Commissioners approve "pause" of lease payments for carbon company
ALBANY — Tuesday morning, Linn County Commissioners Roger Nyquist, Sherrie Sprenger and Will Tucker approved a request by National Carbon Technologies (Aymium) to a one-year pause of $39,814 per month lease for its use of 33 acres owned by the county in Millersburg.
National Carbon Technologies transforms woody biomass from area forests into high-value carbon products used to improve metals production, purify air and water and improve crop production.
The company sought the lease pause due to a shifting international market. The company has a 16-year lease with the county that started in September 2022.
The company agreed that after the year’s pause, it will repay the lease total with interest and also agreed that Linn County can market the property during the year-long waiting period.
Board Chair Roger Nyquist said National Carbon Technologies has “will be a good fit for the community and has made a good-faith effort.”
He added the lease has provided Linn County with several hundred thousand dollars. Two more payments will be made before the pause begins.
In other business, the commissioners:
- Approved participating in the County Assessment Function Funding Assessment Program. Funds help counties comply with laws that require equity and uniformity in property taxation.
- Appointed Shauna Goodell and Merideth Schrepfer to the Linn County Alcohol and Drug Planning Committee.
- Appointed Jana Svoboda to the Mental Health Advisory Board.
- Appointed Crystal Kelso to the Linn County Noxious Control Advisory Committee.
- Announced that the 2025-2026 Budget Hearings will be held Wednesday, April 30, and Thursday, May 1, at the Fair & Expo Center. If more decision making is needed, another session will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, May 2.
- Announced there will be a Management Staff meeting in the Courthouse basement meeting room at noon on Wednesday, May 7 and there will be a ribbon cutting at the new Parks and Recreation RV dump in Sweet Home at 2 p.m. on Thursday, May 8.
- Approved sending a letter of support for Alyrica Network’s Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program. Alyrica is seeking federal funding to develop high-speed Internet in the southern portion of Linn County.
Media contact: Alex Paul, Linn County Communications Officer, 541-967-3825 or email apaul@co.linn.or.us.
