Carbon County will save over $600,000 after officials decided now was the right time to refinance one of its bonds.

On Thursday, the county commissioners approved four actions regarding the general obligation bonds series 2020. The bonds in the amount of $10 million are to be used to provide funds for the advance refunding of the 2016 general obligation bonds, and the payment of the costs and expenses of issuing the bonds.

RBC Capital Markets LLC are overseeing the actions for the new bonds and refunding of the outstanding bonds.

Susquehanna Group Advisors Inc. of Harrisburg provided consultant services for the bonds, with a compensation set at $30,000.

Commissioner Chris Lukasevich said that the process began about a month ago when officials say the potential for saving taxpayer money through refinancing the bonds increased.

The savings over the lifetime of the bond, he said, will amount to $647,000.

He thanked his colleagues and the bond counsel for seeing the opportunity and taking advantage of the changing rates.

Carbon County last refinanced the $14 million bonds from 2011 in 2016 to help with capital projects and to save money. At that time, refinancing a portion of that bond saved the county approximately $130,000.

In other matters, Commissioner Rocky Ahner had some questions about the Phase III Environmental project in Palmerton after an article was published in the Times News about the Army Corps of Engineers utilizing the project to prepare for a naval hospital ship to dock in New York City.

Ahner said if the county was helping New York by putting the fill that residents have seen coming in over the past month, that is one positive thing there, but there are so many concerns with the plans for that property.

He questioned about building codes for potential businesses to build on that site once completed, a subdivision plan and utilities plan and the fill being used.