| A meeting Tuesday morning with the Scottsbluff LB 840
committee produced no decision for the Rocky Mountain Sugar
Growers Cooperative.
Scottsbluff City Manager Rick Kuckkahn said the committee
would meet again Thursday with the growers and a decision
should be made then.
"We are in general agreement that were going to
need to work with the growers," Kuckkahn said. "The
question is for how much of a commitment."
Kuckkahn said a grant of $500,000 from the city was being
discussed. He said the growers do not need the money up front,
making the arrangements easier for the city.
The cooperative is looking to retain 230 employees,
Kuckkahn said. He said the growers have stated their case and
provided numbers to the committee, but the committee had not
reached a decision.
Whatever decision the LB 840 committee makes, the matter
would still have to be approved by the Scottsbluff City
Council before being completed.
Kuckkahn said the growers are looking to LB 840 funding to
help get their cooperative off to a steady start as it moves
forward in purchasing Western Sugar.
"The growers are still looking for people to sign on
with acreage," Kuckkahn said. "This money would
simply fill a gap for them and enable them to build a solid
foundation for the plant." |