Tribe May Buy Plummer Mill

FOR THE RECORD: 3-25-99 Wrong size: The remanufacturing building at the Rayonier mill in Plummer is 46,000 square feet. A Wednesday article about the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s interest in purchasing the building gave an incorrect square footage.

The Coeur d’Alene Tribe hopes to purchase part or all of the Rayonier mill that burned last summer, officials confirmed Tuesday.

A deal between the tribe and Rayonier for the 4,600-square foot remanufacturing building is “imminent,” according to tribal spokesman Bob Bostwick.

In addition, “we’re looking at the entire site,” he said.

Rayonier spokeswoman Wendy Pugnetti confirmed that the tribe has been in discussions with the Stamford, Conn.-based company.

But Rayonier will not comment further until a deal is completed, she said.

The remanufacturing building would provide space for Seeds Inc., a Tekoa, Wash.-based company that would produce a straw fiberboard on the site, Bostwick said. It would also house the Ironman Safe Co., a Hayden Lake business that the tribe owns, he said.

If the tribe purchases the entire site, it would work in cooperation with another operator to run the mill, Bostwick said.

The sawmill employed 124 people before it was destroyed in a July 17 fire.

Rayonier announced in November that it would not rebuild the mill and put it on the market.