CAIRO — Grady County officials announced this week that the refinancing of old loans used to create Tired Creek Lake has saved the county $1.7 million.

A five-month refinancing effort, underwritten by Raymond James and Associates, was finalized Tuesday, saving Grady County a total of $1,773,403.44 on bond payments over the course of the next 10 years. The savings represent about 15.75% of what the county would have owed during that period.

“The Grady County Commissioners are pleased to announce the realized savings of this financial endeavor,” said County Administrator Buddy Johnson. “These savings are well above anything we could have anticipated and will remove some of the overall debt and burden to the taxpaying citizens of the county.”

Grady County still owes $26 million in payments on the bond through 2030.

Payments on the bond will be made using fishing revenues from Tired Creek Lake.

Johnson went on to thank the Grady County Lake Authority, Bond Council members, the attorneys involved and Raymond James for helping ensure a “smooth and effective” refinancing process. The county administrator saved special recognition for county finance director Holly Murkerson and county clerk John White for organizing and distributing “massive amounts” of financial documents to complete the refinancing project.

The refinanced bonds are unrelated to the $10.35 million 2015 bonds, which the county will continue to make payments on through 2040. The county will not be able to refinance the 2015 bonds until 2025.

Johnson said the refinancing project is just the beginning of an effort that will see the county’s investment in Tired Creek Lake begin to pay off.

“The Tired Creek Lake project has found new momentum toward solving the water and sewage issues that have stymied it for years,” he said. “We hope that the introduction of the ABM company will provide a viable, affordable and obtainable solution to that issue which will open the door to many reputable, respectable and ethical development groups and companies which will allow for revenues to offset even more of the bond costs over time.”