Orange invests in re-opening paper mill

The 1960s paper mill that closed a year ago is on the way to be reopened under new ownership and the City of Orange is giving a$400,000 economic development grant to help.

The Orange City Council and separate City Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors were scheduled to vote on the grant Tuesday evening.

The grant is to USG Paper on Texas Highway 87 North. The plant opened in 1967 as Owens-Illinois and went through other ownerships before Internation Paper acquired it. International Paper closed the plant at the end of 2023 and nearly 500 jobs were lost.

USG is United States Gypsum, which has a subsidiary paper company and mill in Michigan that produces the heavy gauge paper used in wallboard. USG owns the Sheetrock brand.

The city will be giving USG a total of $400,000 over two years to be used for what the city calls "infrastructure." The deal will have a maximum of $200,000 each year.

The paper mill is in the Orange city limits after a "friendly annexation" ten years ago. International Paper asked to be annexed in a dispute concerning sales taxes to a special district.

The paper mill is a major property tax payer for Orange and the Little Cypress-Mauriceville school district. Even though a closed industry is required to pay property taxes, the value of the industry is greatly decreased if a plant is not operating.

The city cut its budget 10 percent this year because of a loss of income that included the taxes on the paper mill and the closing of the Invista plant.

The economic development grants come from a special half-cent per dollar sales tax voter approved more than twenty years ago. The council set up an Economic Development Corporation with a seven-member board of directors. Three of those directors are members of the city council, and the other four are appointed by the city council.

Grant awards must be approved by the EDC board and then in a separate vote by the city council. Council members on the EDC board are Mayor Larry Spears Jr., Caroline Hennigan, and Mary McKenna. Other members are Jason Rodrigue, who serves as chair of the board, plus Margaret Adams, Kimberly Manning, and George Mortimer.

Public hearings are conducted before the votes on any of the EDC projects awarded grants.

Also, the EDC board and council were scheduled to vote on a $50,000 EDC grant for Child's hardware at 3704 North 16th Street at Interstate 10. The business is owned by District 2 City Councilor Brad Childs, who is required to recuse himself of any voting involving his personal business.

The Orange City Council also voted to endorse a proposed apartment complex, Orange Trails, for senior citizens of low to moderate incomes. Trinity Housing Development plans to build the apartments at 4438 27th Street north of Interstate 10.

The plans are for 62 apartments for senior citizens with incomes between $27,000 and $37,000. The apartments will rent for prices between $700 and $1,000 a month based on the number of bedrooms and income of the tenants.

The site is vacant land behind two older motels off the interstate and north of Eddleman Road. A Waffle House is also about a block away from the site. The land is in the city's Interstate Development Corridor with adjacent land zoned Residential-3, which allows apartments.

If the project is approved by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs to qualify for tax credits, Trinity Housing Development will build the apartment complex with investments. The investors will get credits to offset their income taxes.

The city council needs to approve a resolution endorsing the apartments and pay a token $250 in support before the state group decides on the tax credits.

In other business, the council learned from Fire Chief John Bilbo about a grant the city is getting for its animal shelter from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The $46,200 grant will build a fenced area to allow the shelter animals a place to exercise and space to meet and play with people who want to adopt a pet. The area will include sunshades and benches. The city does not have to contribute money to the project.