TUCSON, Ariz (KGUN) — Project Blue and related issues took up most of Tuesday’s meeting of the Pima County Supervisors. Members of the public spoke to urge Supervisors to cancel the land sale for the data center; and Supervisors met privately with their attorneys over Project Blue issues but there’s no public disclosure of what, if anything, Supervisors can and will do with the land sale.
In July, Pima Supervisors voted to accept just under 21 million dollars for 290 acres of land near I-10 and Houghton. The sales contract said the deal required Tucson City Council to okay annexing the land into city limits. The deal also required the City’s water department to provide water for cooling. It would be drinkable water at first, reclaimed water later.
But protestors said the project would use far too much water and electricity.
In August, Tucson City Council rejected the annexation and the water service.
Project Blue has said it plans to build anyway. It has teamed up with Tucson Electric to ask state officials to approve providing power to the county site.
In the meeting more than 30 protestors urged Supervisors to use those contract conditions to stop the land sale.
Vail resident Toni Gosinski says, “I think that their lawyers need to take a really hard look at this, because either one of two things is happening, either the communication to the public was just so badly done that it wasn't communicated to us that this was a one sided deal, or the city and the county do have power, and should bring in their lawyers and not
sell the land.”
Supervisors huddled with attorneys for an unusually long closed session. It lasted more than three hours. We know Project Blue was a topic for discussion but because it's a confidential consultation with lawyers, Supervisors can keep the results a secret. We do know the board's attorney said he had received instructions from the board. That means the board told him to either do something or leave things as they are.
District Two Supervisor Doctor Matt Heinz says Supervisors received legal advice some time ago that the sales contract gives Bourne Infrastructure, the company behind Project Blue, the option to waive requirements like annexation by the City of Tucson. But Heinz says the contract does not give Pima County the option to use those requirements to void the land purchase.
Heinz says the land deal gives Bourne Infrastructure another ten months to formally close the sale and take possession of the land.
Supervisors also approved two items born of the fallout from the datacenter deal.
Critics were angered because Project Blue’s developers demanded, and got a non-disclosure agreement that kept the public from learning much about the project until it was close to a vote.
Supervisors passed rules that govern when the County will agree to a NDA and how tight it will be. They also passed provisions that govern how Pima County will manage future large economic development proposals.
