By ADAM ATKINSON
North Country This Week

CANTON — After almost a year, the Canton Capital Resource Corporation, originally formed in 2010 to issue bonds for the construction of a $30 million SUNY Canton dormitory, has a full slate of board officers again.

The Canton town council at their Dec. 12 meeting appointed five people to fill the long-vacant seats of the CCRC executive board.

Brian Gardam, Benjamin Dixon and William E. Irven, all of Canton; accountant John Gray of Colton and Lyndon Allen of Potsdam will now serve as CCRC executive board members.

The CCRC is run by a board of five members, whose main responsibility is to review and approve a yearly audit of the organization.

Previous board members all resigned, with former chairman Thomas Coakley stepping down in 2017, and Ed Fay, Shelia Harrington and former town Supervisor David Button quitting on Jan. 1, 2018.

The last member, former Town Councilman Paul Backus maintained his membership on the executive board until May 9 to keep the body active while the town council discussed who to appoint to fill the vacancies.

The corporation has a sole member in the town of Canton itself. The town board’s only involvement in the management of the CCRC is to appoint its 5-member executive board.

Following the resignations early this year, town officials were initially concerned about possible responsibilities the municipality could incur from the activities of the CCRC. However, local attorney Roger Linden who had first set up the corporation explained to the board that the town was insulated from any financial liability. Linden said Canton was also not obligated to fund the CCRC or be liable for repayment of the bond debt, the latter being the responsibility of the developer.

The CCRC was formed in 2010 as a pass-through organization to issue bonds from a lender to the Canton College Foundation, which was developing a $30 million dormitory for SUNY Canton in 2010.

The town, as the sole member of the corporation, has received about $150,000 in income from the CCRC since its formation, revenue generated from the corporation’s bond issuing activities. The CCRC itself retains some revenue from such activities to pay for a yearly audit. 
Calling for the audit, reviewing it and approving its findings is the main activity of the CCRC board.

Such corporations focused on local development like the CCRC are no longer allowed by the state. However, if one already exists, it can continue to operate, and in the case of the CCRC, be utilized to issue bonds for other capital construction projects in the community.

Town board members have previously discussed expanding the CCRC’s role to issue bonds for other local development initiatives.