The Community Development Corporation of Butler County disputes the claim a group of farmers got a raw deal in leasing space for an onion drying facility at Victory Road Business Park.

Diane Sheets, executive director, questions statements by farmer Ted Callen that his group, formerly known as the Butler Onion Network, was charged too much rent leading to a default on a $50,000 loan.

Callen criticized the CDC in Sunday's Butler Eagle story about the CDC absorbing the loss of money from defaulted loans.

Sheets said the farmers were charged nothing for the first year.

"There were no lease payments in the first season," she said.

For the second season, the farmers paid $2,000 plus utilities.

During the offseason, which lasted nine months, the farmers were charged $500 a month to store their equipment there.

Sheets stressed the loan was strictly meant for the farmers to buy equipment, which was repossessed in 2007 after the loan could not be repaid.

"It had nothing to do with the building," she said.

Sheets said the original $8 million plan for a multi-tenant agricultural zone never reached fruition.

"That never happened," she said.

Only the $590,000 building housing the onion drying facility was erected. The Simply Sweet onion farmers used half of the structure, or 5,000 square feet.