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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES-12/14/1982-AdjournedDecember 14, 1982 COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS, COLORADO Council -Manager Form of Government Adjourned Meeting - 7:30 p.m. An adjourned meeting of the Council of the City of Fort Collins was held on Tuesday, December 14, 1982, at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers in the City of Fort Collins City Hall. Roll call was answered by the following Councilmembers: Cassell, Clarke, Elliott, Horak, Knezovich, Reeves and Wilmarth. Staff Members Present: Arnold, Meitl, Huisjen, Krajicek, Lewis. Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Enter into an Agreement with Anheuser-Busch, Adopted Following is the staff's memorandum on this item: "As you are all aware, for some time now the City has been involved in t negotiations with the Anheuser-Busch Corporation for the development of a site for the construction of a brewery. As a result of the negotiations, an agreement has been drafted. This agreement sets forth the obligations of both the City and Anheuser-Busch relative to the development of the site and construction of the brewery. Adoption of the attached resolution would authorize the City Manager to enter into the proposed agreement." Councilmember Knezovich made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Clarke, to adopt the Resolution. Mayor Cassell gave a history of the discussions and negotiations with A-B. He commented on the press coverage and public hearings and added he hoped Councilmembers were ready to act on the Resolution. The following persons spoke on this issue: 1. Steve Robinson, 2030 Constitution, who opposed the A-B brewery because of water concerns in a semi -arid area. 2. Nancy York, 130 S. Whitcomb, expressed her concerns about prime agricultural land, costs of water and other industries the brewery might attract. She urged Council to make a decision that would use the land responsibly. 3. Jerry Dusbabek, 930 Driftwood Drive, who supported A-B because of the promise of blue collar jobs. -590- December 14, 1982 1 4. Justus Wilkinson, P. 0. Box 140, who urged denial of the Resolu- tion and stated he felt the brewery was a moral issue. 5. E. Scott Billington, 1743 Norwood Lane, who supported A-B because of their anticipated civic and social contributions. 6. Alan Apt, 2301 Sheffield Drive, who commented on the Coloradoan poll. He suggested the citizens were not informed as to the details of the agreement and added he felt two weeks was too short for review. He asked the agreement be modified to specify A-B must burn gas instead of coal. 7. Bill Hansen, 1809 Rangeview, consulting engineer, who felt there should be language changes.in the agreement. Councilmember Clarke asked Jack Stein, representing Anheuser-Busch, what A-B's position would be on the acquisition of additional water rights. Would they find only the cheapest water rights to be acceptable? Mr. Stein replied A-B had a concern for the agricultural community and the ' overall region's water requirements. A-B would propose the City put together a mix of waters which would be in the best interests of the community. Cost is a consideration but not the only consideration. The environmental, agricultural and other considerations must be examined to come up with the best solution. Councilmember Clarke stated that although the agreement allows A-B to burn coal, they had not yet made that decision. Councilmember Reeves asked how many of the estimated 500 jobs would come from the local community. Mr. Stein stated that approximately 20% or 100 would be brought in and the rest hired locally. Mr. Stein added that in the area of air quality A-B feels the goals of the Clean Air Act are good goals and should not be changed. The Act is a complex piece of legislation and therefore could be streamlined without eliminating the progress toward clean air in this country. Councilmember Clarke spoke about City regulations in terms of development and noted they were not set up for a project the magnitude of A-B. He cited water requirements as an example and noted Council saw fit to require A-B to provide the water they use. He gave figures on the property tax A-B ' would pay and noted A-B will pay 7 times what housing development on that -591- December 14, 1982 land would pay and 7-1/2 times what an H-P type project would pay. In terms of water, A-B's payment includes the acquisition of the water they use and the storage of that water. He noted A-B spends millions of dollars a year on alcohol rehabilitation and research which he felt was signifi- cant. Councilmember Elliott concurred with Councilmember Clarke's comments. He stated he felt the City had responsibly protected the values present in Fort Collins. In the area of air quality, he recommended a commission or advisory group be established to advise Council on this specific matter. He felt the water and wastewater issues