ECONOMIC AWARD SBA will fete city for jobs creation

Initiative projects have totaled $10.2 million in investment and 680 jobs.
YOUNGSTOWN -- The U.S. Small Business Administration is honoring the city for its recent success in creating jobs in that sector.
Patrick Rea, administrator for SBA's region five, was today to give the city the SBA Region V Leadership Award for Economic Development.
The award is for the Youngstown-U.S. Small Business Administration Revitalization Initiative. The program, started in 2001, combines city financial programs, low-interest private bank loans and SBA loan guarantees.
The city typically extends loans that don't have to be paid back if a business remains operating for several years. Businesses have to put up 10 percent of their own money and must qualify for an SBA-guaranteed bank loan.
The city loan and the business's equity make up about 25 percent of a project. A local bank lends the remaining 75 percent, guaranteed by the SBA.
Job creation
Projects that have come through the program have totaled $10.2 million in investment and spawned about 680 jobs, the SBA said.
Rea credited the city for its vision in dedicating some of its scare resources to the small-business initiative.
Mayor George M. McKelvey said the city's ability to get deals done separates it from others.
Rea was to give the city the award at Brilex Industries on Crescent Street, which has received assistance through the program.
Brilex recently moved ahead with a nearly $2 million expansion that will create 10 jobs. The company, which makes equipment for steel and other metals industries, is building an addition and investing in new equipment.