Valdosta council approves $1 million ARPA-backed note for affordable housing construction

The Valdosta Mayor and Council on June 16 approved a resolution authorizing a $1,000,000 construction note for an affordable housing project to be paid from the city's American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocation. Finance Director Chuck Dinkins presented the terms and described how the note would be structured.

Dinkins said the note would carry an interest rate of "three and a quarter percent," with a $1,000,000 principal. During a 30-month construction period the city would receive interest-only payments; thereafter the borrower would make annual payments for 17½ years. The note includes a balloon payment at the end of the 30-month construction period of at least $300,000, with the applicant potentially paying up to $500,000.

Dinkins said this use of ARPA funds had been approved previously by the council and that the current resolution simply establishes the loan terms. A council member moved to approve the resolution as presented, another seconded, and the Mayor called for a show of hands; the transcript records no roll-call tally but indicates approval by the assembly.

The transcript does not identify the borrower, the affordable housing project's developer, the project site, or the repayment source beyond the note's terms. Those details were not specified on the record during this meeting.