Caldwell council approves development agreement for hotel on Event Center property after contentious debate

The Caldwell City Council on Tuesday approved a development agreement with AGA Ventures LLC to lease roughly 3.14 acres of city-owned land at 104 North 20 First Avenue for a dual‑branded TownePlace Suites and Fairfield Inn, voting 4–2 after more than two hours of presentations, public comment and council debate.

Supporters, including council members and city staff, said the hotel would add rooms and local spending that benefit restaurants, shops and event venues. Opponents questioned whether the city’s leases with the College of Idaho, the Caldwell Night Rodeo and Canyon County Fair give the city the authority to lease the same parking areas, and they said the process felt rushed.

City staff presented a timeline of negotiations and a conceptual parking plan for the Caldwell Event Center, and outlined economic projections from a January 2025 Oxford study that staff said showed lodging can support local jobs and generate spending in the community. Steve Jenkins, a city project lead, told council the developer provided a financial acknowledgement letter from Heritage Bank and that the draft development agreement requires evidence of financing within 30 days after approval of construction documents.

Councilor [Williams] moved to approve the resolution authorizing execution of the development agreement; the motion was seconded and passed 4–2. Two council members voted in opposition during the final tally. The mayor presided over the meeting; the mayor’s given name was not specified in the public transcript.

Why it matters: Councilors and staff framed the hotel as a tool to grow the city’s tax base and to support the Event District—home to the Canyon County Fair, the Caldwell Night Rodeo and the College of Idaho—by providing local room inventory for visitors and event attendees. Opponents said existing leases that allocate parking to those event stakeholders were not adequately addressed before the agreement was placed on the agenda and warned of possible legal exposure.

Key details and debate

- Property and project: The city sought to lease roughly 3.14 acres at 104 N. 20 First Ave.; the developer proposes a dual-branded TownePlace Suites and Fairfield Inn with extended-stay rooms, meeting space, a pool and a fitness center. The hotel branding and amenities were described by staff during the presentation.

- Public comment and outreach: City staff reported receiving 263 public comments on the project: 13 in favor, 250 opposed and a small number neutral. Some speakers at the meeting urged the council to address lease and access questions before authorizing the agreement.

- Parking plan: The staff presentation mapped a two‑phase, conceptual plan for Event Center parking. Phase 1 included retention of 72 chalked spaces on the site and additional improvements that staff estimated could add roughly 724 spaces across the Event Center area during phase 1. Phase 2 conceptually could add about 1,545 additional stalls; combined, staff presented an estimate of about 2,269 additional stalls across both phases (staff characterized the plan as conceptual and subject to coordination with fair/rodeo/college stakeholders and future infrastructure projects).

- Leases and legal concerns: Councilor Register (last name as stated in the record) and others raised detailed questions about three preexisting leases the city holds with the College of Idaho, the Caldwell Night Rodeo and the Canyon County Fair. Register told council she found lease exhibits that depict the parcels now proposed for the hotel and said the leases give those entities priorities for parking and facilities. She said the city had not presented draft amendments to those leases before bringing the development agreement to the council. City legal counsel (identified in the record as Mr. Hilty) said he would not provide a public legal analysis during the meeting and noted the developer would have a six‑month due‑diligence period to review title and encumbrances; he also said if the city discovered legal liability it would be handled in executive session if necessary.

- Process and timing: Councilor Register and several speakers argued the agreement and related documents were distributed too close to the meeting for sufficient review; that contention included disagreement about when the mayor signed a letter of intent (LOI). Staff and other council members said the LOI process followed the city’s RFP and DDA procedures and that the LOI was discussed with council in earlier sessions. Council debate also included rebuttals to what some council members called misinformation circulating about event access (for example, claims that 4‑H or FFA students would need to move animals across tracks; councilors called that claim false and not originating from staff).

- Vote: The motion to accept and authorize execution of the development agreement passed 4–2. The transcript records the final tally as 4 in favor and 2 opposed. The opposition at roll call was recorded as two council members voting no; the transcript names the two dissenting councilors in the hotel vote sequence.

Next steps and conditions

The development agreement, as discussed on the record, contains standard DDA financing milestones and requires evidence of financing and construction documents per its section 3.2. Staff and councilors said the project remains subject to due diligence, title review and coordination with Canyon County, the fair and rodeo stakeholders on parking and access matters. The conceptual parking improvements described by staff rely on additional infrastructure work (including a sewer project and a lift station relocation) before some stalls could be realized.

Speakers quoted on the record included city staff (Steve Jenkins), Councilor Williams (motion maker), Councilor Register (raised lease and process concerns), Councilor Stoddick (voiced opposition), City Attorney Hilty (legal counsel) and Chief Ingram (referenced by a public commenter). Multiple residents and event stakeholders also spoke during public comment.

Ending: Councilors who supported the agreement said the hotel will generate tax revenue and support Event District activities; councilors and residents who opposed it said unresolved lease, parking and process questions warrant further legal and contractual work before the city leases the land to a private developer.