Amador County – About a week after the Sutter Creek City Council ended negotiations with the Lyman family on the long-sought purchase of the Knight Foundry, the council may be headed back to talks. Acting City Manager Sean Rabe said there was no guarantee that negotiations would resume, but the Lymans had requested a meeting with the city’s negotiating team. That meeting is set for next Thursday (August 19th). On Monday, August 16th, the city council will be briefed in a closed session, so staff can “update the full council on what’s going on.” Rabe said the city council could decide to cancel the negotiating team’s meeting with the foundry owner. Rabe said the meeting “may or may not reopen the purchase negotiations,” which stalled after the city had made a $1.5 million offer for the Knight Foundry. The city had specific issues with purchase requirements, including a “phasing of the purchase,” and indemnification. Rabe said there was “too much risk associated with some of the terms,” and those would be “key issues we’ll be talking about Thursday.” The negotiating team is made up of Rabe and Mayor Pro Tempore Tim Murphy, but Rabe will miss the meeting, due to a negotiating meeting he has with city employee unions. The city has been negotiating for 8 years to acquire the property, and in May 2008 received a California Cultural and Historical Endowment grant of $870,000 for a partial purchase of the foundry. The U.S. EPA also granted the city $600,000 toward the environmental cleanup of the site. Rabe said the EPA funds could only be used if the city owned the foundry, and the state grant would have to be repaid if the city did not purchase the foundry. Rabe said the “city successfully negotiated a quit-claim deed to take ownership of the property last year and has been in ongoing negotiations over the terms of the purchase since that time.” Rabe in a release last week announced the end of negotiations, citing “irreconcilable differences.” Murphy said “several untenable demands made by the property owner and a difficult economy have created a situation where the city council cannot continue with the purchase.” Murphy said “it saddens me,” but the “structure of the purchase simply put the city at too great a risk.” The Knight Foundry is likely the last water-powered cast iron foundry in the United States. It was founded in 1872 by Samuel Knight, and operated for 124 years, until it last poured iron in 1996. The 138-year-old foundry is still in operation condition. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. -
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Amador County – About a week after the Sutter Creek City Council ended negotiations with the Lyman family on the long-sought purchase of the Knight Foundry, the council may be headed back to talks. Acting City Manager Sean Rabe said there was no guarantee that negotiations would resume, but the Lymans had requested a meeting with the city’s negotiating team. That meeting is set for next Thursday (August 19th). On Monday, August 16th, the city council will be briefed in a closed session, so staff can “update the full council on what’s going on.” Rabe said the city council could decide to cancel the negotiating team’s meeting with the foundry owner. Rabe said the meeting “may or may not reopen the purchase negotiations,” which stalled after the city had made a $1.5 million offer for the Knight Foundry. The city had specific issues with purchase requirements, including a “phasing of the purchase,” and indemnification. Rabe said there was “too much risk associated with some of the terms,” and those would be “key issues we’ll be talking about Thursday.” The negotiating team is made up of Rabe and Mayor Pro Tempore Tim Murphy, but Rabe will miss the meeting, due to a negotiating meeting he has with city employee unions. The city has been negotiating for 8 years to acquire the property, and in May 2008 received a California Cultural and Historical Endowment grant of $870,000 for a partial purchase of the foundry. The U.S. EPA also granted the city $600,000 toward the environmental cleanup of the site. Rabe said the EPA funds could only be used if the city owned the foundry, and the state grant would have to be repaid if the city did not purchase the foundry. Rabe said the “city successfully negotiated a quit-claim deed to take ownership of the property last year and has been in ongoing negotiations over the terms of the purchase since that time.” Rabe in a release last week announced the end of negotiations, citing “irreconcilable differences.” Murphy said “several untenable demands made by the property owner and a difficult economy have created a situation where the city council cannot continue with the purchase.” Murphy said “it saddens me,” but the “structure of the purchase simply put the city at too great a risk.” The Knight Foundry is likely the last water-powered cast iron foundry in the United States. It was founded in 1872 by Samuel Knight, and operated for 124 years, until it last poured iron in 1996. The 138-year-old foundry is still in operation condition. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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