Girard seeks relief of loan payment

Girard might qualify for loan relief because of Gov. Bob Taft's declaration.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
GIRARD -- Mayor James J. Melfi is trying to get a $450,000 annual payment on a state loan forgiven for a year since Trumbull County has been declared a flood emergency community.
"We're going through the process again," Melfi said, noting that $450,000 was forgiven by the state because of the flooding in 2003.
In 1987, the city borrowed $8.1 million for construction of its sewage treatment plant. The city pays $450,000 annually to the Ohio Water Development Authority, which will continue through 2007 before the debt is paid off.
Last year, OWDA forgave the $450,000 annual payment, helping the city recover from the damage to the plant and other treatment-related equipment, the mayor said.
The city may be eligible for another $450,000 payment break because Gov. Bob Taft has declared a state of emergency in five counties, including Trumbull, as the result of of heavy rains earlier this month.
Relief a possibility
Ken J. Heigel, OWDA chief engineer, has informed the city that because it has a loan with the authority and because of the emergency status, the city might qualify for short-term relief from loan payments.
If the city receives the relief, the money will come from OWDA's emergency relief program.
The city actually has three OWDA loans, auditor Sam Zirafi said.
Besides the one for the treatment plant construction, it also pays $235,000 annually on a $2.5 million loan to buy the Girard Lakes and a $700,000 loan because the city defaulted on the two OWDA loans in 2001. The city will pay $68,000 annually on the default loan until its retired in 2017. The lakes will be paid off in 2015, Zirafi added.
It was the default on the two loans -- treatment plant construction and lakes purchase -- that was one of the reasons the city was placed in state-imposed fiscal emergency in August 2001.
Melfi said the loan to buy the Upper and Lower Girard lakes doesn't qualify for relief under OWDA criteria because there are no operations at the lakes that can be damaged.
yovich@vindy.com