by Deb Alter
At the Monday, April 4 Town of Hoosick Zoning Board meeting, attorney Edward Gorman presented some early plans for his client, Mace Security International, Inc., a world-renowned, publicly-held company, to lease the old Haynes Ford property on Route 7 in Hoosick (near Sunoco and Dunkin Donuts) that is owned by John Carmody. [private]They hope to be ready to do business as soon as possible; the approval process will take at least two months. Gorman said they plan to present the complete application at the May 2 Zoning Board meeting, followed by a Public Hearing in June.
The site is currently being used by New York State as the Incident Command Center for PFOA remediation. Gorman said that Governor Cuomo is aware of Mace’s proposal and is eager to work with them to help them get ready to do business.
Initially, Mace’s Tactical Solutions division would use the facility as a storage and distribution center for a line of tactical munitions which are used by law enforcement and security operations, (not general retail consumers). The purpose of these “impact munitions” is to make policing safer for communities. Mace is licensed to do this by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) which is part of the Justice Department.
Mace has been in the area for quite some time. In fact, they started in Bennington, VT. They still have an office there with a couple of employees, but their main offices are now in Cleveland, Ohio.
At first, they will be selling prepared products made by a company they are partnering with, Non-Lethal Tech, Inc., located in Pennsylvania. Mace has a large domestic and international distribution network, and a partnership with Non-Lethal Tech seemed a natural fit. The facility in Hoosick would employ six to ten people at the beginning, but there is the potential for expansion. At this time, they will not be making any products, but there is the possibility that they may expand to manufacturing in the future, creating even more jobs.
The project came before the Zoning Board because it would be a change of use of the property, although there will be no change to the existing physical structures or parking, and there will probably be less traffic than when the facility was used as an auto dealership and repair shop. There will be four large storage units placed outside the building at the site that are very much like the shipping containers one sees on trains and tractor-trailers. These units will be secured and fenced in for safety.
The lease of the property was brokered by Hoosick real estate agent Rick Tinkham of Team Tinkham/Berkshire Hathaway Home Services.[/private]