The Fremont County Board of Commissioners has approved a resolution to refinance certificates of participation which will lower the interest rate and save the county money. Fremont County Commission Chair Debbie Bell said the board had been in discussions since last spring with the George K. Baum Company considering various refinance options for the county’s outstanding certificates of participation used to finance county facility projects over the years. The certificates that were refinanced at a lower interest rate were a series of 2003 certificates issued to construct an expansion of the Fremont County Jail and construction of the Judicial Center. Refunding of a portion of the outstanding 2003 certificates will help achieve debt service savings to perhaps more than $200,000 a year. It will also help restructure the county’s cash flow to pay that debt service.
District 3 Commissioner Ed Norden noted that in recent years as county sales tax collections diminished it became more and more difficult for the county to meet its’ annual cash payments on the certificates. County Manager George Sugars said when Fremont County voters approved a 1 ½ cent sales tax in 1981 the ballot issue mandated that 25 percent of those revenues be reserved for capitol construction projects. Sugars said it’s that 25 percent of sales tax collections which are used to pay the debt on the certificates.
At their August 14th regular meeting the Board of Commissioners also voted to suspend the Stage One fire ban in rural unincorporated areas of the county. Sheriff Jim Beicker said he was willing to lift the fire ban restrictions due to recent rain storms and because federal and state agencies had lifted their fire restrictions in Fremont County. Commissioner Norden urged folks eager to do agricultural burning to be particularly careful adding that the weather has been very fickle lately and there are still lots of hot, dry days ahead.
In other business the Commissioners:
- Presented awards of achievement for the rank of Cadet Captain to three members of the Fremont Starfire Cadet Squadron of the Colorado Civil Air Patrol including Michael Enderle, Jack Nordell, and Matthew Angelo. Major Commander Bryce Nelson said Nordell and Angelo also achieved their solo wings by piloting a Cessna 172;
- Approved a resolution in support of an application by Fremont County to Great Outdoors Colorado seeking a $350,000 grant to build an outdoor education and multi-use facility at Pathfinder Regional Park;
- Reappointed Francis Williams and Tim Payne to the County Board of Building Code Appeals;
- Set a public hearing date of September 11th at 10:00 a.m. for an amendment to the county’s subdivision regulations dealing with general provisions and changes to definitions.