Barron County reviews Justice Center sally port expansion and debt scenarios; board OKs bidding

Barron County officials on Nov. 4 heard detailed options for borrowing to expand the Justice Center vehicle sally port and add secure professional visitation rooms, a project Sheriff Fitzgerald and Wold Architects said is needed because the current sally port is too small to operate safely.

The presentation by Sean Lentz of municipal adviser Ehlers and designers from Wold Architects described two borrowing scenarios and showed how added debt would affect the county debt levy and typical property owners.

Why it matters: County staff and contractors said the current vehicle sally port “barely fits an ambulance” and has created operational and safety problems; the board voted to allow the county to solicit construction bids so members can weigh costs and financing before final approval.

The presentation: Sean Lentz said Barron County’s legal general‑obligation borrowing capacity is large compared with current debt, noting the statutory 5% limit and a current maximum shown on the county chart as about $361,000,000. “At the end of this year with no additional debt, you’ll have about $25,600,000 in debt outstanding,” Lentz said, adding that the county has “a very strong double‑A rating.” He ran two financing scenarios: one that would add about $5,930,000 to cover the sally port and to refinance a short‑term $2.5 million note, and a second that would bundle the sally port with a projected $3,000,000 HVAC project at the UW‑Barron County campus, increasing the total issue size to roughly $8.96–8.97 million.

On the narrower option, Lentz said the combined new borrowing would raise the county’s annual principal-and-interest levy from just under $2,000,000 to about $2,660,000 once the new debt and refinancings begin to show up in 2026; the presentation translated that change into a mill‑rate example, moving a debt mill rate from about $0.29 per $1,000 of equalized value toward roughly $0.38 in the scenario that includes the sally port. Lentz gave a concrete taxpayer example: on a $250,000 home the added annual cost for debt from the sally port and related refinancing would be about $23.89; adding the UW HVAC project would raise that to about $31.97.

Project needs and design: Sheriff Fitzgerald and Captain Evanson said the existing vehicle sally port is undersized, difficult for squad cars and ambulances to use and limits secure visitation space for probation, parole and attorney meetings. Jake Walensek and Joel Dunning of Wold Architects reviewed plans showing a larger vehicle sally port intended to fit multiple squad cars and four controlled professional visitation rooms arranged with secure queuing areas for male and female visitors.

Geothermal/wellfield uncertainty: Wold partner Jake Walensek said original building prints for a geothermal system could not be located; the designers reported a plan to route or reroute geothermal piping if fieldwork during construction finds lines in the addition footprint and to use tracer wiring and contractor oversight to avoid damage.

Board action: The board voted to approve a resolution authorizing Wold Architects and Engineers to proceed with bid proposals for the Justice Center sally port expansion. The motion (mover: Supervisor Turcotte; seconder: Supervisor Heller) passed by recorded voice vote, 27 yes, 2 absent. County staff said the vote authorizes bidding only; the board will review bid tabulations and make any final funding decision later.

What happens next: County staff and Wold will accept construction bids and return to the board with results and a recommended financing plan. Ehlers and county finance staff said any new debt would likely be sold in 2025 with first payments beginning in 2026; prepayment terms presented would allow penalty‑free prepayment in the 8–10 year range on a 20‑year structure.

Ending: The board directed staff to proceed with bidding; members and staff said they expect the next step to be a public report when bids are opened and financing options are finalized.