New jobs Town hopes Koeneman sale will create them

Ken Johnston

Rainy River town council hopes to have sold the former Koeneman Lumber plant.
In a special meeting last Monday evening council voted to sell the building to an undisclosed party for $50,000.
Mayor Glen Armstrong said, “I feel wonderful about it,” citing the fact that the purchaser has said they plan to create three or four jobs there. Armstrong could not say what the nature of the business will be as the deal has not been completely inked.
The buyer had ten days from last Monday to finalize the deal. If it goes through the town will have the former lumber plant back on the tax roll after several years.
The building was seized for unpaid taxes and has been up for sale for about three years. Taxes were around $15,000 per year, but the new owner plans to rezone which will cut the taxes in about half said Mayor Armstrong. However, there has been no revenue from the property coming in for the past several years.
Some councillors wondered if the town was getting the best bang for their buck, but Mayor Armstrong argued, “No one has been beating down our door for the past two and half years.”
The town owes the Ontario Development Corporation $35,000 for the building once the deal is finalized. However, Mayor Armstrong said they can space that out over 30 years at 1% interest.
Council still plans to auction off the chattels in the plant and Mayor Armstrong said they hope to make some more money from that as soon as possible.