Richmondville Sets Steep Requirements For Potential Maranatha Investor

RICHMONDVILLE - New York City investor Da-Lai Wu made his case to the Town of Richmondville Tuesday morning on why he should be the man to turn around Maranatha and takeover the $5.3 million publicly funded facility that is currently sitting unoccupied on Route 7.

However, in order for any of that to occur, Mr. Wu needs Empire State Development to grant a waiver due to the regulations attached to the Restore New York grant the project received but that cannot happen until Mr. Wu meets nine requirements set by the Town of Richmondville, which holds the final say on whether a waiver request will be submitted or not.

The Schoharie News received a copy of the nine requirements earlier this afternoon in an e-mail from a concerned resident. In order for the Town of Richmondville to sign off on a waiver request, Mr. Wu must meet the following stipulations:

1. Approval from: a) all lenders; b) NYS Business Dev. Corp. c) SBA d) Co. IDA

2. Written consent and guarantee on all secondary grant disbursement agreements with the Town, and the Town's related security agreements.

3. Assurance of no damage to the building, equipment; and is ready for immediate operation.

4. $20,000 deposit to be held in escrow by the town for a mandated federal audit of the Community Development Block Grant of $650,000.

5. Payment of town's expense for hiring Orion Management Co. (currently $5,500; expected additional $5,000)

6. Payment of unpaid water bill to the town.

7. Power bill - to be handled by the Village of Richmondville.

8. Compliance with Orion Management Co.'s demands in preparing and submitting required employment records to meet federal regulations pertaining to the CDBG.

9. Compliance with Orion Management Co.'s demands in furnishing complete records pertaining to the expenditure of $75,000 for the purchase of the adjacent Chichester land, to meet the regulations of the RestoreNY grant.

It remains to be seen if Mr. Wu will be able to overcome the obstacles constructed by the Town of Richmondville and acquire Maranatha, obstacles he described as business unfriendly at Tuesday's meeting, but regardless the situation involving the multi-million dollar project and future ownership will continue to remain fluid.