PDA gives Pocatello $300,000

The Pocatello Development Authority will be giving the city $300,000 to help pay for the Hoku plant.

The motion was approved in a special meeting Monday. The PDA gave the city $450,000 last year to help fill the gap caused by the plant’s property costs.

The polysilicon plant first broke ground on 67 acres in 2007. Despite much promise, the plant never opened, with Hoku declaring bankruptcy in 2013. JH Kelly bought the plant for $8.3 million, hoping to sell the plant to a new company, but it never happened.

The payment was approved so the PDA could eventually develop the property economically, according to PDA Chairman Michael Orr.

“If we do, in fact, reimburse the city, make them whole, then the PDA would like to have the deed so the PDA could go forward with developing that property in the future,” said Orr.

The city is looking into how much it spent on the Hoku property. Any significant changes could affect the amount of reimbursement.