Bonds for the new courthouse project were finally sold Thursday, but with a higher interest rate, after the effort failed once because of litigation by the Freeborn County Committee for Fairness.

County financial adviser Myron Knutson, vice president of Evensen Dodge, reported that seven bank consortiums entered their bids for the $26 million bonds.

The lowest bid for the $9.6 million general-obligation jail bonds was offered by a Morgan Stanley Group at a 4.4644 percent interest rate. The $7.47 million lease-revenue bonds for the law enforcement center portion were also awarded to the same group at 4.4948 percent. And, the US Bank Group won the 9.63 million lease-revenue bonds for the rest of the construction and old courthouse renovation at 5.399 percent.

The rates became 0.24 percent higher than they were on Oct. 15 when the sale was originally scheduled, according to Knutson, which means the county has to pay around $800,000 more for the interest. The original sale failed when the litigation scared off potential bidders, and nobody offered to sell the bonds to the county. Knutson also pointed out the low number of bidders Thursday could have been a result of the FCCF lawsuit.

The commissioners accepted the sales by a 4-1 vote.

Commissioner Glen Mathiason, who had voted against the bond issuance, approved the bids this time.

&uot;I believe the best interest of the county is utmost in the mind of all of us in discussing and voting … That’s not to say that we always all agree. But, that’s life,&uot; he said. &uot;I was unsuccessful in convincing the majority of the board to follow down a path that I was comfortable with. A different path was chosen.&uot;

Commissioner Dan Belshan was not willing to concede, however. He still insisted the county reconsider the project, calling the expanded jail a &uot;black hole&uot; that will trigger a tremendous cost increase for additional staff. He also claimed that the bid for the courthouse portion should be redone because there was only one bidder.

Belshan asked if the Federal Reserve Bank decision on Thursday to lower the Federal Funds Rate would change the upward trend of bond interest rates. But, Knutson said the FFR basically affects short-term investments, and longer-term investments like municipal bonds have little to do with it.

Knutson said the $26 million would be delivered to the county on Nov. 21.

The board also continued a discussion on a proposal by former Realtor Howard Jensen for selling the ’54 building, which the county had earlier voted to demolish.

Jensen said the $150,000 purchase price was offered by his son Greg Jensen, and he had two more prospective buyers subsequently. &uot;The ’54 building is what everybody is concerned about,&uot; he said. &uot;This is one of the best buildings in Albert Lea. There is absolutely no reason that you cannot sell this building.&uot;

But County Attorney Craig Nelson had already pointed out that the sale is legally very difficult since the land was dedicated for courthouse use.

Judge John Chesterman also disagreed with the idea because of security, which is a major reason for building the new courthouse.

&uot;It is totally untenable and unacceptable for private persons to own property that would be attached or annexed to the existing court building,&uot; Chesterman, the chair of the Third Judicial District Security Committee, said in a letter to the commissioners. &uot;It is absolutely essential that the county maintain control over its courthouse building and the perimeter around the building out to the street. The only way this can be done effectively is to own the property.&uot;