Allegany County’s Committee of the Whole agreed July 2 to move ahead with permitting and bidding for a proposed Department of Public Works (DPW) shop and to prepare for short-term borrowing while final costs are refined.

The decision came after staff described a sequence of steps the county will take: secure a building permit (which staff said would lock the project into the existing building code), complete design changes if required, put the project out to bid, and—after award—seek a bond anticipation note (BAN) as short-term financing before converting to a long-term bond.

The move matters because the building permit will “lock you into the current code,” staff told the committee; staff later reported the permit is valid for up to two years, which would give the county time to start construction under the existing code. County Treasurer Terry advised against issuing a long-term bond before short-term borrowing, saying, “I would never recommend going out for a bond right off the bat. You would always want to do short term borrowing first before you did long term borrowing because then you're only borrowing what was actually spent.”

Staff described the expected sequence and timing: permit review and issuance in roughly five to six weeks if no major changes are required; several weeks to adjust plans if the reviewer identifies changes; a five-week bidding period; award and then BAN financing. County staff said the BAN preparation and approvals would take a minimum of about two months once started, with the BAN structured to be converted later to a long-term bond.

Officials and board members discussed the likely budget impacts. Staff said about $1 million already has been authorized and used for preliminary work; the board previously adopted a resolution authorizing up to $8 million for preliminary borrowing if needed. County staff estimated an eventual long-term bond could be on the order of $33 million, and noted prior county bonds of $24 million carried annual payments near $1.6 million. The treasurer said BAN payments are interest-only at first and lower than the eventual bond payments. Board member Mike said moving forward was necessary because project costs will rise if delayed: “Unfortunately, this is actually a necessity … The cost is only gonna go up.”

Concerns about trade-offs surfaced. Several board members cautioned that committing to BAN/bond payments will constrain fund balance and could require turning down other projects or bundling additional big projects (third-floor renovation, jail repairs, real estate acquisitions, employment and training facilities) into the same bond conversation. One member warned that pursuing everything now would “stop you from doing some of these other things.”

The committee did not take a formal roll-call vote. The chair reported no significant opposition; staff interpreted the discussion as a consensus direction to proceed with permitting, the planned bid schedule, and preparing the BAN process and asked the treasurer and fiscal advisers to return with firm estimates and an exact borrowing request for board approval.

Next steps identified at the meeting: obtain the building permit, complete any required plan revisions, advertise and hold the bid period (staff estimated roughly three months from permit to award under the current timetable), finalize cash-flow needs during construction, and then present a BAN resolution to the board once the bid amounts and borrowing need are known. Staff also said they will provide BAN interest estimates for the FY2026 budget process and continue discussions about whether to fold other large projects into the borrowing plan.

The record shows staff and several board members emphasized the distinction between discussion, staff direction and formal action: the committee directed staff to continue permitting and procurement steps and to prepare borrowing options, but the board will need a later formal resolution to authorize any BAN or bond issuance.