Town of Renfrew Clerk Carolynn Errett
A long-standing agreement between the Town of Renfrew and its local power distributor will come to an end.
Town council approved Renfrew Hydro’s plan to borrow $3 million to completely pay off a promissory note they agreed to with the town back in 2001 as part of their and Renfrew Power Generation’s separation from the former Renfrew Hydro Electric Commission.
Clerk Carolynn Errett explains that the town’s close involvement with Renfrew Hydro required their consent.
The town had spent most of the last 25 years agreeing to only collect the annual interest on the promissory notes from Renfrew Hydro and Renfrew Power Generation before discussions about closing out both deals began last December.
Errett says the loan Renfrew Hydro is taking out will do that without putting themselves in peril.
Renfrew Treasurer Charlene Jackson points out that there are some immediate uses for the $2,705,168 the town gets back in the deal.
In her briefing to council on Tuesday, Jackson suggested using the cash to cover the $1.42 million renovation of Town Hall and just over $900,000 for work done along O’Brien Road from Mask to Wrangler, with the remaining used to offset their borrowing for either the Ma-te-Way Expansion or the major watermain rehabilitation along Argyle and Lochiel Streets.
(written by Kasey Egan)