JOHN DAY — Once pegged as the site of a potential CyberMill, the building located at 241 W. Main St. in John Day is up for sale.

The John Day City Council voted unanimously at the Dec. 17 council meeting to sell the building. Council President Eric Bush did not participate in the discussion or vote on the move after declaring a potential conflict of interest and leaving the room.

The city purchased the building in June of 2021 for $90,000 as part of a partnership with Grant County CyberMill with the intention of turning it into a reliable high-speed internet access point for local residents who lack adequate internet access.

The project then hit a series of setbacks and has been on hold ever since.

Initially the city planned to use a portion of a $2 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to renovate the building, which needs significant repairs before Grant County CyberMill could step in to furnish and equip the space as an internet cafe.

But the city has yet to release the funds for that purpose, and now it’s facing a budget shortfall, making a sale of the property attractive to city officials.

There is currently no prospective buyer for the building. A sale to the Regional Rural Revitalization Consortium, known as R3, was in negotiations, but that deal ultimately fell through. City Manager Melissa Bethel said R3 had agreed to pay $105,000 for the building but wanted some warranty assurances despite the city’s desire to sell the building “as is.”

Bethel said R3’s intent was to turn the building into the long-awaited John Day CyberMill, but the city’s desire to sell the property quickly may make a CyberMill at the site unlikely.

Grant County CyberMill board member Didgette McCracken said the city stands to lose a lot if the building is not utilized in the way it was intended.

“This site has been planned for over five years and they would be losing a $1.2 million investment in a downtown building by a nonprofit organization and a partnership that would bring free public internet access and technology, outside of business/limited hours, and meeting space to John Day,” she said.

Along with losing a reliable internet access point, McCracken said the city would also lose out on an opportunity to add much-needed short-term housing and office space, all of which McCracken said had already been spoken for.

“They are missing an opportunity to fix up a neglected downtown building that has been vacant for 15 years with a purpose to support the community,” she added.

McCracken said the Grant County CyberMill board is not making efforts to turn the building into a CyberMill any longer, citing a lack of communication from the city on the issue.

“We have exhausted opportunities with John Day, and with the city’s lack of interest or support of another iteration in such a site, we think our efforts would be better placed in another community where there is support and security for other sites is less at risk,” McCracken said. “Over the past five years the priorities of the city and broadband access have changed.”

Bethel said revenue from the sale of the Main Street building was budgeted for this fiscal year and will help shore up a struggling city fund.

“I think the sale will help the IT fund, which has a negative balance,” she said.

Based on a comparative market analysis by Madden Realty, the recommended list price was set at $99,000.

Despite the sale to R3 falling by the wayside and, with it, the likelihood of a CyberMill in John Day, Bethel said she is looking forward to what a prospective buyer will do with the property.

“(It) will be nice to have a private owner utilize the building in a way that helps John Day economically,” she said.

R3’s offer for the Main Street building was $105,000 and the recommended list price of the building is the result of a comparative market analysis. A previous version of this story included a different figure for the offer and used a less precise term to describe the method used to determine the recommended list price.