PORT ANGELES — The fate of the shuttered KPly mill, which closed permanently almost one year ago, remains in limbo until the bank that holds the lien on the equipment makes a decision, said Port of Port Angeles officials and a man who wants to reopen it.
The closing deadline for purchasing the mill passed last week, said Josh Renshaw, a Port Angeles man who is working with a group of investors to buy the 19-acre plywood mill on Marine Drive and reopen it.
But Renshaw said he is “still in negotiations” with Sterling Savings Bank of Tacoma, which holds the lien taken out by the mill’s owner, Klukwan Inc. of Alaska.
He said Tuesday that he is “still optimistic” that the mill will reopen.
He would not confirm that he had asked for an extension, and declined to comment further on Tuesday.
Extension request
Bob McChesney, port executive director, said, “I believe an appeal to extend the deadline had been filed, but a decision hasn’t been made.”
He said that, as of Monday, bank officials had made no final decision.
“We should hear what the bank’s decision is within a matter of days,” McChesney said.
Klukwan, which owns the mill’s equipment, permanently laid off 132 employees in April 2008 after closing the mill in November 2007.
Renshaw, a former sales manager for KPly, wants to put 172 employees to work at the mill, saying it could produce 5 million board feet of plywood a month.
If the mill does not reopen, the port, which owns the land the mill sits upon, would clear the site and use it for some other purpose, port officials have said.
Cara Coon, Sterling spokeswoman, said she wasn’t aware of any details about latest developments concerning KPly and couldn’t comment on Tuesday.
Ready for resolution
John Calhoun, Port of Port Angeles commission president, hopes for a resolution soon.
“I think we really need to move on this,” he said.
“We’ve got issues of trying to get that site cleaned up and integrated into our waterfront master plan.
“We have been working on the plan with alternatives, with or without KPly.”
If an extension is not granted, the most likely course of action would be an auction, McChesney said, based on earlier actions by the bank.
Under Renshaw’s plan, the mill, which has operated under different owners since 1941, would revert to its original name of Peninsula Plywood.
Renshaw has said he believes he can acquire and restart the mill with $1 million in local financing, $1 million in state loans and $3 million in bank loans.
The bank holds a lien on the property, and other portions of the property — such as the buildings — are owned by the port, which foreclosed on the assets when Klukwan defaulted on rent payments.
Joint auction
McChesney said that if the bank sets an auction, the port probably would hold its auction jointly.
“The actual disposition of those assets is unknown at this point,” he said. “The most expeditious way of discarding those assets is a joint auction.”
The port, city and Renshaw are all ready for an answer one way or another.
“We would really like to get on with it,” McChesney said.
“The city is growing impatient as well.
“It really is an eyesore at this point.”
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
