City Council Workshop on Sale of Idaho Center – August 26, 2025
City Council Workshop on Sale of Idaho Center – August 26, 2025
On August 26, 2025, the Nampa City Council held a workshop meeting to discuss the potential sale of the Fort Idaho Center (Idaho Center). The meeting resumed after an executive session at 8:23 PM. Council members and the city attorney debated the process, deed restrictions, and risks of selling the facility to the highest bidder. No formal votes were taken, but the council reached a consensus to begin the statutory process for selling the property.
Discussion Items
- Valuation and Sale Price: Council members debated the property's value. One member cited a 2017 ICRIF report valuing it at $100 million, while another noted the Jacobs report estimated replacement value of the four buildings alone at $150 million. The attorney clarified that true market value is determined by a willing buyer and seller, and an appraisal is not required. A member suggested a minimum bid of $100 million, while another mentioned a potential offer of $20 million from an unnamed party. The council agreed to let the market set the price through a public auction.
- Deed Restrictions: The council discussed placing deed restrictions on the property to ensure continued use for the Snake River Stampede Rodeo, horse park, graduations, gun shows, and other community events. The term sheet previously negotiated with the College of Western Idaho (CWI) was suggested as a basis, except for soccer fields that were specific to CWI. The attorney noted that carefully crafted deed restrictions could include reversion clauses if terms are violated, giving the city some control over future use.
- Concerns About Buyer Qualification: Several members expressed concern about selling to an outside entity (e.g., a George Soros group) that might use the facility for political events while only minimally complying with deed restrictions. The attorney explained that the city cannot qualify buyers but can impose deed restrictions that limit use. A member suggested requiring bidders to submit proposals in advance to allow the city to vet their vision and financial wherewithal, though the attorney noted the statute requires sale to the highest bidder.
- Underutilization Determination: The city attorney advised that before selling, the council must formally declare the property underutilized. This step is required by Idaho law and a U.S. District Court case. The council agreed to vote on an underutilization declaration at the September 2, 2025, meeting. A public hearing on the sale would then be held in October 2025, after the required 14-day notice period.
- CWI Conveyance: The council discussed whether to continue negotiations with CWI, which had invested significant time and expense. The mayor indicated he would call CWI to inform them the city is pursuing a different path. Some members noted that CWI could still participate in the public auction.
- Timeline: The council aimed to vote on underutilization on September 2, 2025. The public hearing to authorize the sale would be on October 7 or 8, 2025, with deed restrictions attached as an exhibit. The sale itself would occur at a public auction to the highest bidder, with a minimum bid set by the council.
Key Outcomes
- The council reached a consensus to proceed with the statutory process for selling the Idaho Center, starting with a formal underutilization vote on September 2, 2025.
- The city attorney will draft deed restrictions based on the CWI term sheet, excluding soccer fields, and present them for council review before the October public hearing.
- The council will set a minimum bid amount (likely $100 million) and identify additional deed restrictions to protect community events.
- The mayor will communicate to CWI that the city is shifting from a direct conveyance to a public sale process.
- No formal votes were taken; the meeting was a workshop. The council will take action on September 2, 2025.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, so we have um we have uh adjourned out of executive session and have moved back into the regular meeting and it is 823. So resuming regular meeting and it is recorded. Here we go. So if there's somebody out there who's willing to pay 20 million, then why don't you ask them to put an offer together and we can look at it in a week? Yeah, getting it in a week or not, I'm not sure that I can do that. Well, except I don't think we can't do that. We're not allowed to do that. Yeah, it's got to be open to whoever. So here's tax. If it's a tax supported governmental entity, so a governmental entity, then we can negotiate uh direct conveyance to that entity. Based on what you told me, it's not a governmental entity. It could be a church. So what would happen in that church? Yeah. What would happen in that case? Um you would be able to put it to bid and knowing that they may be a bidder. You could exchange property if they had property exchange that you felt was an equal value or you know, good consideration. Well, yeah. And the bot the bottom line is if there's people out there wanting to do some, then let's hear it. But all I've heard is negative negative negative. Nobody has stepped forward. This is the first time somebody has said uh uh that we could step forward and buy it under the same conditions as CWI and pay the 20 million. If that's the reality, then we should be looking at it. If it's not people the opportunity to do that yet, and that is correct. We haven't given them the opportunity. So at this point, we would need to go out. How about the auditorium district? I mean, that's they don't have any. We haven't even talked about yet. That's because how that how that starts playing out. I think they start collecting here this next month is what I heard. But they won't have funds till 27, right? Yeah, they won't have funds so and so how does that again a land exchange or a land purchase or parceling off? How does that all play out in light of the auditorium district's um revenue? Does it all get diverted to civic center? You know, that's see that's what we're doing. The Fort Idaho Center is listed as a recipient. And so I think even if it's sold, it would still be eligible. There just has to be a joint powers agreement based on what legal has said within the auditorium district. If we're going to put it on the market, then we need to go ahead and identify this group needs to identify what are the deed restrictions that we're going to put on it. And then we need to put it out, officially put it out. So we need to identify the deed restrictions, and in addition to that, what the dollar, if we want a minimum dollar amount. And so I think Dale, you suggested 100 million because Randy, you have mentioned many times that's the value. So we would have to when I went back and looked at the fiscal year 20, or yeah, it was uh 17. 2017 numbers through the ICRIF report, that's where I just put together that valuation, and then now that's gone up, our valuation's gone up as far as 100 million dollars just in what they're insuring at this point. So I'm not sure what the true value is, but you look at the Jacobs report, just the four buildings alone was 1.5 or 150 million. But that was it for the value of the replacement value. The true value is what a willing buyer and a willing seller are willing to negotiate and pay and receive. So that's what value is for us throwing out these numbers is it is not material. We don't have that negotiation ability with the cell.
openpublica.com