Commission approves resolution to borrow $6 million

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Shelby County is set to borrow $6 million in order to fund capital improvement projects.

The Shelby County Commission approved a resolution authorizing a limited obligation warrant at its Dec. 14 meeting. The warrant will be paid for through the county’s lodging tax revenues, according to the resolution.

The borrowed amount will go toward the cost of road, bike lane and other public improvement projects at Oak Mountain State Park, infrastructure improvements at American Village, improvements to Cahaba River Park and other locations in the county.

“This is one component of where we will actually be financing-wise,” said County Manager Alex Dudchock. “Sometime between 2016 or soon after the year in 2017, depending on projects, our project payment schedules and our construction documents, we will be doing another issue and likely be collectively in the $10 to $12 million range.”

Rod Kanter, bond counsel for the county, said the pledge is limited to the lodging tax, and there are few covenants in the resolution.

“If for whatever reason the lodging tax isn’t sufficient to pay the debt, well that’s OK,” Kanter said. “The holder, the purchaser, of this warrant will just have to wait until the money comes in to get paid.”

There is no default interest, late interest or fees for late payment, Kanter said. There is also no covenant to raise the lodging tax, Kanter said, which is something that is often included in this sort of agreement.

“We wanted to keep things as conservative and really as favorable for the county as possible,” Kanter said.

The debt is set to be paid off in 11 installments through 2029, Kanter said, but after 10 years, the county will have the option to pay off the debt early or refinance for better rates.

Also at the Dec. 14 County Commission meeting, Pelham resident Robert Kennedy Jr. spoke to the commission about a Nov. 9 resolution that made several buildings in Columbiana official annexes to the Shelby County Courthouse, thereby banning firearms from those buildings. The buildings include the property tax commission building, county license office, county public defender annex, the agri-center building, the community services building, Harrison Regional Library, Shelby County Highway Department, the historical society building and the Ray Building, which houses county highway, environmental services and emergency management services.

State code prohibits firearms in a courthouse, courthouse annex, building with a district attorney’s office or a building in which a county commission or city council regularly meets.

Kennedy questioned the reason for the Nov. 9 resolution, saying it prevented citizens from executing their right to bear arms and protect themselves in those other buildings.

County attorney Butch Ellis said a recent attorney general opinion that Shelby County could not prohibit firearms in the county’s other buildings was given before those buildings were designated as official annexes to the courthouse. The attorney general also was clear that firearms can be prohibited in buildings where the County Commission meets, and the commission’s Nov. 9 resolution also indicates that the commission may meet in these other buildings from time to time.

Ellis said the Shelby County Courthouse can no longer house all of the county functions it once did, and buildings where those functions are now carried out are eligible to be annexed.

Kennedy still expressed concerns about people being able to protect themselves.

“I would like to know which security measures are in place to protect the public because we are not able to protect ourselves in these buildings, and we all know that ISIS or any other body, any other criminal, is not paying attention to any signs,” Kennedy said.

Commission Chairman Rick Shepherd said the commission would not be able to answer Kennedy’s questions at the meeting, but would address them after discussion with legal counsel.

“This is not the type of venue where we have a question and answer,” Shepherd said. “We will speak with staff and legal staff to make sure we are making the right recommendations.”

Also at the meeting, the Commission:

  • Awarded bids for development services equipment, including fire services equipment, electronic monitoring devices and accessories, basic life support equipment, backboards and restraining equipment and advanced life support equipment.
  • Approved an agreement for recertification repairs for a snooper truck. This truck is used for bridge inspections, and County Engineer Randy Cole said the federal government is paying for a large portion of those repairs. The repairs should keep the snooper truck certified for the next 20 years, Cole said.