had been clearly addressed as well as the issues of electric service, streets, and jobs. Councilmember Horak noted he had been concerned about the areas of water, streets and wastewater. He stated he had spent many hours reviewing these concerns and was now convinced A-B will be paying its full way in these areas. He added he felt the individual ratepayer would not be subsidizing A-B in any way. He added many other City users use far in excess of the 3-acre feet water requirement. He cited laundromats as an example of a small amount of land and a high water use. In the treatment of water, A-B t is paying for their capacity for the 0&M of their system, for the trans- mission lines and for their capacity for any additions to the plant. He felt the general taxpaying public would not be subsidizing A-B in the area of street rehabilitation since, as additional uses develop on the site, they will have to pay fees for any additional street improvements that are needed. In the wastewater area, A-B will use the City's excess capacity and will pay for the capacity they use in the City's treatment plant and as a rate paying customer will pay for any treatment plant expansion, probably after the year 2000. He added the other issues, odor, coal, air quality, were of great concern but this agreement does not deal with those areas. Mayor Cassell spoke as one who had been involved in the discussions and negotiations with A-B. He complimented the corporate attitude and the individual attitudes of the A-B representatives and added he had found them to be honest, responsible people. He added he felt this industry ideally fits this community in that the City needs a high capital intensive, low labor intensive, blue collar employer who pays well, which he felt des- cribed A-B perfectly. Councilmember Knezovich spoke about aspects of the A-B agreement he felt were unique. The potential of the creation of approximately 500 jobs, that might in turn create 1,200 service jobs will be an important addition to the community. He stated he felt the City was offering inducement rather than subsidies for A-B to locate in the community and benefit the com- munity. He complimented staff on their hard work and recognized the value ' of citizen input in the process. -592- December 14, 1982 1 Councilmember Wilmarth thanked the citizens for their input both in support and in opposition to the issue. He felt the massive amounts of information provided to Council and the public had helped all involved make a difficult decision and added there were still many hearings to be held and steps to be taken before actual beer production would begin. Councilmember Reeves noted this had been a tough decision for her because of economic and environmental concerns. She felt the City needed economic diversification and growth to the north should be encouraged. She ex- pressed concerns about the environmental impacts over the 30 year term of the agreement. She suggested a study to determine the impacts of this facility on air quality over a 30 year period. She felt the City would be able to meet the water demands of A-B even though there are still questions about storage. She again suggested some sort of impact assessment study be done and made available to the public with a mix of involvement of staff, community, and A-B representatives. The vote on Councilmember Knezovich's motion to adopt the Resolution was as I follows: Yeas: Councilmembers Cassell, Clarke, Elliott, Horak, Knezovich, Reeves and Wilmarth. Nays: None. THE MOTION CARRIED. Richard Albrecht, executive vice president, Fort Collins Chamber of Com- merce, presented A-B representatives Jack Stein and Lynn Mooradian with a Budweiser telephone to call the City of Fort Collins and thanked Council and staff for the time and energy involved in this matter over the past few months. Mr. Stein expressed thanks for the broad support for the possible con- struction of a brewery in Fort Collins from the community and its leader- ship. He noted the agreement was a necessary first step in a progression of prerequisites to a final decision on the construction of a brewery in Fort Collins. Executive Session Authorized Mayor Cassell requested an Executive Session for the purpose of discussing legal and personnel matters. Councilmember Clarke made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Knezovich, to adjourn into Executive Session to discuss legal and personnel matters. ' -593- 1 December 14, 1982 Yeas: Councilmembers Cassell, Clarke, Elliott, Horak, Knezovich, Reeves and Wilmarth. Nays: None. THE MOTION CARRIED. Adjournment At the conclusion of the Executive Session, Mayor Cassell announced the procedure for the selection process for filling Peggy Reeves' unexpired term following her resignation. He stated the 21 applicants would be screened through a Council rating system. The top 5 or 6 will be inter- viewed and selection made as soon as possible. The meeting adjourned at 10:00 p.m. ATTEST: b__ OCity Mayor -594-