LYONS FALLS — Lewis County Development Corp. plans to buy a portion of the former Lyons Falls Pulp & Paper plant and develop it as a business park.

"We're going to attempt to make something happen," said LCDC board member and county Legislator Richard C. Lucas, R-Barnes Corners.

"We're very excited about the project," added Warren S. Rosenthal, the county's economic development director.

Mr. Rosenthal, who proposed the business park this spring, also is a member of the LCDC board.

The nonprofit corporation on Aug. 15 signed an option to buy within 60 days 10 acres of the main 18-acre mill parcel from Johnson Industries Inc. for $150,000.

"Our job in the next 60 days is to find funding," Mr. Lucas said.

Earlier this month, county legislators approved contracting with LCDC to provide economic and community development services for up to $100,000.

However, that money legally may be used only for so-called "soft costs" such as engineering and legal fees, not for property acquisition or demolition, Mr. Lucas said.

LCDC is mulling a few projects — including the Lyons Falls proposal — that could use some of the county funding, corporation President Larry L. Dolhof said.

The funding stems from a $250,000 unbudgeted payment made by Erie Boulevard Hydropower, half of which will be distributed to the towns of Croghan and Watson. The company in 2002 agreed to make annual payments of $125,000 or $150,000 to the county over 13 years in exchange for placing their Croghan and Watson dams in the county's Empire Zone.

The company failed to make a payment last year but made a double payment this year, Mr. Lucas said.

LCDC officials are considering the sale of a portion of the shuttered mill property to Northbrook Lyons Falls, which owns an adjacent six-megawatt dam at the confluence of the Moose and Black rivers.

The company in late 2006 proposed installation of a nine-megawatt dam on the west side of the river. However, many community members asked that any development occur on the east side out of concern that the west-bank proposal could divert water flow away from the falls after which the village is named.

With extra east-side property, officials at Kruger Energy of Montreal, Quebec, which manages the Northbrook dam, have said they could embark on a $20 million to $30 million expansion project while adhering to community wishes, Mr. Dolhof said.

"We're working with them to advance their goals, as well as ours," he said, noting the proposed partnership could provide the LCDC with funding and, possibly, lower-cost electricity at the proposed business park.

The former Lyons Falls Pulp and Paper mill was shut in January 2001, displacing 186 workers.

Mr. Dolhof, a former Lewis County legislator, owns a hardware store across Center Street from the former mill, and his father once managed the plant. Partly for sentimental reason, he said, he was hoping another manufacturer would restart the mill.

"Unfortunately, that era has passed," Mr. Dolhof said.

Development of a business park would clean up the site and provide economic benefits to the community, he said.

Preliminary discussions with a contractor indicate demolition costs may essentially be offset by revenues from the sale of scrap metal, Mr. Dolhof said. However, asbestos abatement — depending on the volume of the toxic substance — could substantially increase projected costs.

While specific plans for the proposed business park are still nebulous, Mr. Rosenthal said he would like to see it become a "green or renewable energy park," in which eco-friendly companies and makers of parts for renewable energy operations could locate.