McCloud Grapples With New Nestle Contract: Community Remains Split
It’s possible the worst thing that ever happened to the tiny town of McCloud wasn’t the closing of the timber mill – it was the arrival of Nestle Waters of North America and their proposed water bottling plant.
The formerly quiet community has been split in two ever since the McCloud Services District entered into a contract with Nestle Waters of North America – a contract negotiated in secret and signed without community input.
With the original contract nullified after Nestle scaled back its project plans, the community now has to face more rancor among residents (a staple wherever Nestle goes) as Nestle pursues a new contract to mine the town’s water and build a huge water bottling plant.
The first meeting since the contract was nullified was predictably contentious (from the Mount Shasta Herald):
Any hope for change in the discourse of the past five years between Nestle bottling plant supporters and detractors in McCloud was quickly dispelled Monday evening at the first McCloud Community Services District board meeting to address the Nestle issue since Nestle ‘stepped out’ of its contract with the district on Aug. 5.
As television and print media looked on, a full house of community members and other interested parties packed Scout Hall as the MCSD board embarked on a two hour long meeting punctuated by two contentious, angry, tearful, and repetitive public comment sessions – both of which focused on Nestle – overshadowing any of the board’s other operations, as the Nestle issue has since 2003.
Fortunately, the McCloud Services District voted to table discussion on the matter until a new board member takes his seat in November.
There is much, much more to come in McCloud, and I hope the fractures in the community don’t grow any wider under Nestle’s impetus.
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Below is the prepared statement read by Debra Anderson of the Watershed Council:
Honorable Board Members,
Tonight I urge you to think about what is in the best interest of McCloud.
We all want prosperity and a thriving community without sacrificing our area’s magnificent natural resources.
Fortunately we now have a clean slate and can determine what is truly best for McCloud.
Our community does not have enough information to negotiate a new contract with Nestlé.
How could we make a commitment to contract details right now? We don’t know any more now about the impacts of a plant on our community than we did 5 years ago.
What we do know now is:
- What it was like for our town to be divided by the unfair contract,
- What it’s like to be concerned about drought and available water for our town, and
- What Nestlé is like as a neighbor. To say the least, they have not earned my trust
The contract that the District negotiated with Nestlé in 2003 has been canceled. Nothing in that old contract – which is ineffective now anyway – obligates the District to offer Nestlé a new contract. Legally, you could say “no” to Nestlé tonight.
The middle ground would be to give McCloud time to reflect and to send a letter to Nestlé telling them you’ll be ready to discuss their project and a possible contract in a few years when they have completed baseline studies and a full Environmental Impact Report.
In the last 5 years, though, I’ve learned enough about Nestlé that personally I’d approve of your just sending them a letter saying “no thanks.”
In the past 6 months several communities from Kennebunk, Maine to Enumclaw, Washington have flat out said “no” to a Nestlé plant in their towns, and for good reasons. Nestlé’s track record in other communities is becoming clear. They do not deliver all the jobs they promise, they consistently look for additional water sources near their plants and when they don’t get their way, they take small towns to court.
McCloud has a second chance to explore the idea of a Nestle plant in our community, the right way – with real public process, good science, and sound economic analysis of its likely impact on our community. We have other economic opportunities for this town’s future as well.
Saying No to Nestle now would enable us to build upon those opportunities as a united community.
Thank you, Debra Anderson
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