Grayson commissioners seek qualifications for bond counsel
<p>BY JERRIE WHITELEY
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<p>HERALD DEMOCRAT 
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<p>SHERMAN -- Grayson County commissioners decided Monday to request qualifications for bond counsel and financial services experts to help the county sell $20 million in bonds needed to renovate the county's jail.
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<p>Last week, commissioners called for a bond election to be held in May.
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<p>Commissioners made the decision after a lengthy discussion in which several county leaders suggested going with the same professionals who have helped the county do bond work in the past.
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<p>Trent Bass addressed commissioners and asked them to go public in their search for bond counsel, and commissioners agreed to do so. Grayson County Purchasing Agent Jeff Schneider told commissioners it will take approximately three weeks for those requests for qualifications to result in a selection of professionals the commissioners can use to pick bond counsel.
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<p>Grayson County Judge Drue Bynum wondered if that would leave enough time to go ahead and get the bond election underway in time to hold it in May. Bass reminded him that the county has until mid March to complete the steps to go forward with the bond election, and Bynum said he guessed that would leave enough time.
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<p>However, he noted, the worst thing that could happen is the county has to put the bond election off until the fall.
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<p>Some in the audience seemed to like that idea. Dr. Stanley Knuckles urged commissioners to put together a citizen's group to help pull together the information that local residents will need to make an informed decision about the jail bond. He said that is the way bond elections have been won in the past.
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<p>Knuckles also urged commissioners to drop their plans to have the bond election in the spring and move it back to the fall. He said doing so will give people more time to make an informed decision and it will save the county money. He also urged county to look at pretrial release programs to reduce the number of people in the county jail.
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<p>In addition, commissioners also:
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<ul><li>declared culverts as surplus for sale at auction;
</li><li>declared holiday lights displays as surplus for trade;
</li><li>set equipment rates for 2010;
</li><li>accepted county ownership and maintenance of right-of-way of Well Road and Chiles Lane in Precinct 4.</li></ul>