PINE BLUFF -- Beset by money woes, Jefferson County is considering a public-private partnership to get a new coroner's office, county health unit and veterans affairs office.
The Quorum Court, the governing body of the county, heard a proposal last week from the P3 Group -- a real estate development and consulting firm headquartered in Jackson, Miss. -- to construct the facilities through a public/private partnership at an estimated cost of $13.2 million, which the county would pay off over 31 years.
An initial payment of $350,000 would be due in mid-2022, followed by 30 annual payments of $695,474 each. The interest rate the county would pay was estimated at 3.25%, making the total amount the county would pay back estimated at $20.5 million over the life of the tax-exempt, lease-purchase agreement.
The proposed 9,000-square-foot coroner's office would be located on county-owned property near the Jack Jones Juvenile Justice Center, and the 5,000-square-foot Veteran's Service Office would be built on county-owned property at East Second Avenue and South State Street, about a block from the Jefferson County Courthouse. The proposed 12,800-square-foot Jefferson County Health Unit would be built at South Hickory Street and West 42nd Avenue next to the Jefferson County Regional Medical Center.
Dee Brown, chief executive officer of the P3 Group, described the construction plans for justices.
The coroner's office, Brown said, would contain a decontamination area to prevent the spread of pathogens.
The proposed health unit, he said, was designed with a drive-thru testing area to allow those being tested for infectious diseases to be tested from their vehicles.
The Veteran's Affairs Office, he said, would feature a mini-museum and office space, a memorial area and space for veterans to wait for rides to the VA Hospital in Little Rock.
Quorum Court member Conley Byrd appeared skeptical of the county's ability to manage such a debt in light of the current financial straits with which it is dealing.
"Given the current state of our finances, what makes us think we can absorb this?" he asked County Judge Gerald Robinson.
Robinson, the county's chief executive, said that Southeast Arkansas College -- a public community college in Pine Bluff -- is in negotiations with the county to purchase the current health department building. He also said that the county is looking at about $700,000 in grant opportunities, and he said revenue from Saracen Casino and Resort, currently under construction, is estimated to be about $400,000 a month once it is opened.
"We have our current state and we are looking to the future," Robinson said, "Remember, it's two years down the road before we are obligated to come up with anything."
"So you believe we're going to get $400,000 in new money a month from the casino alone?" asked Byrd.
"I think that's undercutting it," Robinson replied. "I believe it's going to be even more."
"And you are willing to commit that revenue to repayment of this when the money starts coming due?" Byrd asked.
"Don't get me wrong, not all of it. There are certain things we have to do," Robinson said, adding that he plans to use some of the revenue to build a reserve fund and put some into the county's general budget to fund operational costs.
"But what we're committing to, if we commit to this project, is we've got a yearly payment that we're going to be making starting two years from now, from then on," Byrd said. "The question becomes, as county judge, the chief officer of the county, you're willing to commit the first part of those revenues to paying for these buildings?"
Robinson noted that the first payment would only be about half the amount of the remaining annual obligation.
"I understand it's postponed and that hopefully the casino will generate money in the meantime," Byrd countered. "As county judge, you are committing that that revenue stream will first and foremost go to pay for this debt so that nothing is coming out of our other revenues or whatever other breadcrumbs you get between here and there?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying," Robinson said. "We're going to make sure those buildings get paid for so I'm going to commit part of those monies to making sure that happens."
"I guess that's all the questions I have," Byrd concluded.
A public hearing has been scheduled for July 1 at 5:30 p.m. at the courthouse for the P3 Group proposal. An ordinance allowing the county to move forward on the proposal could be considered by the Quorum Court as soon as the next regular meeting scheduled for July 6.