County of Fayette issued the following announcement on May 26.
Applications for the inaugural round of funding are available under the "Explore" tab.
After months of planning and preparation, Fayette County officially launched its new Infrastructure Bank Thursday.
Aimed at helping municipalities and municipal authorities fund infrastructure projects, the Fayette County Infrastructure Bank will allow such entities to apply for loans from a special county fund to be used as a quicker, more reliable option for financing necessary repair or improvement projects.
The Fayette County Commissioners, along with Community Networking Resources (CNR) and HRG Engineering Inc. made the announcement during a press conference at the Fayette County Courthouse in Uniontown.
Fayette County Economic Development Coordinator Mark Rafail said the Infrastructure Bank was the result of Commissioners Dave Lohr, chairman; Vince Vicites and Scott Dunn wanting to help municipal leaders “maximize their investment in infrastructure projects through the county.”
“The Infrastructure Bank funds will be used as match money or fund complete projects that otherwise would not have been able to happen without county assistance,” Rafail said. “By advancing infrastructure improvements that support tourism, economic development and public safety, the local economy will also grow.”
Community Networking Resources Co-chairs Katherine Conter and Michael Musser said, in a joint statement, that CNR and HRG established the first Infrastructure bank in both Pennsylvania and nationwide in 2014 in Dauphin County. Butler County followed in 2018, and Fayette started the process in 2021.
“CNR and HRG have been instrumental in the process of creating the Fayette County Infrastructure Bank and will continue to assist with running the program,” Conter and Musser said. “Our experiences in Dauphin and Butler counties made it easier for us to help establish an Infrastructure Bank here. We look forward to helping the municipalities and authorities make a difference for residents and businesses in Fayette County.”
Fayette’s program structure will involve the county offering low-interest loans to more eligible applicants than what is available through traditional financing. Potential eligible applicants will include municipal governments, municipal authorities and others to be determined.
The Fayette County Infrastructure Bank will be focused on public transportation and utility infrastructure to support economic development projects and public safety. In addition to investing county funds directly back into county municipalities, other benefits include creation of a legacy program for investment in local county infrastructure; increased access to capital at the lowest possible rates; project planning and delivery support from county officials; the ability to leverage additional funding sources and more.
Now that program guidelines have been finalized, the open application period is under way. Loan closing for the first round of funding is slated to be implemented this fall, with project pre-construction to begin by winter 2022-23.
Visit www.fayettecountypa.org/839/Fayette-County-Infrastructure-Bank to download an application and learn more. For more information, contact Mark Rafail at mrafail@fayettepa.org.
For more information about Fayette County, visit www.FayetteCountyPA.org.
Editor's Note: Photos attached (Infrastructure Bank Press Conference; Infrastructure Bank Press Conference2; Infrastructure Bank Press Conference3)
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This communication, among other initiatives, is funded through the 2016 Fayette County Local Share Account (LSA) in cooperation with the Fayette County Board of Commissioners, Fayette Chamber of Commerce, The Redevelopment Authority of the County of Fayette, The Redstone Foundation and other partners. This funding has been designated for the continued promotion and marketing of Fayette County, PA.
For more information, contact Kristi Rooker Kassimer, Public Relations Specialist, at 412-691-0262, kkassimer@fayettecountypa.info or Kaylie Moore, Community Relations Coordinator, at 724-430-1200 Ext. 1611, kmoore@fayettepa.org.
Original source can be found here.
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