City owes $300,000 this year on Covelli Centre

The city must make a $300,000 principal payment by Sept. 2 towards the $11.9 million it borrowed in 2005 to help fund the construction of the Covelli Centre.

City officials learned today from the law firm Squire Sanders, its bond counsel, about the payment.

Members of city council said they knew Youngstown would have to start making payments on the principal next year through a 20-year or 25-year loan.

But the news of the $300,000 payment by September came as a surprise.

Finance Director David Bozanich said he’s known for a few months that the city might have to make a principal payment in September.

Bozanich said he wanted to postpone making a principal payment on the loan until early next year, when he hoped the city would be on better financial footing. But the city was informed that it must make the $300,000 payment by September in addition to about $670,000 in interest on the original loan.

For the complete story, read Tuesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com