BY ADAM ATKINSONNorth Country This Week

POTSDAM -- The Potsdam town supervisor said the region's federal and state representatives are now working on trying to secure funding for Potsdam Speciality Paper to offset the cost of flood damage repairs.

At the April 8 town board meeting, Supervisor Marty Miller told town board members he has been in active communications with representatives to try to get loans approved for the longtime local company.

The local paper company was hit hard by floods during the Aug. 8 weather event last year and was actually shut down for 7 to 8 weeks and had laid off employees while the damage was dealt with. A drain pipe across the roadway from the plant enabled water about 2 feet deep to flow into the building and through its electrical room.

The company, operating for the last 100 years, employs about 75 local residents and is considered a world leader in "researching, developing, and manufacturing specialty latex, acrylic, and other saturated base papers. Their products are shipped globally, with distributors in North America, Europe, Mexico, and China,” the county IDA's website says.

The company was initially approved to receive a $2 million loan through the U.S. Small Business Administration, but there was no money in the fund at the time to issue the loan.

"So we are trying to get them loans, not grants, loans, with low interest," Miller said.

"So we thought everything was okay. But they notified me March 31s that they got a letter that said they'd been denied," Miller said.

The supervisor said he then began contacting Rep. Elise Stefanik's office, state Sen. Dan Stec's office and other state representatives.

"It went back and forth for about a week," Miller said. "They're saying they are back in the running again, they are just going to try to steer it in a different direction."

"But the political leaders have been really great and keeping me up from, you know, keeping me informed of what's going on. Usually every couple of days, they're letting me know. Right now, we're following down the path where hopefully that money will be available to them now so keep our fingers crossed," Miller said.

Miller told North Country This Week on April 14th that he is waiting to hear from Stefanik's office to see how the situation is progressing to secure funding for the company.  

Help St. Lawrence County Stay Connected!

We’re glad you read this article reported by the staff of NorthCountryNow.com.

If you haven’t done so already, please consider subscribing to ensure you have full access to all the news and info about St. Lawrence County.

Your subscriptions make it possible for us to provide trustworthy local news, promote our many community events, and encourage community dialogue.

Please click here to subscribe today!