CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Bradley County laid the groundwork Tuesday to receive $41 million in federal bonds for Olin Corp. if the company decides to go ahead with an undisclosed project.
The Recovery Zone Facility bonds from the state are available as part of the federal American Recovery and Re-investment Act, or stimulus funds.
On Tuesday, steps were taken by the Bradley/Cleveland Industrial Development Board to help Olin secure the bonds if it decides on a project that would be a “significant reinvestment” in the community, according to Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Gary Farlow.
The Bradley County Commission took similar steps Monday.
Under federal law, a “recovery zone” must be declared to receive the stimulus funds, so the commission and Chamber declared the entire county as a recovery zone.
Both bodies also agreed to file the necessary applications for the funds and to set up a special account for the money should it be granted.
The federal bonds do not obligate local government or taxpayers in any way, Farlow and others said.
Any associated expenses, such as attorney fees, are borne by the company, board attorney Thomas Tisdale said.
“It is essentially a borrowing mechanism for Olin to work on a potential project if that project goes forward,” Farlow said. “Olin has been working on this project for quite awhile, but they have more work to do.”
Olin is looking at feasibility studies and other information before making a decision, said Doug Berry, economic development vice president for the Chamber. But the bonds are available only through Dec. 31, when the stimulus funding runs out.
The state recently received about $350 million in bonds for stimulus projects, Berry said. But counties needed to have an industrial project ready for the funding, and, at the time, Bradley and a number of other counties did not. So the money went back to the state.
“We had several smaller projects going,” Berry said, “and we tried to pool them for the bonds.” But that was not feasible, he said.
Now the state is reoffering those Recovery Zone Facilities Bonds to the counties, resulting in a much larger share for Olin.
WHAT’S NEXT
A legally required public hearing is scheduled for Dec. 7 at 8 a.m. at the Chamber.