Architectural

group Ingram-Parris from Valdosta, Ga. will

design Fayette County's new jail and courthouse

complex.

Project

manager Jim Mallett hired the firm after

interviewing numerous companies that were

interested in the project, said county

Commissioner Greg Dunn.

"He

interviewed tons of firms," said Dunn, who

is the County Commission's official spokesman for

the project.

County

officials met Tuesday to begin laying groundwork

for the pre-design phase of the project in the

wake of the commission's decision last week to

use its Public Facilities Authority to fund the

jail.

The

PFA can levy bonds to pay for the $60 million

project without putting the matter to a public

vote.

Commissioners

last week voted 4-0-1 with Commissioner Herb

Frady abstaining to allow the authority to issue

bonds, saving about 25 percent in interest costs

compared to using general obligation bonds, which

require a public vote.

special purpose local option sales tax has been

discussed as one option, but commissioners said

they don't believe voters would approve a sales

tax. "If our citizens are not going to

support a SPLOST for a school, there is even less

chance that they'll support a SPLOST for a

jail," said Commissioner Linda Wells.

Frady

urged the group to approve the facilities

authority bonding, but also to put a sales tax on

the ballot this year and, if it is successful, to

use the money to pay off the bonds early. But

commissioners said the PFA option also will have

less yearly cost to homeowners, and will allow

future residents of Fayette to participate.

sales tax would last for only five years, while a

PFA bond would be for 30 years.

Robinson

Humphrey company will do the bond work, Dunn said

this week. County officials are working to get

the bond package ready to go so they can take

advantage of the best interest rates whenever

they occur. "We'll get set up and when the

market's best, then we do it," he said.

Ingram-Parris

will get busy on design work soon, said Dunn,

adding that the firm has built jails all over

Georgia, including a current project in Henry

County.

"Now

we're in the pre-design phase," he said,

"and by the end of April I hope we'll have a

handle on that and we can come up with some more

exact figures on the cost."

Officials

are working to "condense the time" that

it takes to get construction underway, said Dunn.

"The population is going up [in the jail]

every month. We've got to get on with this

project," he said.

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