Loan cinches business deal
By Kathy McCarty
PRESQUE ISLE — City Council approved a loan in the amount of $70,000 to the Northern Maine Finance Corporation for the acquisition and installation of a 175,000 Kw electrical generator at the former MBNA building at 18 Green Hill Dr.
During the Sept. 8 session, Councilor Walt Elish explained that NMFC owns the building and the generator was needed to clinch the deal with the newest tenant, BalanceBPO.
“They need a backup generator but there currently isn’t one there. NMFC didn’t have the funds to purchase one,” said Elish.
The purpose of the loan is to aid in the redevelopment of the facility.
City Manager Jim Bennett said although the company doesn’t currently own the building, it may in the future.
“The building (owner) pays taxes. It wasn’t quite a spec building. The reason I recommended (the city’s involvement) and the trustees have gotten involved — for all intents and purposes, they’ll (BalanceBPO) buy the building a year or two from now and will be employing several individuals,” said Bennett.
The city manager said the loan will be a wise investment for the city.
“Offering the loan at a competitive rate to secure several jobs” is the right decision to make, said Bennett.
“The generator was a condition for them (BalanceBPO) going in. The real issue is most high-tech companies or call centers have to have 24-hour Internet access. A generator’s needed so they never go down,” Bennett said.
Council Chair Jennifer Trombley noted the prior tenants operated without a generator.
“That’s probably one of the reasons they’re not still in business,” responded Bennett.
Council voted unanimously to approve the request. The loan will be made at zero percent for the first year and then accruing interest at a rate of 1.5 percent each year thereafter for a total loan term of five years. The total loan payment will be due in full at the end of the five years or upon sale of the property, if sooner than the five years.
Tim Lavin, co-founder, president and CEO of BalanceBPO, explained why his company needs a generator.
“Both previous tenants of the facility were outbound operations. They called customers, etc., to solicit their products and services. BalanceBPO is almost strictly inbound; we handle customer contacts on behalf of our clients,” said Lavin.
He continued, explaining why a generator is so important to his company.
“Not unlike my previous company, Ambergris Solutions, which I helped start up in the Philippines, we are targeting Fortune 500 companies to partner with. These clients require full power redundancy to ensure continuation of service,” said Lavin.
While this aspect is important in outbound, Lavin said it’s not considered “mission critical.”
“Having full power and bandwidth (phone and Internet) redundancy is ‘table stakes’ for companies like BalanceBPO that want to be considered by large corporations for partnership, and therefore the generator was a necessary facet in our list of requirements to locate operations here,” said Lavin.
