B ond sale bid approved

ST. FRANCISVILLE — The West Feliciana Parish Police Jury accepted a better-than-expected bid for $3.5 million in construction bonds for a new library.

Parish voters approved the bond issue on March 24.

Bond attorney Alan Offner said during Monday’s Police Jury meeting he used a conservative estimate of 3.625 percent interest in estimating that a property tax of 1.15 mills will be needed initially to retire the 20-year bonds.

Morgan Keegan and Co., of Memphis, Tenn., however, submitted the lowest of six bids to buy the bonds, at an interest rate 2.5385 percent.

Offner’s announcement brought a gasp from library officials awaiting the bid results.

“Oh gosh, we were so thrilled,” library Director Glenna Fallin said after the brief meeting.

Offner said he had hoped the interest rate would be lower than his estimate.

The attorney also said he hopes the millage can be lower than 1.15 mills, but the figure cannot be calculated until the amount of property assessments is compiled.

In 2007, Sally T. Parker, of Union, S.C., donated a 4.6-acre tract on Burnett Road to the Police Jury for a library site.

The jury also approved a $6,000 proposal for geotechnical work on the site, including soil borings needed for the building’s design.