The fate of two vacant buildings in Holbrook was revealed during Tuesday evening’s city council meeting. The former partition plant will serve as a marijuana cultivation site and the old EMS building is once again in the hands of a paying renter.

City Manager Ray Alley told the council that he issued a building permit for $100,000 in upgrades to the old partition plant located just southwest of the Bread of Life Mission.

According to Alley, the permit is valid for upgrades to only about one-fourth of the building at this time.

“They’re planning grow rooms in just one-quarter of the building for now,” he said.

The permit is good for the partitions that are being constructed to create the rooms, but not for any structural changes. The work includes seven grow rooms, Alley explained, but is expected to expand to more once those are completed.

“They are doing one-quarter of the building at a time,” he said.

As work proceeds to the next area of the building, additional building permits will be required. Alley told the council that if the cultivation site is successful, additional power may be necessary and the company may look at options such as natural gas conversion to supply the necessary power for grow lights. There is also a potential that exterior greenhouses could be built adjacent to the existing facility.

He noted that all of the requirements were met for the building permit and so it was issued.

The Karlsson Group has taken over the unpaid lease of the former Holbrook EMS building on East Iowa Street, Alley reported.

He explained that American West Potash had been leasing the building from the city at a rate of $1,000 per month, but the company filed for bankruptcy and rent has gone unpaid since March.

“They haven’t paid since March and I’ve tried to contact them to no avail,” he said.

Materials and equipment owned by American West remained in the building, and Alley was approached by the Karlsson Group about obtaining control of the building. He told the council that the Karlsson Group bought out American West’s assets and claimed a legal right to the contents of the building. Alley had not received any paperwork, though, so withheld access until legal documents were provided.

“I contacted our attorney and asked for proper documentation,” Alley said. “They provided it and our attorney reviewed it, and they had the proper paperwork.”

He explained that the Karlsson Group has since paid the past due rent and has been given access to the building. An agreement that will transfer the lease from American West Potash to the Karlsson Group is still being drafted by the city attorney and will be presented to the council for approval.

“We will have it done, hopefully by the next council meeting,” Alley said. “But I wanted to let you know in case you see activity over at the building.”

In other action Nov. 18, the council:

* Tabled a request to establish fees for a park pamphlet for Hidden Cove Park to ensure that the correct language is used in the ordinance establishing the fees.

* Approved the expenditure of up to $8,320 to Lewus Electric Company for a spare pump for the Shipley Phillips Lift Station.

* Approved a request for funds for the Hashknife Posse.

The regular council meeting scheduled for Nov. 25 has been canceled due to the Thanksgiving holiday. The next council meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 9, at city hall.