It's time to "nip this thing in the bud"

Canyon and Ada County residents should not be forced to take on Nampa's liabilities through conveyance of the Idaho Center to CWI

Another Public Hearing is scheduled for December 1st regarding conveyance

A new hearing was scheduled after the discovery of paperwork problems with the original deed and alleged open-meeting law violations, prompting the city to restart part of the process “out of an abundance of caution” to ensure transparency.

Monday, December 1, 2025, at 6 P.M. — Nampa City Hall - 411 3rd Street South - Nampa

The public hearing will address the potential conveyance of the property to the College of Western Idaho (CWI) as a tax-supported governmental unit, a process which has been ongoing for several months.

The council will consider three potential options for the Idaho Center property:

• Convey the property to CWI.

• Sell the property to the highest bidder at a public auction with a minimum price of $75 million.

• Retain the property under city ownership.

Here’s the Agenda for the December 1st meeting

8-4. Action Item: Public Hearing to consider the conveyance of city-owned real property (Ford Idaho Center campus) to a tax supported governmental unit, namely, the College of Western Idaho.

8-4-1. Action Item: 1st reading of Ordinance Authorizing the Conveyance of Real Property Owned by the City of Nampa, Located at 16114 N Idaho Center Blvd, Nampa, Canyon County, Idaho, and Commonly Known as the Ford Idaho Center, to the College of Western Idaho, a Tax-Supported Governmental Unit; Reaffirming the Real Property Owned by the City is Underutilized and/or Not Used for Public Purposes; Repealing All Ordinances, Resolutions, Orders or Parts Thereof in Conflict Herewith; Providing an Effective Date; Providing a Severability Clause; and Providing for a Waiver of the Reading Rules. (Approved by City Attorney Preston Rutter)

8-4-2. Action Item: Authorize Mayor to sign the Use Agreement between City of Nampa and the College of Western Idaho (CWI) regarding the Ford Idaho Center. (Approved by City Attorney Preston Rutter)

8-4-3. Action Item: Authorize Mayor to sign the Conveyance & Acquisition Use Agreement with the College of Western Idaho (CWI). (Approved by City Attorney Preston Rutter)

8-4-4. Action Item: Authorize Mayor to sign the Special Warranty Deed with the College of Western Idaho (CWI). (Approved by City Attorney Preston Rutter)

8-4-5. Action Item: Authorize Mayor to sign the Assignment and Amendment Oak View Group (OVG) Management Agreement between City of Nampa and the College of Western Idaho (CWI) regarding the Ford Idaho Center. (Approved by City Attorney Preston Rutter)

8-4-6. Action Item: Authorize Mayor to sign the Oak View Group (OVG) Management Agreement between City of Nampa and OVG regarding the Nampa Civic Center. (Approved by City Attorney Preston Rutter)

8-4-7. Action Item: Authorize Mayor to sign the Assignment and Amendment Food and Beverage Agreement between City of Nampa and the College of Western Idaho (CWI) regarding the Ford Idaho Center. (Approved by City Attorney Preston Rutter)

8-4-8. Action Item: Authorize Mayor to sign the Oak View Group (OVG) Food and Beverage Agreement between City of Nampa and OVG regarding the Nampa Civic Center. (Approved by City Attorney Preston Rutter)

How you can participate

The City of Nampa offers several methods of participating in City Council meetings:
Watch Live | Watch meetings on the City of Nampa’s dedicated public meeting YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@cityofnampapublicmeetings) or by clicking the link above.

Attend at City Hall | Nampa City Hall - 411 3rd Street South, Nampa, 83651

You may sign up to speak in person using the microphone button on the Public Meetings portal to speak on agenda items. Speakers are typically limited to three (3) minutes, unless otherwise indicated due to time constraints.

Go to Agenda Center • Nampa, ID • CivicEngage and scroll down to December 1st. You can find the Agenda and the “microphone” and “comment” links in that Agenda item.

How you can comment in advance

Comments can be submitted from the Public Meetings portal by clicking on the comment bubble next to the meeting agenda; we accept comments until 12:00 noon on the day of the meeting.

Go to Agenda Center • Nampa, ID • CivicEngage and scroll down to December 1st. You can find the Agenda and the “microphone” and “comment” links in that Agenda item.

Click on the text bubble (shown above) and write your comment. The form shows all of the Agenda items and leaves space for you to comment on each. Find the ones regarding “Conveyance” and make your comment next to those agenda items.

While those comments become part of the Public Record, it would be an excellent idea for you to send emails directly to members of the City Council.

You can also write and send an email to each of the members of the Nampa City Council.

Simply visit City Council | Nampa, ID - Official Website. On that page, all of the City Council members are listed on the left-hand-side. Click on a name and at the end of the biographical and other information posted, you will see “EMail Councilman X". Click on that link to send that person your message. You will need to send messages to each individual Council member.

It might be easier to write up a message in Word, then copy-and-paste it to the email contact pages of each Council member instead of re-typing it several times.

Why this should matter to you

The only real “winner” in this deal is Nampa City government. They would continue collecting City Property Taxes from the people of Nampa that has been going to cover the annual losses of the Ford Idaho Center (at $1 Million-or-more per year).

College of Western Idaho would get a “free” Arena and other buildings, along with about 100 acres of property in the deal.

That “free” deal comes with strings attached. CWI will also inherit $20 to $25 Million in deferred maintenance that they would have to find a way to pay for, along with all of the continuing costs of running and maintaining the Center, management, etc.

All Property Taxpayers in Canyon and Ada County will ultimately be “on the hook” to pay for the deferred maintenance and on-going costs of operating the Center.

CWI says they “have” the money to pay for the deferred maintenance of the Center. If they do, it means they have already been collecting too much in Property Tax from the people of Canyon and Ada Counties — money that was supposed to go to providing Community College education for local Idaho kids.

Given the history of the Ford Idaho Center of losing money (some $20 million over 21 years), CWI will undoubtedly end up with costs and liabilities that they can’t afford.

This will mean that they will seek Levies or Bonds from the taxpayers in both Canyon and Ada Counties to pay those costs — potentially increasing our Property Taxes.

This could affect all the taxpayers of Idaho if CWI decides to attempt to get funding for this from the Idaho State Legislature.

The City of Nampa built the Ford Idaho Center. It, along with all of its liabilities, belong to the City of Nampa.

This is not a good deal for any of the rest of us.

Please take action today.

There’s only this weekend left to let the members of the Nampa City Council know where you stand on this issue.

They’ve already approved this deal once — and due to a “glitch,” they have to reconsider it. If you don’t tell them “no” and “Nip this in the Bud” now, it will be too late after Monday night.