County accepts bid for $18 million borrowing
Progress on the addition to the Crawford County Jail has remained on schedule, according to Kraemer Brothers, the county’s construction management company on the project. The addition is expected to be completed in the spring of 2026, with full construction done later that year. (Steve Van Kooten/Courier Press)
By Steve Van Kooten
At a special meeting on Mar. 4, the Crawford County Board of Supervisors accepted a bid for $18 million in general obligation notes for the replacement jail project.
The 14 present supervisors unanimously adopted an awards resolution for TD Securities in New York for the $18 million in GO notes with a 3.917 interest rate. TD won out over three other bidders.
Crawford County and WFPF received bid offers on Mar. 3.
This is the second of three rounds of borrowing for the jail. The first took place this past summer for $13 million, and the final round is expected to take place next spring.
The county changed their second borrowing from $13 million to $18 million. According to Finance Committee Chair Gary Koch, this was done to ensure money would be available to cover project costs until the next borrowing in the spring of 2026.
“It does appear from the schedule that we are right on track as far as having money to pay you guys when you want it,” Koch told Greg Callin, vice president of client services for Kraemer Brothers, at the Feb. 19 finance meeting. Kraemer Brothers is the construction management company on the replacement jail project.
During that finance meeting, Carol Wirth, president and owner of Wisconsin Public Finance Professionals, who acts as a consultant to the county for the jail project, estimated the county would receive approximately $362,000 after underwriter fees and expenses. She also projected a slightly higher 3.93 interest rate.
Along with the lower interest rate, Crawford County managed to net a larger-than-anticipated reoffering premium as well. In addition to the $18 million in borrowed funds, the sale generated $708,000 in reoffering premium. After subtracting expenses and the underwriter’s compensation, the county will receive $474,759 on top of the borrowed money.
According to Wirth, the increased premium helped further lower the interest rate for the borrowing to 3.906 percent.
“The way that they placed their bid, I was able to take $380,000 out of the very last year in 2045 and bring it up to to the year 2026, so that way you don’t pay interest on that $380,000 for 20 years. That saved you almost $300,000 by removing that from last year,” said Wirth.
The county expects to receive the borrowed funds on Mar. 24 via wire transfer. The funds will be placed in an account with Community First Bank.
The total project cost is still projected at $35 million, with $31.3 for construction value and $3.7 million for soft costs. The project is carrying approximately $1.16 million in contingency as of Feb. 19.
The first set of bonds was awarded to Robert W. Baird & Company, a financial investment firm based in Milwaukee, this past year.
The final round of borrowing is expected to take place in the spring of 2026. The maximum amount the county can borrow for the project is $4 million.
Jail update
Callin appeared at the finance committee’s Feb. 19 meeting to provide an update on the project’s progress over the past month. Construction began approximately seven months ago, with a groundbreaking ceremony in late August.
According to Callin, crews kept the project on track during the winter months. The foundations and first-floor concrete masonry units (CMU) were completed in February. Additionally, the majority of first-floor precast planks are installed, and 75 percent of exterior precast wall panels are also in place.
The second-floor CMU is also underway.
By the end of March, the project is expected to have the precast caps on the cells and the wall panels completed.
Roofing work is expected to be completed this May.
The jail addition has a completion date of April 2026, and the total project completion date is still set for the following fall.
Mitch Gilbertson, project manager for Kraemer Brothers, said that the streets will be fully reopened before this winter.
“There’s still going to be deliveries, but we’re not going to have the jersey barriers, and we will be pulled back to routing delivery traffic to the sally port or the new receiving area,” Gilbertson said.
