Having secured federal economic stimulus funding for five water and sewer projects in 2009, Carroll County will shoot for a share of $25 billion in direct allocations of Recovery Zone Bonds aimed at economic development in 2010.

Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, Carroll secured more than $8 million in funding for new wastewater and public water systems in Fancy Gap in September. The county’s government was also able to land smaller amounts of ARRA funding for water and wastewater projects last year on Honeycutt Dam Road, Wildwood Commerce Park, the Austinville Regional Water project, and Interstate 77 projects in Lambsburg and Wildwood.

Now Carroll County will be looking to apply for two types of Recovery Zone Bonds — Recovery Economic Development Zone Bonds that allow state and local governments to obtain lower borrowing costs at 45 percent of the interest to finance a broad range of economic development projects, and Recovery Zone Facility Bonds that may be used by private businesses to finance a broad range of depreciable capital projects.

While a special meeting of the board was set Monday, it could not be held since Fancy Gap District Supervisor Manus McMillian was absent due to illness (all board members are required for special meetings). However, Carroll County Administrator Gary Larrowe told the other five supervisors they could move ahead on Monday, then ratify their actions at the board’s regular meeting on Jan. 11.

“This will allow the process to be continued today since the deadline for those applications are due (January 5),” Larrowe said.

Even if Carroll passes a resolution to apply for the federal funds, that doesn’t mean it will receive them, Larrowe told the board.

“It would mean that we would have a place-holder for the funds if our application was reviewed positively,” he said.

The state of Virginia has a substantial amount of the national portion of the Recovery Zone Bonds to distribute — somewhere in the neighborhood of $495 million, Larrowe told the board. The difference in these funds, Larrowe said, is that the federal government will pay up to 45 percent of the interest charges on the bonds.

“The economic development (bonds) can be issued and reallocated — that is for economic development projects that would end up bringing jobs to the community — so we would end up having an opportunity to have a place to finance operations from in the future for things started in the next year ,” Larrowe said. “We would pray as part of the prosperity of this coming year that we would actually be able to use those in some way to better this community.”

Recovery Zone Facility Bonds would allow Carroll to work with private sector companies for the development of certain activities that would help the community prosper as well, Larrowe said. He said an example would be a company coming in that wanted to construct a building, but needed financing to make it happen.

“There is the potential we could reallocate these bonds to them and then it would reduce their interest charges in the future,” Larrowe said. “Today (we are talking about) a place-holder for those bonds. There will not be a total amount of obligation to the county until they make the application, and then there would be a limit provided for Carroll County. It may be large, it may be small.”

Pine Creek District Supervisor Wes Hurst then made a motion to adopt a resolution allowing Carroll to begin the application process for the bonds, pending its ratification at the board’s Jan. 11 meeting. Supervisor Tom Littrell seconded the motion, which passed by a 5-0 vote.