By JIMMY LAWTON

CANTON -- Two economic development agencies are working together to provide a $97,000 loan to Thew Associates that is expected to help the company retain 14 jobs and create two more.

The St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency and St. Lawrence River Valley Redevelopment Agency will lend $97,000 to the Canton-based engineering company. While the funding will come from the River Agency, approval from the IDA is required on all expenditures of the fund.

The loan will be paid back over five years

The interest rate on the loan will be half-prime plus one, with the actual rate determined at closing.

The loan will help the company acquire unmanned aerial vehicles and sensor equipment.

Established in 1972, Thew Associates PE-LS, PLLC is an engineering-support services firm that provides land and hydrographic surveying and mapping, subsurface utility investigations, concrete imaging utilizing ground penetrating radar and sediment sampling and analysis.

The company has successfully completed more than 4,000 projects for governmental, commercial, industrial, institutional, and architectural and engineering, and construction clients.