Loan

STANFORD — The influx of nearly $10 million in federal stimulus money is certainly a boon to Lincoln Manufacturing Inc., but it won’t pay dividends in reducing Lincoln County’s 10 percent unemployment rate. At least not immediately. Kathy McDonald, LMI’s senior accounting manager, said the company will use the $9.85-million guaranteed loan funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to refinance its debt, purchase a new piece of equipment and refurbish another machine.

The Clark County Fiscal Court expects to save thousands of dollars by refinancing a $600,000 loan for its downtown parking lot project. Magistrates approved measures Wednesday, allowing the county to seek a fixed rate of 3 percent or less over a 15-year term. The money was originally borrowed at a 4.01 percent variable rate. “We are just trying to get a cheap rate and a fixed rate,” Branham said. “That is normally what we do with these loans. We take them on at a variable, and then when the rates get right, we can lock them in.” Officials plan to stay with the Kentucky Association of Counties, which provided the original financing.

The Bluegrass Heritage Museum will unveil a debt reduction campaign at a luncheon fundraiser Thursday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The museum is trying to raise $17,500 as part of a matching grant it received in July from the Clark County Community Foundation. “We received the matching grant from the Community Foundation in a two-year cycle. If we can raise the $17,500 this fiscal year, they will match the amount. Then, we can do the same thing the second year for a total of $35,000, so we would end up with $70,000, which would pay off the debt that has been incurred by the museum,” director Sandy Stults, said.

LANCASTER - More bad news regarding the sewer line issues on West Maple Avenue was heard during Monday night's Lancaster City Council meeting.  According to Mayor Brenda Powers, another $25,000 is needed to pay for the remaining work for the line, which includes replacing a fifth manhole.  During the meeting, Powers revisited the idea of taking out a loan from the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority to cover the costs of the project. She said the city could take $187,000, out in a loan with a 0.95 interest rate, and follow a plan for 20 years to repay at about $856 a month.

Danville officials gave first reading to an ordinance Monday allowing the city to borrow half a million dollars from U.S. Bank. The $500,000 loan is borrowed against $500,000 in state money the city is expecting for water and sewer projects. City commissioners authorized the loan in late July. For the loan to go into effect, though, the city must pass a general obligation ordinance that requires two readings. A general obligation ordinance, similar to the ordinance required by the Kentucky League of Cities to pay for the new city hall project, enables the city to raise taxes enough to make payments on the loan if the proposed means of payment fall through.

Farris J. Marcum has joined the staff of PBK Bank as a loan officer, Bruce Edgington, PBK CEO, announced Tuesday. Farris has served in the Lincoln County business community for 21 years before joining PBK Bank. He is a member of the Stanford Baptist Church, the Stanford Lions Club, the Lincoln County Parks and Recreation Board, the Stanford Architectural Review Board, the Lincoln County Senior Citizens, and Lincoln County Football Booster Club, of which he is president. He also serves as deputy coroner for Lincoln County.

LANCASTER - Garrard County Fiscal Court gave its approval Tuesday for Garrard County Long Term Care Facility to loan Christian Care Center $250,000. The loan is part of a complex arrangement in which Long Term Care is selling the nursing home to Care Centers Management Group Inc. of Johnson City, Tenn. The money will help the nursing home, which Care Centers has renamed Christian Care Center, pay its bills until it can complete the purchase. The facility, once a part of Garrard County Memorial Hospital until the complex was purchased by the Tennessee company in August and the hospital closed, has faced delays in receiving a federal "provider number" - paperwork that will allow it to collect Medicare funds.

HARRODSBURG - James B. Haggin Memorial Hospital plans to borrow $315,000 from an agency that serves all 120 Kentucky counties. Earl Motzer, president and CEO of Haggin, told members of Mercer County Fiscal Court that the money will go toward the purchase of new radiographic and fluoroscopic equipment for the hospital. He said the hospital board chose to borrow the money from the Kentucky Association of Counties because the agency offered the lowest interest rate. Motzer said using KACo will save the hospital about $15,000 in interest payments compared to other lending agencies surveyed by the hospital.

Danville may borrow $5.5-6.5 million to pay for its new city hall. But while the amount may raise eyebrows, City Manager Paul Stansbury said the cost of the project hasn't necessarily increased. The city is only being safe in its estimations, he said. "It could be on the low side or the high side of things," said Stansbury of the range of money Danville may borrow to finance the project. Stansbury said in addition to the $5-6 million the actual building will cost, the city must take into account other costs accrued during the course of the project, including fees for architects and advisers.

