City to Pursue Loan for By-pass Sewer Project

Davidson Lake is not the only project for which the city is pursuing GEFA funds.

Monday, city commissioners voted unanimously to pursue a GEFA loan to help fund the water and sewer expansion project on the Toccoa By-pass.

Toccoa and Stephens County are currently working to expand the city’s sewer system from the intersection of the By-pass and Big A Road to the By-pass and Highway 106 and making water system improvements necessary to match the sewer system expansion and improvements.

Back in October, Stephens County Development Authority Executive Director Tim Martin put the estimated cost of the project at about $4.5 million.

The city and county have some grant funds for the project, as well as SPLOST money that was set aside.

However, Toccoa City Manager Billy Morse said currently, the city and county are coming up about $600,000 short on funds currently to cover the costs of what is planned.

Morse said that getting a GEFA loan and then using money the city and Stephens County already have saved to pay back that loan could reduce that $600,000 funding gap.

“I would suggest that we apply for a GEFA loan in the amount of $2.5 million in the hopes of getting substantial grant forgiveness,” said Morse.

He said the payments would then be made on the loan with the money already put aside for the work.

According to Morse, funding it this way could reduce the $600,000 funding gap to about $150,000.

Morse said it is possible GEFA could forgive up to $500,000 of that $2.5 million loan as part of the deal.

He said that if the city could narrow that funding gap to about $150,000, that would make it a much more manageable gap to deal with and would open up other options.