Warren Scott NEW ADDITION — After their meeting Tuesday, the Brooke County commissioners celebrated the installation of a new elevator at the Brooke County Courthouse with a ribbon cutting. Taking part were, from left, Commissioner Tim Ennis, County Clerk Kim Barbetta and Commissioners Stacey Wise and A.J. Thomas.

WELLSBURG — When $12.8 million in bonds are sold for the construction of the Brooke County Courthouse’s judicial annex, they will be repaid at a very low interest rate, reducing the cost for taxpayers.

Rob Steptoe of Crews and Associates, bond counsel for the project, told the Brooke County Commission on Tuesday he was able to obtain insurance for the bonds through Build America Mutual Bond Assurance Company.

Steptoe noted if there’s a deficiency in the bond payments, the New York-based firm will step in to pay, making them more attractive to investors and resulting in an interest rate of 2.67 percent for the 30-year term of the bonds.

Under state law, the commission, as a political subdivision, may not enter into debt so the bonds are being sold through the county’s volunteer building commission, an arrangement that has been followed by many government entities in West Virginia over the years.

Steptoe said the county’s financial stability over the last several years made it possible to secure the insurance.

The sale of the bonds will support the construction of a separate, 33,000-square-foot structure, which will house the county’s circuit, magistrate and family courts; prosecutor’s office and probation departments.

Designed by McKinley Architecture and Engineering of Wheeling, it will be built by Rycon Construction of Pittsburgh at the corner of Main and Sixth streets in Wellsburg.

The commissioners are slated to meet at 4 p.m. Thursday at the courthouse to sign construction documents.

County Commissioner Tim Ennis said when he approached Steptoe about seeking financing for the project, he encouraged the commissioners to develop a plan for financial stabilization.

Ennis and the other commissioners thanked Steptoe and Carl A. Frankovitch of Frankovitch, Anetakis, Simon, DeCapio & Pearl, co-bond counsel for the project, for their efforts as well as the county’s other elected officials and department heads for their diligence in remaining within budget.

In other business, County Commissioner Stacey Wise said the development of a new emergency 911 call center will begin not long after Christina White, the county’s 911 director, has finished training newly hired dispatchers.

Plans call for the current center in the sheriff’s department to be replaced with another, with new equipment and furniture, in the former judge’s chambers of the circuit court.

White said the last of a handful of vacancies at the center have been filled, and following training, she has been pairing new recruits with experienced dispatchers.

The commissioners also:

�–� Held a ribbon cutting to celebrate the installation of a new elevator for the courthouse.

The building’s long-time elevator was replaced by the Schindler Elevator Corp. at a cost of $113,500, with $100,00 covered by a grant from the state Courthouse Facilities Improvement Council.

�–� Appointed attorney Christopher Scheetz to serve as a fiduciary commissioner for the county.

In November, Aaron Caviani was appointed fiduciary commissioner, which involves overseeing the probate process for a deceased resident’s estate, and Marc Chernenko was named to serve as a special fiduciary commissioner in the event of a conflict of interest.

(Scott can be contacted at wscott@heraldstaronline.com.)