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№ 05 · Jobs & taxes Status: Not approved Last checked May 19, 2026

Put the jobs and tax promises in writing.

If jobs, taxes, and franchise revenue are the case for selling public land, the case should survive a contract. Demand binding terms, not pitch-deck numbers.

Short version

March 11 minutes describe an $800 million investment claim and an estimate of approximately $20,000 per month in franchise fee revenue. March 25 minutes record a "large discrepancy" in those numbers, forwarded to Midstate for clarification. The Bulletin reported claims of up to 80 jobs alongside resident skepticism. Make every claim enforceable — or take them off the sales pitch.

March 11 minutes describe an $800 million investment claim and an estimate of approximately $20,000 per month in franchise fee revenue.

✓ Official record

March 25 minutes record a "large discrepancy" in suggested monthly gross proceeds and associated franchise fees, with the question forwarded to Midstate for clarification.

✓ Official record

March 11 minutes note that the applicant was not requesting a tax exemption — but Deschutes County's Rural Enterprise Zone and Oregon's long-term rural enterprise-zone program could still provide multi-year property-tax exemptions for qualifying investments.

The Bulletin reported claims of up to 80 jobs alongside resident skepticism.

✓ Local reporting

What officials should answer

  • 01 Require a public pro forma reviewed by an independent municipal finance advisor.
  • 02 Require a binding local-hiring plan if jobs are used as a selling point.
  • 03 Require a community-benefits agreement with enforceable job, wage, internship, and local-vendor terms.
  • 04 Require a written commitment that the project will not seek enterprise-zone or long-term rural enterprise-zone abatement unless separately approved after a public hearing.
  • 05 Require a side-by-side analysis of alternative uses of the same industrial land.

Sources

2026-03-11
March 11, 2026 signed City Council minutes
City of La Pine
www.lapineoregon.gov/sites/default/files/fileattachments/city_council/meeting/7819/2026-03-11_signed_city_council_minutes.pdf
Official record
2026-03-25
March 25, 2026 signed City Council minutes
City of La Pine
www.lapineoregon.gov/sites/default/files/fileattachments/city_council/meeting/7823/2026-03-25_signed_city_council_minutes.pdf
Official record
Deschutes County Rural Enterprise Zone
City of La Pine
www.lapineoregon.gov/ed/page/deschutes-county-rural-enterprise-zone
Official record
Long-Term Rural Enterprise Zone
Business Oregon
www.oregon.gov/biz/programs/enterprisezones/Long-TermRuralEnterpriseZone/Pages/default.aspx
Regulatory
2026-05-14
La Pine residents pack meeting to oppose data center
The Bulletin (Bend)
bendbulletin.com/2026/05/14/la-pine-residents-pack-meeting-to-oppose-proposed-data-center/
Local reporting
On this page
Quick 5 primary sources → protectlapine.org/headlines/jobs-need-to-be-binding
The ask

Pause the sale.
Show the records.

Five questions any public seller would expect answered before signing. Bring those answers to the public record, and the conversation changes.