Staff Writer

July 29, 2000 10 PM

Janet Kervin wants to help businesses keep or expand their employment.

As a new member and vice chairman of the Revolving Loan Fund board of the South Central Alabama Development Commission, she hopes to do just that.

Kervin, who is the director of the Small Business Development Center at Troy State University, was recently appointed to the Revolving Loan Fund board by Troy Mayor Jimmy Lunsford.

She and eight other members will take loan applications passed on by the commission and determine if the requests should be granted.

"We kind of serve at the pleasure of the board," Kervin said of her new position.

Kervin said the loans provide "gap financing for credit-worthy opportunities" to loans that can not by fully financed by a local bank. In other words, the loans are "another tool" for banks that want to help viable projects, but can’t fully finance them.

"We want to make loans that make or retain jobs," Kervin said.

In actuality, each $10,000 loaned is supposed to represent one job, she said. Also, only half of the loan’s face value can be in fixed assets.

"I think there are a lot of good opportunities out there," Kervin said of those businesses which could benefit from the loans.

She is "pleased" to be able to help "have an economic impact" on the area.

"Hopefully, existing companies will be able to take advantage," Kervin said.

Since the board has just joined together, Kervin said it will be a few more weeks before it is ready to start giving loans.

Six of the board’s nine members are appointed from Macon, Bullock, Pike, Crenshaw, Butler and Lowndes counties and two are appointed at-large while the ninth member is an ex officio

member.

The revolving loan is based on the concept that the $1 million initial investment will continue to accrue interest, making it possible to fund more loans as the years pass.