Group seeking buyer for Morley Heritage Gristmill

CANTON — The Morley Heritage Gristmill is for sale for the amount of money its parent association owes.

"Nobody's going to make any money," Association President Charles R. LaShombe said. "All we want to do is to get St. Lawrence University paid off."

It isn't clear, however, whether the mill can be sold or how many approvals would need clearance before a closing.

"This is the issue," Sandstone Realty Associate Broker Kenneth Friedel Jr. said. "We are really shooting in the dark here."

The gristmill association was the successful recipient of several grants to restore the building in Morley on the Grasse River, but it ran into difficulties with the final draw of a $92,225 state grant from the Clean Air/Clean Water Bond Act and the Environmental Protection Fund. More than eight years after the grant was announced, the association received a final check for $26,853.11.

Meanwhile, the restoration effort lost support and association members dwindled away until only Mr. LaShombe is left.

The trouble is, the association's debt hasn't disappeared.

St. Lawrence University, Canton, which loaned money to the association so it could jump-start rehabilitation of the stone building before the grant money kicked in, has a $35,369 lien on the property, which includes interest.

"We paid them what we could," Mr. LaShombe said. "What we got back from the state wasn't enough to pay back everything."

Selling the building at $43,000 is one way to retire the association's debt and pay the real estate agency's commission.

"It was the only answer I could think of," Mr. LaShombe said. "I just don't want the headaches. It's dragging and dragging so long. It's a liability and we don't have any money for insurance."

But selling the building may not be as easy as finding a willing buyer.

Both Mr. LaShombe and Mr. Friedel are trying to determine if a sale requires the approval of the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and the state Board of Regents, through which the association received its nonprofit status. The mill is on the National Register of Historic Places, so renovations would have to be in keeping with its requirements for it to stay listed.

Under the state's nonprofit corporation law, in order to divest itself of its assets and go out of business, a nonprofit must submit a dissolution plan for approval by either the membership of the corporation or its directors. According to Article 10 Section 102, once approved by the membership or the directors, "the plan of dissolution and distribution of assets shall have annexed thereto the approval of a justice of the supreme court in the judicial district in which the office of the corporation is located."

If the nonprofit's assets exceed $25,000, the plan must detail how the assets will be divested and how the proceeds are to be distributed.

Another problem area could be changing the zoning from commercial to residential if a buyer wanted to turn the building into a house.

The building's stonework was stabilized but it requires more work.

Some of the stone needs mortar. One side of the building needs to be built up so a supporting I-beam can be removed. There is electricity but no water or sewer service.

Mr. LaShombe once hoped to turn the 1840-vintage mill into an educational showcase. His vision still could be picked up by others, Mr. Friedel said.

"He had a wonderful dream," Mr. Friedel said. "The good news is Charlie has done a good job so far. We really would like to see the project completed."