Times Leader Staff Writer ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Large-scale water and sewer upgrades are expected to begin next year in Belmont County, with a lower interest rate than was first expected, but the process of acquiring property or easements continues using eminent domain in some cases. The commissioners finalized paperwork Wednesday to lock in the interest rate on a 40-year water improvement loan at 1.25 percent. “We’ve been a little bit slow getting to this point. One of the benefits is that the rates were changing during that time and we ended up being able to lock in a lower rate than we would have been earlier,” Belmont County Commissioner J.P. Dutton said.