The McCloud Community Services District passed a motion during its regular meeting Monday night to cease all discussion concerning a water bottling contract with Nestle Water North America until another offer has been made.
“Right now there is no contract with Nestle, so there is nothing to discuss until another offer is on the table,” said district director Cathy Young. “How do we know Nestle will come back? We should wait until we hear from them. If Coca-Cola or someone else wants to come in and negotiate, so be it. We don’t have anything to discuss with Nestle.”
A week earlier, Nestle announced in a press release that it was opting out of its contract with the MCSD.
District director Al Schoenstein expressed his dissatisfaction with Nestle’s decision and the lack of communication between the company and the board.
“The press release was issued without any formal communication with the board,” Schoenstein said. “That puts the board in a situation of not being able to respond to the public and basically looking like an idiot. That’s not a way to do business.”
Schoenstein’s concluding remark to Nestle project manager David Palais was, “Dave, if you could write a check tonight I’d appreciate it.”
Nestle also stated in its Aug. 5 press release that the company plans to hold a series of public meetings (not associated with the district) beginning in September to discuss project options and become informed about community concerns. according to Palais.
Nestle has said it will be making another offer to the district following a two-year environmental and economic impact study, but the company is in no way required to do so under law.
Nestle states that it is looking forward to negotiating a new contract with the district and that a new agreement will be “contingent on the completion of a comprehensive environmental analysis.”
Palais reiterated Monday night some of the press release’s statements, saying that Nestle is looking into the study and assessment of environmental impacts of its proposal for a plant much smaller than the one million square foot facility detailed in the original contract.
He said Nestle is “looking forward to working with the services district board in negotiating a contract that is more in-line with the new plant proposal.”
He also said it is good that the district recognizes that it has other options, and it’s too bad things took so long. He thanked Young for bringing her stated facts to the attention of the board, adding: “We will get something formal.”
When the contract was signed five years ago Nestle was given until Oct. 1, 2008 to retract from the contract without penalty. Had the contract not been canceled when it was, the district would have been in line for a $100,000 payment from Nestle in the near future, as reported during the meeting.
Nearly all of the members of the public who spoke during Monday night’s board meeting expressed support for Nestle’s decision and stressed that if another offer is made, negotiations must involve the entire community and include public discussions.
McCloud, Calif. —
