County accepts $20 million loan for Sheriff’s Operations Center

The use of the loan prevents the county from having to seek a referendum to raise money, County Administrator Jerry Cameron said.

By Jonathan Simmons
| 6:00 a.m. December 16, 2020

The location of the proposed new Sheriff's Operations Center. Image from county government meeting documents

Palm Coast Observer
News

The Flagler County Commission voted at its Dec. 14 meeting to approve a $20 million loan with Centerstate Bank for the construction of a Sheriff’s Operations Center complex on Commerce Parkway in Bunnell.

The 15-year loan has a 1.83% fixed interest rate, said Jay Glover, the county’s financial advisor.

It can be repaid early without penalty after the first five years. Early repayment in the first five years would cost a 1% premium.

The Centerstate Bank bid was not the lowest of the six bids the county received: That would have been the proposal from Capital Bank, with a 1.68% interest rate.

But the Capital Bank proposal would have had the entire sum accruing interest from the beginning, while the Centerstate Bank proposal only requires a $250,000 draw at closing, and only the money drawn would start accruing interest.

That would minimize the county’s upfront costs, Glover said.

The commission voted unanimously to accept the loan.