The prospective purchaser of the former Shaniko Lumber Mill site in Lyons was given an extension from Linn County to complete requirements for the sale to go through.
In 2018, Linn County took possession of the 68-acre Lyons property, then owned by Butte Development Company, which owed approximately $60,000 in unpaid property taxes. The property at 40919 S. 16th St. was estimated to be worth approximately $1.7 million at that time.
At the June 1 Linn County Board of Commissioners meeting, Commissioner Will Tucker explained Sierra Cascade Forest Products had “a period of time to do some environmental due diligence and, during that period of time, there was a fire in that area.”
“Immediately after the fire, an owner of a mill site was interested in that property, but because it was under contract, the county was unable to do anything.”
In the discussion that followed, Rachel Adamec, manager of the county’s real property management program, updated the commissioners on the status of the sale. She said in a letter to the Linn County Attorney, a company lawyer stated that Sierra Cascade expected to close on the property before the extended Oct. 1 deadline set by commissioners.
Background for the sale reports that in May 2020, Sierra Cascade outbid Chris Cooper of Cooper Wagner LLC, which operates CW Lumber on the Marion County side of Mill City.
At that time, the Lyons mill site’s estimated “as is” value was estimated as $1.3 million following a real estate appraisal. The Sierra Cascade bid of $525,000 was accepted by Linn County commissioners Will Tucker and John Lindsey.
Commissioner Tucker thanked Cooper for his company’s $200,000 bid. Commissioner Lindsey suggested Cooper explore other county-owned mill sites available for purchase.
At the June 1 council meeting, Adamec told commissioners that the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality had been “exceptionally slow with the process.”
“This process could be moved along faster if the DEQ were back to work in the office,” said Tucker, who expressed frustration with “the amount of time it is taking to get things done.”
DEQ recently issued a proposed Consent Order for a prospective purchaser agreement with Sierra Cascade and is now seeking comments by 5 p.m. Aug. 2. The proposed Consent Order will help facilitate Sierra Cascade’s acquisition of the property.
Reports state that Sierra Cascade will use the property for its West Coast base of operations for producing forest-related seasonal and specialty consumer products, ranging from table toppers, fire logs, starters and bundled firewood to 100-foot tall commercial trees for malls.
According to company agent Chris Sevilla, Sierra Cascade has a “commanding national market share” in bundled firewood and holiday pine cone products. In his letter last year to Linn County Property Manager Russ Williams, Sevilla stated the company plans to hire between 100-300 employees and have a $5 to $10 million economic impact on the Lyons-Mill City area. Additionally, Sierra Cascade plans to spruce up the old mill site.
If the proposed judgment goes through, Sierra Cascade Forest Products will be released from liability for claims by the State of Oregon as well as third party liability protection, according to the DEQ.
DEQ will consider all public comments received by 5 p.m. on Aug. 2 before making a final decision regarding the proposed Consent Order. A public notice of DEQ’s final decision will be posted to DEQ’s Public webpage and ECSI.
Comments may be sent to DEQ Project Manager Nancy Sawka at 4026 Fairview Industrial Drive S., Salem, Oregon 97302 or [email protected]. or 503-378-5075.
