Council majority opposes request
The Town of Twisp has turned down a request by AFC Fruit LLC to lease some of the town’s trust water rights for irrigation of an apple orchard near Wenatchee.
Without a formal vote, a Town Council majority indicated it would not support the request by Orondo-based AFC Ranch, familiarly known as Auvil Fruit Company, to lease up to 38 acre feet of water per year for six years, with a total payment to the town of $28,500 for that period.
“The purpose of this Lease is for the irrigation of up to 30 acres of commercial tree fruit orchard” near Wenatchee, according to the Auvil request. The leased water would be diverted from the Columbia River at the property.
At its Feb. 28 meeting, the council heard Dan Haller of Aspect Consulting, which recently completed a study of the Twisp’s future water needs and capacity under a contract with the town, explain that Twisp has enough surplus to lease water if it chooses to. Haller said Aspect also represents Auvil Fruit in the request for leased water, meaning that Aspect was representing both sides of the potential agreement as a consultant.
Council members were hearing the proposal for the first time at that meeting, and said they needed more time to consider it.
Public opposition
In the intervening two weeks, the town received many written comments opposing the water lease, Town Clerk Randy Kilmer said. Several others expressed opposition during the public comments portion of last week’s meeting.
Maggie Coon noted that a key element of the valley’s Climate Action Plan is preserving the Methow’s water supply. Leasing water to Auvil would “set a terrible precedent,” she said.
Lorah Super, program director for the Methow Valley Citizens Council, reminded the council of the controversy a few years ago over the proposed sale of water rights from the Chewuch River, which was eventually rejected. She described it as “a big uproar still playing out today.”
Mark Edson, representing the Methow Valley Irrigation District, said there are several unanswered questions about the proposed leasing transaction and how it would affect the town.
Testifying against the proposal, Dwight Filer said his research indicated that Auvil Fruit may be owned by a Canadian company. Fiera Comox is a Montreal, Quebec-based investment firm that provides equity capital support and makes investments in several sectors including agriculture. On its website, Fiera Comox describes its investment relationship with Auvil as a partnership. Filer said he found other online references to a “buyout.”
In 2019, Seattle-based Cascadia Capital helped arrange an equity investment in Auvil Fruit by Fiera Comox. “The investment from Fiera Comox will allow Auvil to recapitalize its balance sheet while also investing heavily in future growth opportunities,” according to Cascadia Capital’s website.
Filer said that “$28,000 is nickels and dimes to them. They could afford to pay much more.”
Just say ‘no’
During the council’s discussion of the request, Mayor Soo Ing-Moody said that Auvil also has other potential sources for the water it needs for its orchard. She said the town, which has worked for the past decade to restore water rights it was judged to have abandoned, would not sell water rights.
Council member Hans Smith said the revenue from leasing water to Auvil could go toward relieving water service rates in the town, or for building a fund with which to purchase more rights. He said the town should have “informed conversations” about Twisp’s water resources and suggested that the town’s Finance Committee review the leasing proposal. “We are not in a rush to make this decision,” he said.
But other council members were ready to make the decision immediately.
“We should say ‘no’ and take it off the table,” council member Mark Easton said. He agreed with Smith that the town needs to have more discussions about existing water resources, uses and potential future needs, “but not around this particular offer.”
“I don’t like the idea of selling water out of the valley.” Easton said.
Easton said any potential savings to ratepayers might be negated in six years when the lease would expire and the town would have to raise its rates.
Ing-Moody also suggested that the town did not have to rush a decision on Auvil’s request and that more conversation would be appropriate. Smith said the town could potentially negotiate a better lease rate with Auvil.
Council member Aaron Studen said he has a philosophical problem with leasing water downstream to corporation. He said the proposed lease rate “is very little money as far as water rates go.”
“In my gut, it just doesn’t feel right,” Studen said. Council member Alan Caswell said he agreed with Easton and Studen. He said he was wary of the precedent, and that he would be satisfied to resolve the Auvil request that night.
Seeing that a majority of the council was not willing to go forward, Ing-Moody said the town would not entertain the Auvil request. She added that the town needs to continue policy discussions about the future of water use and availability not just in Twisp but also the rest of the valley.
