The Centralia City Council on Monday approved an application for a $500,000 Intermediary Relending Program loan. The application, if approved, would give the city money to lend in support of local economic development projects. City manager Galen Mahle explains how the loans will be used to help local businesses:
“In layman’s terms, we’re calling it the revolving loan fund,” Mahle said. “It is a program that the city of Centralia had previously. We haven’t had it for quite a few years, but we’re looking at it as something we can use for economic development for some of those potential businesses or potential rehab types of programs that we will be able to loan. It really will be a great asset to our community.”
The city’s loan would be paid back at one percent per annum over 30 years. Loans given by the city with this money would not exceed $250,000 and would not finance more than fifty percent of the total cost of any project.
Mahle said the city is working toward a memorandum of understanding with Marion County to allow county animal control to use Centralia’s animal control facility while terms for the sale of the facility are worked out. The council took no action on animal control on Monday, but Mahle hopes for a memorandum of understanding to be in place by the end of the year.
The council passed resolutions for motor fuel tax spending, approving an additional $22,000 to be spent from 2025 MFT due to work being done on an additional mile of roadway and materials being more expensive than expected. The council allocated up to $200,000 in MFT spending for 2026, with an estimated work cost of $195,353. The city plans to oil and chip 7 miles of road in 2026.
In other resolutions, the council approved several TIF reimbursements, including $268,179 with Meadow Woods in TIF #6, $11,016 to The Villas at Centralia Heritage Woods in TIF #6, $52,240 for Country Bob in TIF #4, and $11,526 to Blue Fish 44 in TIF #5.
A pay request was approved, paying J.K. Trotter and Sons for completing field work for a lead service line inventory project at 278 addresses for an estimated $97,050.
