King County and StockPot Inc. reach agreement to relocate culinary campus from Brightwater site

April 4, 2005

King County and StockPot Inc. reach agreement to relocate culinary campus from Brightwater site

King County today announced agreement with StockPot Inc., a subsidiary of Campbell Soup Company, to provide relocation benefits that may enable the company to relocate in our region. StockPot's current location will become part of the future Brightwater Treatment Plant north of Woodinville in Snohomish County.

"Our goal was to preserve Stockpot jobs and its $20 million annual payroll for the local economy while getting a fair deal for ratepayers, and this agreement gives us both," said County Executive Ron Sims. "We structured the agreement to provide incentives to support StockPot staying in our region rather than moving out of state. We estimate that the costs to wastewater ratepayers will be about the same whether the company stays or leaves."

The agreement announced today between King County and StockPot is structured as follows:

If StockPot relocates in the area, King County will compensate the company up to $23.45 million ($7.28 million for its past building improvements and $16.17 for relocation, replacement and reestablishment expenses).
If StockPot relocates outside the region, King County will compensate the company up to only $12.78 million ($7.28 million for its improvements to the building and $5.5 million for relocation and reestablishment expenses).

"We're very pleased to have reached this agreement with King County," said StockPot President Kathleen Horner. "The negotiation was done in good faith over many months, and we can now turn our attention to securing a new location that will enable StockPot and our employees to continue to contribute to the Seattle community."

StockPot now employs nearly 400 people at its Woodinville, Wash., location, and most live in Snohomish and King counties. StockPot's current annual payroll expense exceeds $20 million, and the company also impacts the local economy with an additional $21 million in annual purchases. In addition, the company pays more than $1.5 million each year in state and local taxes.

King County estimates that the indirect benefits of StockPot operations raises its impact on the local economy to 570 jobs and $27 million in payroll.

Under the stay-in-the-area option, King County will acquire all the building improvements and a majority of the equipment in the existing plant. After StockPot leaves the building, King County will own and sell equipment in the building.

County officials estimate that county revenue from the sale of equipment and continuing rent payments from StockPot will nearly offset the higher-cost stay-in-the-area option - compared with the reduced payment StockPot would receive if the company left the state (the estimated difference is about $10.67 million).

If the company selects a local site, the agreement requires StockPot to invest at least $35 million in a new culinary campus to be built in Pierce, Snohomish or King counties. The new location will be required to maintain employment at levels comparable with those at the current Woodinville location. Should StockPot fail to maintain its job base during the first five years of operation at a new local location, it would forfeit up to $5 million of the settlement.

"If StockPot decides to remain and grow in this area, it is a win - win - win for the company, the employees and our regional community," said John Powers, president and CEO of enterpriseSeattle, formerly called the Economic Development Council of Seattle and King County. "This is a great example of what can happen through collaboration on economic development opportunities without being parochial or worrying about who gets credit. I thank King County Executive Ron Sims for his leadership in working a regional strategy to retain these jobs."

"Brightwater will provide thousands of family wage jobs for designing and building wastewater facilities for our growing population," said Deborah Knutson, president of the Snohomish County Economic Development Council. "But it's equally important for us to do as much as we can to keep existing jobs in our community."

"Construction of Brightwater wastewater facilities will create 20,000 jobs, both direct and spin-off over the life of the project," Sims said. "Those jobs include 6,000 building-trade jobs as well as indirect employment for people who will manufacture equipment and provide services for the facility.

"We commend King and Snohomish counties for working together to strengthen the region's infrastructure all the while retaining and creating jobs," said Juli Wilkerson, director of the state Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development. "Successful economic development is possible, in part, through proper planning, good systems and strong partnerships - all of which were present for this project."

The agreement between King County and StockPot went into effect Jan. 24, 2005, following the authorization of the Campbell board of directors. Campbell's approval preserves commitments made in StockPot's July 2004 agreement with King County.

In July 2004, StockPot withdrew its appeal of the Brightwater final environmental impact statement when King County agreed to assist the company with a relocation package. King County also committed to delay construction at the treatment plant site until July 2006 and allow StockPot to remain at its current location as late as July 2007.

Woodinville North, the developer and former owner of the property and building housing StockPot, sold its property to King County in early January 2005.

Besides relocation incentives, StockPot will also be eligible to receive up to $2 million from the job retention program that's part of the Brightwater mitigation budget.

King County is building Brightwater to serve the growing population in south Snohomish County and north King County. Without Brightwater's wastewater treatment capacity, the region risks sewage overflows and a moratorium on new construction in both counties.

"When building essential public facilities, such as a wastewater treatment plant, public agencies sometimes need to move current businesses," Sims said. "Our state and federal laws recognize that possibility, so we build in procedures to treat those businesses fairly when it happens.

"For the Brightwater project," Sims said, "King County is making sure it buys the property it needs while providing fair and reasonable compensation for both landowners and tenants who must move."

King County now owns more than 80 percent of the treatment plant property and will complete all the property acquisition for the project this year.

King County's Wastewater Treatment Division serves 17 cities, 17 local sewer agencies and more than 1.4 million residents in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. The regional wastewater-treatment utility formerly known as Metro has been preventing water pollution for 40 years.