Silver Bay building has two suitors

Talk about it

The Silver Bay City Council moved forward in trying to sell the Mary MacDonald Center building Monday and will begin negotiations soon with potential buyers.

An appraisal for the building came in at about $400,000. An adjacent lot was appraised $76,000 to $91,000. City Administrator Lana Fralich said negotiations could include tying the lot to the building sale.

Wilderness Family Naturals, a long-time tenant, has expressed interest in buying the building in the past. The other possible buyer hasn’t been named.

Wilderness co-owner Annette Fischer has said she is looking at what the operational costs are at the building. Buying it would “anchor” them in Silver Bay after a few years of hints at leaving for cheaper business costs in Wisconsin. Wilderness does about $3 million in sales each year and employs about 30 people.

Council member Joanne Johnson said it would be a good thing for the city if there was private ownership of that building.

Fralich said neither party is looking at kicking out the current businesses in the Mary MacDonald Center.

Water rates

The resolution for increasing water and sewer rates for businesses was approved and will go into effect June 1. Right now, if a business goes over 2,000 gallons, it pays about 25 percent of what a gallon costs during the initial usage. When the switch occurs, it will pay the same per gallon as they were during the first 3,000 gallons. Residential units will not be affected.

Silver Bay is struggling to keep up with maintenance for its facilities. The rate increases could mean a revenue increase of about $200,000 for both water and sewer charges for the biggest users in the city.

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