The on-again, off-again sale of Guilford Mills may finally be over for Schoharie County.
County supervisors Friday morning approved the sale of the vacant Cobleskill factory to Mill Services and EFP Properties of Cobleskill for $400,000.
The sale is a straight cash deal and the county would not have to hold a mortgage, Treasurer Bill Cherry told supervisors.
It was financing that last month killed a proposed sale for Green Recycling Solutions International for $2.5 million. Company officials gave the county a $5,000 down payment about a year ago but could not come up with the funds to move forward.
The sale to Mill Services will not bring the 900-plus jobs promised by GRSI, but it will put the property back on the tax rolls and add some employment, Mr. Cherry said.
Mill Services currently employs about 75 people at its existing plant on MacArthur Avenue in Cobleskill. The company expects to add another 25 to 50 employees after expanding into the Guildford Mills plant, Mr. Cherry said Friday.
Mill Services will occupy a quarter of the factory, which has basically been empty for about 14 years, according to company president Daniel Holt.
The remaining 75 percent of the plant will be renovated to accommodate rentals to other businesses in the area, he added in a letter to Mr. Cherry.
Supervisors noted more jobs will be added once these businesses are in place.
Mill Services representatives have promised to "bring the building back to life," Mr. Cherry told supervisors.
Officials have expressed interest for two to three weeks and had roofing and electrical experts examine it, Mr. Cherry said.
It will cost more than $2 million to "bring the building up to speed" with necessary electrical, plumbing, and other repairs, Mr. Cherry added.
Cobleskill Supervisor Leo McAllister spoke highly of the company and the sale.
Mill Services, he noted, did a great job with its building in Cobleskill and has been a great partner in the community.
"They're going to do it (renovate the building) for us and pay us to use it. Everyone would like more money," but the company will be paying taxes and will be employing more people, he added.
Jim Buzon of Middleburgh was relieved that the building will be going to a "local company with a good track record."
Mill Services has asked for a 10-year payment in lieu of taxes agreement, according to Mr. Cherry.
Under that agreement, the company would pay $40,000 per year for the first three years and $60,000 each year for the remaining seven.
Mr. Cherry said it would be more workable to have the same tax result by changing the assessment with the Town of Cobleskill.
He noted that since there is no mortgage on the property, no job creation promises are needed and the company is not interested in the START-UP NY tax break program.
The sale, Mr. Cherry noted, will save the county about $130,000 in next year's county budget, the money the county would have paid in taxes to the Cobleskill-Richmondville School District.
Once closed, the sale will end a 14-year odyssey of close calls and false starts for the county and Guilford Mills.
The 460,000-square-foot plant was almost sold as a fish processing plant as well as a brewery.
After the sale to GRSI fell through in August, supervisors spoke about putting the building up for auction.
According to its website, Mills Services is the largest producer of Eastern White Pine finger-joint boards in the northeast.
From the company's Cobleskill facility, they chop, mill, edge glue, and finger joint the pine for companies throughout the northeast.
Mill Services was established in Cobleskill in 1993 and was purchased by Eastern Forest Products of Lyndeborough, New Hampshire, in 2007.