By MAX R. MITCHELL, Watertown Daily Times
OGDENSBURG — The city has reached a deal for the sale of the kosher cheese plant at 30 Main St.
City Manager Arthur J. Sciorra negotiated an agreement to sell the land, equipment and building for $900,000 to Toobro LLC., owned by Menachem and Schneur Bistritzky. The city council still needs to approve the agreement. The city council set a public hearing for 7 p.m. May 11 to discuss the sale.
The $900,000 includes a $125,000 down payment, which will be paid over the next five months as Toobro seeks a license from the state Department of Agriculture and Markets to purchase milk, Mr. Sciorra said.
Once the milk license is granted, the company will either pay off the remainder of the $900,000 or pay an additional $12,000 a month for 13 months for a total of $1,056,000, according to Mr. Sciorra.
The agreement allows the company to begin operations before it fully purchases the land, Mr. Sciorra said. The down payment will be held in an escrow account pending the approval of the license, he said.
Toobro officials declined to comment.
The plant, which produces “cholov yisroel”-grade kosher cheese and milk, has been closed since Feb. 20, when the Department of Agriculture and Markets suspended the plant’s operating license after inspectors found high levels of bacteria and coliform in the products.
Monday, the state Department of Agriculture and Markets granted Toobro a license to operate the Ogdensburg plant, department spokeswoman Jessica A. Chittenden said.
According to Mr. Sciorra, the company began to produce cheese Monday and brought back about 40 employees. The company will use milk from Ahava Food Corp., which was the previous owner of the plant, until it obtains a milk license, Ms. Chittenden said.
“The situation did look bleak a few months ago, but it’s turned into something positive,” state Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine, D-Cape Vincent, said. “It’s a great example of government working with entrepreneurs to protect jobs, ensure quality and preserve a market for milk from local dairy farmers.”
Toobro purchased the assets of Ahava Food Corp., including a similar cheese making plant in Lowville, in February. Since then, the company spent more than $100,000 upgrading the roof, steam pipes and floor drains at the Ogdensburg plant.
The city foreclosed on the Main Street facilities in July because of $90,000 owed in rent and $618,138 in utility payments. According to city officials, the property is appraised at $1.2 million.
“I am so pleased that the city of Ogdensburg has been able to work out an arrangement to get this cheese plant back in operation and get North Country residents back to work,” Gov. David A. Paterson said by e-mail. “The reopening of this cheese plant is a small but significant win for Ogdensburg.”
