CRESTLINE—The Village of Crestline announced today that the Ohio Water Development Authority (OWDA) has funded a $14.9 million Water Pollution Control Loan. The loan was approved by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) earlier this month, and now the Village can move forward with the $19.5 million relocation and rebuild of their existing sewer plant. Groundbreaking is tentatively scheduled for March 20, and the construction is expected to be completed within two years.

“We’re very excited to see this project move forward at no additional cost to the residents,” said Crestline Mayor Linda Horning Pitt. “It’s badly, badly needed. We thank OWDA and the Ohio EPA, the Ohio Solar PPA Fund, Crestline Village Council, Bill Reineke and Riordan McClain, Governor DeWine and Lt. Gov. Husted, RCAP and the Great Lakes Community Action Partnership, the Crawford Partnership, and many other partners for helping to make this possible.”

The existing wastewater plant, located on Westgate Dr. in the northwest corner of the village, was built in 1994 and has reached the end of its useful life. In 2011, the Ohio EPA placed the plant under orders to have a new plant operational by 2018. Due to financial constraints, it has not been possible until now. The 30-year Water Pollution Control Fund loan will have a fixed one percent interest rate for the term, with the first payment due in January 2026.

In October 2021, the Village was awarded a $5 million BUILDS (Broadband, Utilities, and Infrastructure for Local Development Success) grant from Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted. In 2022, they also received a $200,000 Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC) grant.

On February 6, 2023, Crestline Village Council approved an agreement with Ohio Solar PPA to place a special tax assessment on 165 acres of land they own and on which they plan to develop a utility-scale solar field. The $3,200 per acre annual tax is expected to generate $528,000 per year and enable the village to make the payments on the OEPA loan.

Alex Lemus, CEO of Ohio Solar PPA Fund, was pleased with the news. “We have been working with the Village of Crestline officials for three years to acquire all of the land needed to fund this project. We are very excited about the long-term impact this investment will have on the Village of Crestline. Our solar infrastructure will create long-term contracted revenue for Crestline. The customized financing structure removes the debt service burden from the residents of Crestline.”