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Board OKs loan
By jeanne starmack
HUBBARD
The Hubbard school board approved a $1.5 million loan from Huntington Bank for improvements to athletic facilities.
The board voted unanimously Monday night in favor of a lease proposal presented by Ross-Sinclaire & Associates, a Columbus firm that specializes in financing such as levies and bond issues.
The loan, at 3.25 percent interest, is a lease, taken over 10 years with refinancing possible in five years.
There is no penalty for paying off the loan early, said Eric Prall of Ross- Sinclaire.
The improvements include the stadium, with new turf on a previously grass field; a new scoreboard; and a band shelter. The total cost for the upgrades will be $2.8 million.
The stadium is finished, said schools Superintendent Richard Buchenic.
On campus, softball and baseball fields will be improved, Buchenic said.
The improvements also include resurfacing the track on the district’s kindergarten-through-12th-grade campus.
“Are we leasing the facilities to Huntington Bank until they’re paid for?” asked an audience member, who also wanted to know what would happen if the school district defaulted on the loan.
“Yes, that’s the way it’s written up, said schools Treasurer Rhonda Baldwin. She added, however, that even if the district were to be in financial difficulties, it would still have to pay off the loan.
Buchenic said the improvements are going on at the track now. The updates are expected to be finished in the spring.