Cairo, Grady OK plan to tackle debt elimination

Teresa Williams

THOMASVILLE — Cairo and Grady County governing bodies are taking care of a joint debt in 2010.

Both the Cairo City Council and Grady County Board of Commissioners have agreed to pay off debt on the Milestone Industrial Park expansion.

“This goes along with our strategic plan for debt elimination,” City Manager Chris Addleton said Wednesday.

The expansion’s total cost was $2.4 million, split 60 percent city and 40 percent county, when the property was purchased in 2007.

There is a $500,000 One Georgia grant, awarded to the Cairo-Grady County Joint Development Authority in December, and the rest is to be paid by the two entities.

Each have made 10 quarterly payments, officials said.

Grady County decided to pay off its remaining debt of more than $621,000 at its Tuesday meeting.

“This money will be coming out of the reserves,” County Administrator Rusty Moye said Wednesday. “We are maintaining our reserves at a good level and have enough to cover it and still be comfortable.”

The Cairo City Council agreed to pay off its portion of the debt, more than $645,000, at its January meeting last week.

“We will use money in Cairo’s MEAG Competitive Trust Fund,” City Manager Chris Addleton said. “The thought process is we’re paying interest at about four to 4.5 percent but are only getting one to 1.5 percent on some invested money. So, we’re actually saving money by paying this off.”

Brian Marlowe, executive director of Cairo-Grady County Chamber of Commerce and the JDA, agreed Wednesday this move should save the city and county interest.

“The Joint Development Authority was charged with securing the property and have a product to present to prospects,” he said. “It holds the title but is not on the note.”

Acreage is still available at the expansion site, officials said.

“If we had not bought this land, we certainly would not have gotten PFG and it has been a great addition,” Addleton said. “We still have about 200 acres available for future development.”

Marlowe said times are slow right now but there have been a few recent prospects.

“The economy is not doing very well right now but when it does rebound, I think we have a leg up on a lot of other communities that do not have a park,” he said. “The city and county are very forward thinking and true partners with us in economic development.”

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