Clark County officials hope to lower the cost of renovating the Springview Government Center for its future tenants before issuing bonds to fund the project.

On Tuesday, Clark County commissioners voted 2-1 to delay a vote to borrow $550,000 for the county government center. Commissioners Richard Lohnes and John Detrick both voted to wait to vote, while Commissioner David Hartley voted against the resolution.

“It would be nice if we held it until after the election,” he said sarcastically when the other commissioners voted to hold the resolution.

The building must be renovated to accommodate the Clark County 4-H program, Master Gardeners and Ohio State University Extension office — which will be moved from the Clark County Agricultural Services building to make way for Konecranes shared services and global training center.

The project has been controversial since commissioners voted along party lines to lease the building in July. Democrats such as Hartley feel the potential growth — officials say 25 to 40 jobs could be created by Konecranes’ expansion, which also is expected to attract thousands of visitors to Clark County each year for training — does not justify the cost of moving the previous tenants. Opponents also say the lease agreement allows Konecranes to be in the building at little cost and little liability.

At a July public hearing, county administrator Nathan Kennedy estimated the the cost of moving tenants to Springview to make room for Konecranes would be between $515,600 to $718,848.

Lohnes and Detrick believe it could be less than that.

“Why should we borrow more than we need to when we don’t have all the data?” Lohnes said.

Kennedy said it could be two or three weeks before an architect looks at the building to determine the true costs of renovation.

The county is also waiting to find out if it can acquire a zero-interest loan through the state, which would be less than the 6 percent rate of the bonds in the resolution, Kennedy said.

Kennedy mentioned the possibility of using rainy day dollars temporarily if necessary to pay for renovations.

“We’ve used it this year even as a way of meeting short-term cash flow,” Kennedy said. “We issue a note and then pay back the rainy day fund.”

Three other resolutions passed Tuesday — $1.1 million total in bond issues — are to pay back the rainy day fund for projects, Kennedy added.

In other business, county commission also discussed drawing up a new resolution to lower county treasurer Stephen Metzger’s bond payment. Kennedy said each elected official must pay a bond according to Ohio Revised Code as protection against embezzlement and other issues.

Metzger’s bond is $250,000, while bonds for treasurers in neighboring counties such as Greene and Champaign are set at $50,000.

Lowering the bond “saves the county some money there on a bond that quite frankly is never used,” Kennedy said. The county already has insurance to protect against embezzlement issues.