Maxwell did not respond to interview requests for this story Thursday and Friday made to an email address he provided to a reporter in October.
The county and the city of Hagerstown loaned Maxwell $300,000 in 1997 to help make “Gods and Generals,” the second installment in the trilogy, which started with “Gettysburg.”
“Gods and Generals” was filmed largely in the Tri-State area.
Maxwell’s film company repaid that loan. It’s not clear how long the repayment took, but based onHerald-Mailcoverage at the time, it appeared to be no more than five years.
For the “Last Full Measure” loan, the money came back to the county much slower.
From June 2006 to June 2008, Maxwell repaid about $118,000 in principal.
He objected to a 2007Herald-Mailstory about the pace of the repayment, writing in a letter to the editor,
“The loan is being repaid. The entire amount will be paid in the most amicable manner ... I have too much respect for the people of Washington County to do otherwise.”
Maxwell stopped paying the loan back for about three years — going past the 2010 repayment deadline — until making a $60,000 payment in December 2011.
That was two months afterThe Herald-Mailreported that Maxwell still owed $263,000 on his overdue loan — $181,786 in principal and $81,255 in interest.
During an interview while in Hagerstown for a film festival in October, Maxwell said he met with the Washington County Board of Commissioners earlier in the year “and everybody understands that it’s gonna be solved.”
But a majority of the commissioners were losing their patience by then.
“He’s not on track, and he owes Washington County taxpayers,” Terry L. Baker, the president of the commissioners, said in October. “He hasn’t lived up to his obligation.”
County officials did not announce when Maxwell’s loan was considered paid.The Herald-Maillearned about the settlement this month after asking about it.
Last week, Sprecher was not available to provide the final total of interest Maxwell owed but did not pay.
Asked on Wednesday about the county waiving Maxwell’s interest debt, Commissioner William B. McKinley said, “I believe it was seen as much better than not getting anything.”
County Administrator Gregory B. Murray said one consideration was the legal costs if the matter went to court.
There also was no guarantee of the outcome, Murray said, since the corporation through which Maxwell borrowed the money no longer exists.
