The House on Thursday approved legislation that would pay off the interest Global TransPark owes to a special fund in the state treasury and set up quarterly payments until the loan is paid off. “Ultimately the state of North Carolina is obligated to pay what the TransPark can’t,” said Rep. Julia Howard, R-Davie, the sponsor of the House bill. “The state of North Carolina is on the hook for this debt.”
Following the creation of the Global TransPark Authority in Kinston 20 years ago, the state provided a loan of up to $25 million from the state Escheats Fund. The GTP Authority currently owes $22.5 million in principal on that loan, Howard said. The bill would pay back $17.5 million in interest to the fund and set up quarterly payments of $1.25 million from the general fund until the loan is paid off, Howard said. Under that timetable, the loan would be repaid in five years, she said.
In addition to providing for repayment of the loan, the bill would reorganize the GTP Authority board. “The current board is defunct on June 30,” Howard said. Currently, the GTP gets about $1.6 million a year from the state in operating expenses. Howard said that lawmakers hope that eventually the organization would become self-supporting.
Barry Smith 6/10/11
