimates that included an ineligible $3,000,000 remodel for a privately leased building (referred to as the 311/3-11 remodel) put totals near $15 million but that removing that item would reduce the county-side demand to around $12 million. Staff said they will refine and prioritize high- and medium-priority projects with defined scopes and figures and bring that list back to court on Monday so the county’s bond advisors can finish the questionnaire due on Sept. 10. Commissioners also discussed the budget drawdown the county has planned for next year and the estimated annual debt-service impact of adding $3 million to $4 million more debt; staff provided ballpark annual debt-service figures to aid the court’s decision. The court agreed to place a definitive CO amount on the Monday agenda after staff supply refined estimates and priorities.
