FORT FRANCES, Ont. — Mayor June Caul seemed to waver between pessimism and optimism as she assessed the chances of getting at least part of the former Resolute mill complex generating jobs and taxes.
"I'm starting to think we'd need a miracle," Caul told Tbnewswatch on Tuesday, three weeks before the expiry of the town's agreement with Riversedge Developments.
In October, Riversedge committed to allow interested qualified buyers to inspect the mill buildings and property and to receive information about any environmental issues until Dec. 31.
Nothing appears imminent in terms of an offer that might lead to restoring the hundreds of jobs the mill used to provide.
However, Caul said a potential investor has floated a smaller-scale proposal.
"It wouldn't involve reopening the whole mill...but it's nice to know there's a company that's interested in part of it, and it would involve the use of wood in some way," she said.
Caul declined to disclose any details about the interested party or its plan, saying talks are ongoing among the company, Riversedge, and the Town of Fort Frances.
The three parties met as recently as last week.
Riversedge CEO Justus Veldman said discussions are "very preliminary" and that no terms for a purchase of part of the property have been established.
He said Tuesday he's prepared to consider extending the end-of-year deadline to accommodate the proponent.
According to Mayor Caul, Riversedge is making property tax payments to the town on the terms the two sides agreed to in October.
But it's the loss of future tax revenue should the mill property remain inactive that's top of mind for her.
"We're going to lose an awful lot of tax money from industrial taxes. We'll have to work hard during the new year to figure out how we're going to manage, and move on from there," Caul said.
There will be "a huge impact" on the municipal budget, she said, but in her view the town has done all that it can do to this point to mitigate its losses.
"We have really pushed hard. We pushed hard against the government, against Resolute, and against this numbered company [Riversedge Developments] to get something done."
