Now that the city of Adairville has taken ownership of the Auburn Hosiery Mill facility there, the mayor and council will be keeping a close eye on just how much of a drain the building is on the city’s funds.

Auburn Hosiery had been using the facility as just a warehouse in recent years, but announced it would completely pull out early this year and completed that process Nov. 5 by deeding the facility over to the city of Adairville.

The city – along with help from the Logan Economic Alliance for Development (LEAD) – will be looking for potential businesses to come to Adairville and either lease or buy the facility for a new operation to provide additional jobs and revenue for the south Logan County town.

“Until we sell it or get someone in it, it’s just dead weight,” mayor Jim Wilkerson said.

In just the first week, the city has already spent nearly $1,000 after paying for a $500,000 insurance policy through the Kentucky League of Cities and giving Pennyrile Rural Electric a fee for turning the power back on at the facility.

At last week’s council meeting, Wilkerson said the industrial facility was valued at $3.2 million and added that the council should consider possibly upgrading the policy through the KLC for that amount.

A $3.2 million policy would carry an approximate yearly premium of $5,800.

That isn’t the only expense the city will incur because of taking over the Hosiery Mill.

Wilkerson reported that the final electric bill Auburn Hosiery received for the complex was about $3,000.

“But when I went up there, they had every light in the place on,” Wilkerson said.

Wilkerson told the council he would work to make sure the electricity was used in the most economical way, while still keeping the factory lit well enough to keep away any thieves or vandals.

The city will also have to decide about possible roof repairs to a portion of the facility. The old part of the Hosiery Mill has some leaks that need to be fixed and could wind up costing the city a sizable amount of money.