Port Alberni Mayor Mike Ruttan said he’s shocked but not surprised that Western Forest Products is closing their Somass cedar mill.
He said the mill has been a shadow of its former self for a long time, as the company favoured its mills on the east coast of the island.
Ruttan said Western pays $450,000 a year in property taxes for the Somass Mill site, and multiple groups are now having discussions about the future of the property.
