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November 19, 2009

New jail to be paid off ahead of schedule

By BOB GIBBINS



The bonds for construction of the Cherokee County Detention Center will be paid off two years ahead of schedule, following action Wednesday by the Cherokee County Governmental Building Authority.

The CCGBA voted to send a letter to the Bank of Oklahoma, the trustee bank, notifying the institution of the intent to make the 2013 and 2014 bond payments now.

The two payments total $1,825,000.

The 2013 payment is $895,000, and the 2014 payment is $930,000.

“We’ve been collecting the sales tax since it went into effect,” said Hubbard, the District 1 county commissioner. “We collected it for a year or better before the jail was in operation, so we didn’t have to spend any of it for operation.”

Those monies will allow the jail facility to be paid off in eight years, instead of the original 10 years.

The action will leave the county with three years of payments, Hubbard said.

Hubbard and fellow Commissioners Mike Ballard and Bobby Botts said the three-quarter-cent sales tax approved by the voters will be reduced after the detention center is paid for.

Hubbard said Wednesday he believes it will take a half cent to operate the 150-bed jail, and that would allow for a quarter cent to be taken off the county sales tax.

Board members also heard a report from CCDC Administrator Loyd Bickel that 84 inmates were in jail Wednesday morning. Five are women and three of the 84 have immigration holds. Bickel also said 12-14 are being held for transport to the Department of Corrections.

Three inmates were transported to the DOC Tuesday.

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