St. Joseph County Council approves $7.4 million in bonds to fund satellite highway garage

The St. Joseph County Council on Feb. 14 voted 9-0 to approve two linked ordinances: bill 121-24, authorizing up to $7,400,000 in general obligation bonds, and bill 122-24, appropriating the bond proceeds to build a satellite highway garage and related site work near Alexander Drive.

Bond counsel Catherine Fanello, of the Indianapolis law firm Dinsmore & Shohl, opened the required second public hearing and said the bond ordinance “did require 2 public hearings” and that the bonds are “in an amount not to exceed 7,400,000.” She told the council the maximum term would be seven years and that estimated interest rates were between 4.5% and 5.5%, with an estimated total interest cost of about $1,839,750. Fanello said the information in her presentation came from the county’s municipal advisor, Steve Dalton.

The bond counsel described the project the bonds would finance as including…