GNP behind on second tax payment to Millinocket
Great Northern Paper Co. has fallen behind in a payment plan for overdue property taxes to Millinocket, prompting town officials to schedule a discussion on the company’s delinquency.
The Bangor Daily News reported that Koster Industries, the auctioneer hired to sell GNP’s papermaking equipment in a June auction, is now two days past its deadline to pay the town $340,000 in overdue property taxes — what would be the second payment of four total.
The Millinocket Town Council agreed to a four-part payment plan with GNP and Koster on July 3 in an attempt to speed up the payment process. Koster paid GNP’s first installment of $225,000 later that day. After the town receives the $340,000 that was due on Tuesday, Koster will have to make a $360,000 payment on July 14 and pay off the remainder of the $1.18 million in net property taxes owed to Millinocket on July 21.
Town officials, who were originally expecting the overdue property tax payment last month, told the BDN they will discuss GNP and Koster’s delinquency in a meeting tonight. When they reached the agreement last week, Town Councilor Richard Theriault said that while he himself is a lifelong conservative and believes in big business, GNP gives “capitalism a bad name.”
Cate Street, a New Hampshire-based investment firm, formed GNP when it bought the shuttered Millinocket and East Millinocket mills in 2011. While Cate Street plans to build a $140 million wood pellet mill at the Millinocket site, it has said it plans to reopen the East Millinocket mill this fall after halting operations earlier this year and laying off 212 workers.
The towns of Millinocket and East Millinocket have been under extreme financial pressure because of the unresolved debt and the uncertain status of GNP's mills.
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