BY JIMMY LAWTONNorth Country This Week

CANTON — The St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency approved a $500,000 loan through the St. Lawrence River Valley Redevelopment Loan Fund to help support upgrades to the wastewater lagoon system at North Country Dairy, with agency officials pointing to the company’s history as an example of how economic development assistance can preserve jobs and help businesses grow.

During the June IDA meeting, Executive Director Pat Kelly told board members that the agency’s relationship with the facility dates back to a critical point when the dairy operation was in danger of closing.

“When we started with them, the facility had been shut down and was for sale,” Kelly said. “It was very close to being dismantled.”

Kelly said that without the involvement of Upstate Niagara Cooperative, which acquired the facility in 2011, the plant likely would have been closed permanently.

“Without their participation, the facility would have been closed and auctioned off in pieces,” he said.

The facility, located in the North Country and operated by Upstate Niagara Cooperative, has since expanded significantly. Kelly said the company exceeded the employment requirements tied to previous IDA assistance packages.

“When they acquired the first loan package, our requirement was for 50 jobs to be created,” Kelly said. “At the time the loan was paid off, they had created 73.”

He said a later $1 million loan package came with a goal of reaching 90 jobs.

“They are now at 128,” Kelly said. “So when I say they’ve met or exceeded, they have greatly exceeded the job requirements.”

Kelly also noted the company’s strong financial performance with the agency.

“The payment history has been stellar,” he said.

SLC Legislator Jim Reagen, who serves as an IDA board member, said the project illustrates the role economic development agencies often play outside the public spotlight.

“I think a lot of people don’t realize the important role the IDA has played behind the scenes in making some of these companies able to grow and expand in the North Country,” Reagen said.

He said the dairy facility’s turnaround demonstrates how targeted assistance can have a broader regional impact.

“Here’s a company that came in, we took a chance on them, loaned them money for 50 jobs,” Reagen said. “They exceeded their numbers, had a stellar repayment system. Then we loaned them money again. They grew to 128 jobs.”

Reagen said the latest assistance also addresses challenges facing the dairy operation while helping protect local economic activity.

“Deer River has been having problems, and we are stepping up,” he said. “We have put together assistance not just from the IDA, but brought others into it and made it possible for them to address the issues they were facing.”

The lagoon improvements are intended to help the facility continue operating while addressing wastewater treatment needs.

Reagen said maintaining the plant has benefits beyond the jobs directly located there.

“They can continue employing people and buying from the dairy industry,” he said. “I don’t know that anyone else was going to do that if we had not been here to do that.”

 Reagen said the project reflects the broader purpose of the IDA.

“I think it’s important for the public to understand what it is that the IDA actually does,” Reagen said. “A lot of times the general public really doesn’t understand the important role we play behind the scenes to make it possible for these companies to succeed in a very tough economic environment.”

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