The Lowndes County Board of Supervisors used its last meeting of 2015 to refinance a 2011 loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that will save the county at least $2.5 million and shorten the term of the loan from 30 to 15 years.
Attorney Steve Edds and consultant Steve Pittman recommended board approval of a resolution to refinance the remaining $10 million of the loan with Trustmark Bank at an interest rate 2.65 percent.
Earlier this year, supervisors had agreed to refinance $3 million of the loan with Trustmark at an interest rate of 2.71 percent.
The original USDA loan of $13 million was financed for 30 years at an interest rate of 3.5 percent.
“This ends up being a very, very good deal for the county if you adopt this resolution,” Edds told supervisors. “Conservatively, the county would save in the neighborhood of $2.5 million in interest payments over the life of the loan.”
Supervisors applied for the loan in 2011 to purchase roughly 2,000 acres of land west of the airport to develop a site for future industry.
“There hasn’t been anything put in there yet, but the county has provided sewer and water and it’s set to go,” County Administrator Ralph Billingsley said.
The board approved the resolution unanimously.
In other business
The board re-appointed District 4 supervisor Jeff Smith to the Prairie Opportunity Board. The board reappointed Chief Financial Officer Dave Basinger to the Solid Waste Authority Board and also appointed Ralph McLain to that board.
Supervisors also announced it is accepting applications for one position on the Columbus Lowndes Convention and Visitors bureau (Brock Reynolds’ term ends Feb. 5) and District 1 and District 3 openings on the Lowndes County Industrial Development Board.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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