Nampa council authorizes nonbinding market check and solicits appraisal for Ford Idaho Center

The Nampa City Council voted on a series of measures to gather market information and legal analysis about the future of the Ford Idaho Center, authorizing city procurement to publish a nonbinding solicitation of interest and directing staff to solicit quotes for an independent appraisal. The council also authorized the city attorney to draft a declaration regarding the city’s intent to convey or sell the property, a required step in the state statute process for disposition of city-owned real property. The moves follow weeks of public discussion and council debate over whether to retain, convey or sell the venue and about deed restrictions that would preserve uses such as the Snake River Stampede. Council members repeatedly said the solicitations are nonbinding information-gathering steps and do not commit the city to a sale. The nonbinding solicitation aims to identify potential buyers or operators, while the appraisal request is intended to show a defensible market value — complicated, staff warned, by the property’s unique venue uses and deed restrictions. Council members raised several concerns in the discussion: the cost and complexity of a defensible appraisal for a venue with deed restrictions and dedicated uses; the possibility that public outreach or a market check could harm the city’s contractual relationship with the current operator (OVG); and the need for independent valuation rather than an internal staff estimate. City counsel briefed the council on how underutilization is treated under Idaho case law and that the council retains discretion to define the rationale for any conveyance or sale. Council actions on the Fort Idaho Center this meeting included: (1) a successful motion to authorize procurement to publish a nonbinding solicitation of interest for purchase of the Fort Idaho Center; (2) authorization to solicite bids/quotes to obtain an independent commercial appraisal; and (3) authorization for the city attorney to draft a declaration of intent to convey or sell the property (a step that would be used to open a public hearing later in the process). Council members emphasized that the solicitation and appraisal do not constitute a binding sale and that deed restrictions would be included in any future conveyance terms. City staff and outside advisers told council the appraisal could be difficult and potentially costly because comparables are hard to identify and deed restrictions will affect economic obsolescence calculations. Staff proposed collecting informal quotes from multiple appraisers and returning with price proposals before contracting. Council directed staff to return with bids and recommended terms and to include the deed-restriction language the city intends to protect in any market outreach. The council took the votes after public and council discussion that included concerns about transparency, the timeline of prior meetings on the topic, and the possibility that a market check could alter operations under the existing management contract. Council members who opposed the motions said they were uncomfortable moving forward without additional clarity on impacts to existing contracts and neighborhood effects; supporters said the steps were necessary to collect facts to inform a later legal and policy decision. The city will post the nonbinding solicitation broadly (staff said it would be distributed to venue managers and industry groups) and solicit quotes from qualified commercial appraisers; staff said they would return to council with bid results and a recommended appraiser contract for approval.