JAY – Wausau Paper company will sell its Otis paper mill and the equipment in it, company spokesman Perry Grueber said Wednesday.

The high cost of operating the mill, along with the economic recession and other factors prompted the decision to close it permanently on May 31, putting about 96 workers out of jobs. The Wisconsin-based company announced the move Tuesday, 15 weeks after it shut down one of its last two paper machines and laid off nearly 100 other workers at its Jay plant.

“It is a surprise,” said Mike Castaneda, president of United Steelworkers Union Local 4-0011. “We thought things were doing better.” He said Wednesday that company officials called workers in at 4 p.m. Tuesday to tell them about the closure.

“I did ask them if they were going to sell the mill and they said yes, but not to any paper company in North America,” Castaneda said.

Workers losing their jobs will receive severance packages, he said, but the details had not been worked out.

Castaneda lost his job during the first round of layoffs in December. He is now employed through a federal Free Trade Act grant as a peer support worker, helping former fellow workers find new jobs and resources. He will continue to offer the service to the remainder of the workers as they are laid off.

The mill may stay open past the May deadline with minimal staffing to help close up the building, Grueber said.

Jay Town Manager Ruth Marden will gather information on the mill closing’s financial effect on the town. She said early Wednesday that her first priority was to help the families of the workers who are losing their livelihoods.

“I am extremely concerned about the people losing their jobs and on the ripple effect on the families and the community, and the small businesses that rely on local workers for their bread and butter,” Marden said.

The effect on taxation wouldn’t be felt until the following year’s assessment, she said.

The mill, on the banks of the Androscoggin River, straddles the Jay-Livermore Falls line. The bulk of the last two paper machines to operate are in Livermore Falls.

Louise Chabot, chairwoman of the Livermore Falls Select Board, called the closing “devastating news” for the two towns.

“The closure will impact everyone in both communities as towns struggle with financial difficulties and families impacted by this decision face uncertainty,” Chabot said. “Our citizens and their well-being are important to the town of Livermore Falls and we will make every effort to minimize the impact.”

An assessing agent for Livermore Falls earlier this year estimated a loss of $157,000 in taxes with the shutdown of the No. 10 paper machine in December.

The impact of the loss of the No. 11 machine had yet to be calculated.

Wausau had planned to focus on making masking-tape-backed specialty paper on its No. 11 machine, but the economy has gotten worse since last year, Grueber said Wednesday. Customer orders between now and May 31 will determine the last day of operation for No. 11, he said.

Customer orders for the specialty products made at the mill will be shifted to two of Wausau’s mills, Mosinee and Rhinelander in Wisconsin, Grueber said.

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