Thursday, 09 July 2009 01:00

Funding Source Unknown in Knight Foundry Lease

slide2.pngAmador County – City Manager Rob Duke said Monday that Sutter Creek did not yet have a source for funding to pay $490,000 dollars over the next 6 years in a lease agreement the city council authorized and the vice mayor signed last week. It amounts to $25,000 dollars a year, to lease the machine shop parcel and equipment inside. Duke said City Attorney Dennis Crabb suggested forming a Community Facilities District, or a Mello Roos special property tax district, to fund the Knight Foundry lease. Duke said it is a legal entity, which would protect the city against liability. Mayor Gary Wooten said the purchase of the 3 parcels by the city was needed to preserve a $600,000 dollar EPA grand through the California Department of Toxic Substances. The funds will help clean up the site. Duke said the contents of the Knight Foundry were appraised at a value of $300,000 dollars. Wooten said the “property will be very valuable to the city.” Councilman Pat Crosby, who announced the purchase at a Sutter Creek Rotary Meeting Tuesday, said “the foundry will be a bonanza for us for bringing people to Sutter Creek.” He said it will help bring people to the 2 new Main Street restaurants, and the visitor’s center. Duke said the Knight Foundry non-profit organization’s board wants to insure the property the city purchased in an agreement signed last Tuesday. The city’s properties consist of 3 of the foundry parcels. Items not included in the purchase and retained by owner Richard Lyman, include a mechanical forklift, an owl pattern, a “1970s vintage Bobcat tractor,” a cast iron Pelton runner, a Knight bucket pattern, 13 Knight print blocks, a water color painting of the Knight Foundry on Eureka Street, an oil painting depicting the creek side of the foundry, a Knight Water Motor, an ore cart wheel pattern. It also included a list of items removed from the foundry by other parties. Story by Jim Reece. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.