EAGLE RIVER – The Keweenaw County Board of Commissioners (which also serves as the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge board) has been informed the Federal Government is preparing to refer the county’s delinquent account to the U.S. Department of Treasury for cross-servicing and offset.

According to a letter from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Community Programs – Michigan State Office, the Keweenaw County board holds three revenue bonds, but has not made any kind of a Bond payment, or a partial payment since December 10, 2013. The letter stated that the Government has previously brought the delinquencies to the county board’s attention, but “the Issuer (county) has failed to cure or otherwise address them.” Once the account has been referred, the Michigan Rural Development personnel must thereafter refer all inquiring from the Issuer regarding the account to the US. Dept. of Treasury’s Bureau of Fiscal Service.

The first bond, issued on Jan. 17, 2007, was for the amount of $1,273,000. The second bond, issued on June 15, 2007, amounted to $120,000, while the third bond, which was issued on June 18, 2008, was for the amount of $410,000.

The letter stated that the county’s total delinquency is currently $594,077.79, with interest continuing to accrue at a rate of just over $202 per day. The letter also stated that an additional $39,995.42 in interest has accrued as of Sept. 16, 2016, the date on which the letter was written.

Not withstanding the foregoing, the letter states, the Government is authorized and willing to again explore the possibly of reamortizing the Issuer’s entire indebtedness and refrain from referring the account to the Treasury’s bureau, but only on certain terms set forth in the letter. The board has 30 days to respond to the letter, otherwise, the Government will take “all actions deemed necessary to protect its interests.”