City Commission OKs sale transfer for Building B at Newton City-County Airport

The Newton City Commission approved an agreement on April 8 to facilitate the sale of Building B at the Newton City-County Airport and to transfer the property's ground lease to the auction winner, Deep Blue Diamond Inc.

The measure allows the city and county — which jointly own airport real estate — to give “blessing” to the sale of the building improvements and to transfer the existing ground lease from the current owner, identified in staff documents as 620 LLC, to the new buyer.

The vote followed a presentation from a city staff member who summarized the two-step role for the city: authorize the sale of the improvement and transfer the ground lease to the buyer. The buyer, who appeared at the meeting and identified himself during questions, described his operation and addressed community concerns about wastewater and off‑fall from his production process.

Commissioners asked about environmental controls and past safety problems at other facilities. The buyer, introduced at the meeting as “Mister Sawyer,” said the operation at his Walton facility captures all process waste inside the building and moves it to storage tanks for off‑site hauling. “We collect everything inside the building, and then we transferred out to some tanks outside, which then is hauled off,” Sawyer said. He described the company’s current hauler as a large lagoon-cleaning operator based in the Dakotas and said waste from his process is typically land‑spread by that contractor. He acknowledged a previous facility safety incident that resulted in fatalities and said he has worked to contain and manage wastes differently at his other sites.

Sawyer also explained that the company produces water‑soluble fertilizers, humic‑acid products derived from lignite, and biologically based products that use fermentation; he said much of their raw material is imported from Europe and that the business recently acquired fermentation equipment and a 100‑barrel brew house at auction that drove the purchase interest in Building B.

No member of the public registered opposition during the agenda item. After discussion, a commissioner moved to approve the agreement “as presented,” another commissioner seconded, and the motion carried.

The city staff memo attached to the agenda noted that the county approved the item earlier in the morning; the approved agreement authorizes staff to execute the documents necessary to transfer the ground lease to Deep Blue Diamond Inc.

The sale and lease transfer do not change the city–county ownership of the underlying airport land; they transfer only the lease and ownership of the building improvements, per staff description. The buyer indicated plans to use the building for fermentation and production and to add drying and pelletizing capacity at a planned Walton addition to manage production off‑fall.

The commission’s action authorizes staff to finalize the sale and lease transfer; no additional conditions, contingencies or permit approvals tied to the action were stated on the record. The buyer thanked the commission and members of the public for the opportunity.

Agenda back-up materials filed with the city include the proposed agreement and a short memo from staff summarizing the auction and transfer process.

PROVENANCE: The city commission introduced the item at the start of the regular agenda; staff framing and the buyer’s responses appear on the record at the start of the meeting’s airport item through the motion to approve.