LIBERTY - Casey County Bank has filed a lawsuit claiming that the now defunct South Fork Fire Department owes the bank more than $40,000 on a loan, according to records filed in Casey Circuit Clerk Craig Overstreet's office. Defendants in the lawsuit besides the fire department, also known as South Fork Volunteer Fire Department Inc., are Bill Callinan, fire chief; and Ron Luster, Anita Ruth Martin, Timothy M. Callinan and Hannah D. Callinan, all of South Fork Creek Road, Liberty.

LANCASTER - More bad news regarding the sewer line issues on West Maple Avenue was heard during Monday night's Lancaster City Council meeting.  According to Mayor Brenda Powers, another $25,000 is needed to pay for the remaining work for the line, which includes replacing a fifth manhole.  During the meeting, Powers revisited the idea of taking out a loan from the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority to cover the costs of the project. She said the city could take $187,000, out in a loan with a 0.95 interest rate, and follow a plan for 20 years to repay at about $856 a month.

U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler said one of the key differences between him and challenger Andy Barr is a desire to put people to work and help companies stay open. Chandler cited a February 2011 Recovery Act loan to Nicholasvile's McKechnie Vehicle Components as an example of that commitment. Chandler said prior to the loan, the company was in danger of shutting its doors. “McKechnie, as I understand it, is the second-largest private employer in Jessamine County, (and) they have now increased their employment to more than 400 people,” Chandler said.

Just one week before Kentucky voters will head to the polls, U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler made a campaign stop at Nicholasville's McKechnie Vehicle Components on Tuesday morning to tout the accomplishments of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. “This is an effort to highlight a positive example of a company doing very, very well here in central Kentucky,” Chandler said during his one-hour stop. “The recovery act was very important to this company's survival.” In February 2011, McKechnie received a $5 million guaranteed loan from the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development that allowed the business to stay afloat, operations manager Tim Coots said.

Jessamine County received nearly $1 million from the Kentucky USDA Rural Development department Friday morning to go toward a new water storage tank in District No. 1. USDA State Director Tom Fern presented a ceremonial check of $945,000 to Jessamine County Water District No. 1 chairman Carl Waits at the Cracker Barrel off U.S. 27, next to where the new storage tank is planned to be built. The department awarded the Jessamine County water district a low-interest loan for a project that includes plans to construct a new million-gallon water-storage tank, a pump station and approximately 2,000 feet of water line.

The Bluegrass Heritage Museum will unveil a debt reduction campaign at a luncheon fundraiser Thursday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The museum is trying to raise $17,500 as part of a matching grant it received in July from the Clark County Community Foundation. “We received the matching grant from the Community Foundation in a two-year cycle. If we can raise the $17,500 this fiscal year, they will match the amount. Then, we can do the same thing the second year for a total of $35,000, so we would end up with $70,000, which would pay off the debt that has been incurred by the museum,” director Sandy Stults, said.

I grew up in a Northern Kentucky town that was a haven for organized crime. My father was a bookie and professional gambler who worked in several of the area's “hot spots.” In a town full of hustlers, prostitutes and gamblers, the “profession” they looked down upon was loan sharking. It wasn't unusual for a loan shark to wind up floating in the Ohio River. One of the biggest names in the business, Frank “Screw” Andrews, a central character in journalist Hank Messick's non-fiction book, “Syndicate Wife,” “accidentally fell” out of a fourth-floor window.

Just like last year and the year before, my home state of Kentucky failed to pass a cap on the interest payday lenders can charge their prey. A bill was proposed to put a 36 percent cap on the amount of interest that payday lenders could charge. It’s identical to the cap that the federal government put on payday lenders who deal with military personnel and their families. I think payday lending is a scummy business. I suspect many people agree with me. A referendum on capping payday lenders at 28 percent in Ohio got 63 percent of the vote.

The Clark County Fiscal Court expects to save thousands of dollars by refinancing a $600,000 loan for its downtown parking lot project. Magistrates approved measures Wednesday, allowing the county to seek a fixed rate of 3 percent or less over a 15-year term. The money was originally borrowed at a 4.01 percent variable rate. “We are just trying to get a cheap rate and a fixed rate,” Branham said. “That is normally what we do with these loans. We take them on at a variable, and then when the rates get right, we can lock them in.” Officials plan to stay with the Kentucky Association of Counties, which provided the original financing.

Monday morning, federal, state and local elected officials joined Lincoln Manufacturing, Inc. (LMI) owner Masato Sugimura to celebrate the announcement of an almost $10 million loan to his Stanford company that employs over a hundred full and part-time workers building precision automobile parts. The loan, which was funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, will be used to restructure the company’s debt, make improvement on one of LMI’s presses and purchase an additional deburring machine.