Toledo Council to borrow $15M to repair roof of water treatment plant

10/23/2012

Toledo City Council on Tuesday authorized the city to borrow $15 million to repair the roof at the water treatment plant in East Toledo, which was found to be in disrepair.

“An outside engineering firm was retained to evaluate the condition of the water treatment plant and identified the deterioration of the roofs and structural steel supports over the west and east plant filter galleries, flocculation basins, and connecting hallways,” city records said.

The loan would come from the Ohio EPA Water Supply Revolving Loan Account and/or the Ohio Water Development Authority. The interest rate could be about 3 percent, said city spokesman Jen Sorgenfrei.

Ms. Sorgenfrei said borrowing the money at that rate would be cheaper than selling bonds to fund the improvements.

Council voted 11-0 to authorize the loan. Councilman Adam Martinez was not present at Tuesday’s regular meeting. The city could also pay $200,000 for loan application fees and project costs.