City OKs Google proposal

“I would like to see no attempt to extend abatement at the state as well as the local level,” said Elliott.

The idea to draft a side agreement or change language in the finalized contract had been suggested by Councilor Dan Spatz.

Gene Parker, city attorney, said that requirement would alter the deal enough to send negotiators back to the table.

He also said state law set out what could be bargained when a company wanted to set up shop in an enterprise zone, and Google’s right to lobby for a state law change was not within those parameters.

“There is no basis in statute for it,” said Parker.

The state has created 68 enterprise zones to boost economic activities in areas with higher levels of poverty and unemployment.

Companies receiving a property tax break within a zone must guarantee to invest a minimum of $200 million and create at least 10 new jobs that pay 150 percent of the average annual salary in the county.

In Wasco County, the average salary is figured by city officials to be roughly $30,000, which means that Google would have to pay an average of about $45,000 per year to its workers.

Google said it expects to employ 50 more people in the new data center that will be built on 23 acres of industrial land off River Trail Way.

The total land purchase from the Port of The Dalles will be bumped up to 26 acres when a road is vacated.

In exchange for 15 years of tax breaks, Google has agreed to pay an estimated minimum initial payment of $1.7 million and at least $1 million per year.

The company has two other agreements in place for its existing facilities on 30 acres of property along Steelhead Way.

Both deals are for considerably less money than the latest contract negotiated over an eight month period by: Wasco County Commission Chair Scott Hege; The Dalles Mayor Steve Lawrence; Nolan Young, city manager; and Tyler Stone, county administrative officer.

Spatz made an opening bid in Tuesday’s discussion at city hall to table a decision on the agreement for two weeks.

He said citizens needed more time to look through the paperwork unveiled last week — and it gave the appearance that their concerns did not matter when a public hearing was held Monday and the vote was taken the next evening.

He also wanted a more indepth discussion with Google about its water usage and recycling wastewater.

“That could make a very valuable statement from an environmental standpoint,” he said.

Spatz also protested county and city officials – the government entities who jointly manage the zone — telling other taxing entities what to do with their share of funding turned over by Google.

“I don’t like that any better than I would the districts coming to the city and telling us how to spend our budget. That’s over-stepping,” said Spatz.

Elliott was not in agreement with that assessment.

“I think the city needs to make sure taxing districts are in the same mindset as we are,” he said.

Spatz’ motion was seconded by Councilor Russ Brown.

He also disagreed with other agencies having sole discretion about how Google money was spent.

“I think the city should be able to weigh in on how they deal with the funding,” said Brown.

He wanted to address the need for economic diversification within the Port of The Dalles new business park out of concern about the town becoming dependent upon one big employer.

Lawrence said that discussion needed to be held with the port, which owned the land.

He said the decision about the distribution of Google’s fees could be decided by local officials at a later date.

He also said Google had proven its willingness to “go the extra mile to be community partners” so he was confident water use and landscaping issues could be worked out.

Councilor Tim McGlothlin supported approval of the agreement. He felt the water and landscaping issues could be addressed in the permitting process for the new data center.

“The agreement is sound and in the best interests of our community,” he said.

Brown withdrew his support for Spatz’ motion after Lawrence spoke about the possibility of losing Google if there was any attempt to change the negotiated terms.

“This isn’t my vision for the port but, on the flip side, it’s good for the community,” said Brown.

In a strong speech, Lawrence said: “We didn’t negotiate in fear. We simply negotiated for the strongest position we could. We had to weigh the risk versus the benefits.

“Could we have gotten more? That’s always what everyone asks during negotiations. These were very tough negotiations and we got the best we could get.”

He said opponents contend the city and county should have hired professional negotiators.

Lawrence said the cost would have been enormous for those services, from $300 to $1,000 per hour for about 100 hours of discussions and another 100 hours of research.

“My integrity and good faith was invested in all of you and I stand by this deal,” said Lawrence.

“It is a great deal. I defy anyone to tell me where they are going to get $26 million (total from overlapping 13-year time period for two Google agreements) from businesses coming here or from the port.”

Lawrence reminded the council that the hearing on Monday had not been mandated by law. He said the city and county had taken the extra step to give citizens an opportunity to comment on the proposal.

He said the bottom line was that Google was not going to renegotiate the agreement so it needed to be supported as is.

Spatz said he was not advocating to reject the deal.

He felt Google, as well as the city and county, would be better protected by giving citizens more time to read about the benefits.

“I agree Google’s a good community partner,” he said.

“I feel that we’re under the gun and I don’t like it, it doesn’t seem reasonable to me. It puts Google in a bad light, frankly.”

“You’re protecting Google?” asked Lawrence.

“I’m protecting Google, they’re great people,” said Spatz.

He said that assessment was based on past experience when he had worked with Google on several grant applications while he was development director for Columbia Gorge Community College.

Councilor Linda Miller urged the council to move ahead with the deal.

“If we walk away from this agreement, we may not be welcoming anyone else who wanted to use the enterprise zone and we can’t afford it,” she said.

McGlothlin made the motion to approve the agreement, which was seconded by Miller.

Spatz said he would vote in favor in the interest of retaining “amity” within the council.

Elliott was the sole no vote on the agreement.

The deal was then passed on to the Wasco County Commission for consideration and a decision today, Aug. 5.