The Nestle Project: Economic Impacts

1. Nestlé will negatively impact McCloud's tourism economy.
2. Nestlé's bottled water operation will have a huge footprint that will reshape our community for generations to come.
3. A one million square foot industrial building in the heart of town will cost the community more than it can afford.
4. What is an historic mill town without a mill?

1. Nestlé will negatively impact McCloud's tourism economy.
Tourists from around the world come to McCloud to enjoy the magnificent beauty and resources that our region has to offer. Anglers and sightseers come from spring to late fall to enjoy the McCloud River and the magnificent views of Mt. Shasta. In the summer, square dancers come to dance in our historic dance hall and golfers enjoy our beautiful golf course. Climbers, skiers and snowmobile enthusiasts come year round to challenge the mountain's flanks. Many people come to simply enjoy the picturesque buildings and Historic District or to take a ride on the dinner train. With potential impacts to the aquifer, creek flows, traffic, town infrastructure, noise and pollution, Nestlé is sure to have a significant negative impact on McCloud's tourist industry.

2. Nestlé's bottled water operation will have a huge footprint that will reshape our community for generations to come.
The District and Nestlé entered into an agreement that allows Nestlé to build a one million square-foot water bottling facility at the Cal Cedar Mill site. That is so large that every existing building in McCloud could fit under the plant's roof. The plant will be four times bigger than Siskiyou County's other water bottling plants and even larger than the colossal Wal-Mart distribution center southeast of Red Bluff. The Nestlé plant would immediately become the largest building in Northern California. It would kill beneficial development on the northeast edge of town and cause serious decline in property values for nearby residents. The proposed Nestlé plant would dwarf McCloud's historic heritage and blight our future.

3. A one million square foot industrial building in the heart of town will cost the community more than it can afford.
The Nestlé plant will require infrastructure and community resources that we have no money to provide. The construction and operation of this facility is guaranteed to have wide-ranging, unknown impacts on our sewage ponds, water, fire service, roads, utilities, etc. The experience of other communities shows that property taxes will be insufficient to pay for these needs. In Siskiyou County, all but a fraction of property taxes collected go directly into county general funds, which are unlikely to be directed back to McCloud. Nestlé does not have a good reputation when it comes to contributing directly to infrastructure needs beyond their specific contractual obligations. These types of infrastructure problems and needs usually cost hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars to address.

4. What is an historic mill town without a mill?
The McCloud Watershed Council, working in conjunction with The Historical Land and Preservation Society, is doing its best to see that the historic buildings on the Cal-Cedar Mill site remain intact. The purpose in saving these buildings is two-fold, both for the historic value to the town of McCloud and for the housing of micro-industries. The Watershed Council has been diligently working with the College of the Redwoods and other manufacturers to bring sustainable industries back into McCloud. These would be industries that not only retain the ambiance of McCloud, but also provide the kind of jobs that pay the wages needed to sustain a family here.