It took nearly four hours, but the Santa Fe City Council on Wednesday voted unanimously to incur up to $30 million in debt to buy the College of Santa Fe campus and lease it to Laureate Education Inc.

The decision effectively ensures the operation of an arts school on the grounds come this fall.

The vote also completes an approximately 20-month process of trying to first save the College of Santa Fe and then secure some sort of educational institution on the site.

Councilors voted first to approve a lease agreement with the private, for-profit company. The deal will have Laureate paying the city about $2.35 million per year in exchange for 61 acres of land and facilities.

At one time, there were more than 200 people at the meeting. Despite plenty of rhetoric and questions — councilors' discussion lasted more than two hours — the council made few changes to the lease.

In addition to the rent payments, the agreement also outlines a purchase option that could result in the city receiving as a sale price the appraised value of the property, minus the amount of any improvements Laureate makes. The city will also take into account the number of jobs Laureate creates with its school and the economic impact its students and faculty have on the city.

Larry Hinz, vice president for business development at Laureate, said Wednesday night for the first time that Laureate intends to buy the property, assuming its school is successful. That purchase could take place as soon as five years, he said, but the company does not have a set date for buying the campus from the city.

As part of the lease, Laureate also agrees to commit $20 million toward offsetting any of its losses during the first few years. If the group pulls out of the deal before its 26-year expiration — and assuming Laureate hasn't already spent the $20 million toward losses — the city will get any leftover money.

One major addition to the lease makes the school more affordable for local students. Laureate agreed to offer New Mexico residents a 20 percent discount on tuition and to offer Santa Fe County residents a 25 percent discount.

Councilor Matthew Ortiz tried to increase the discount county residents would receive, but Hinz said an increase to the discounts would only make it harder for the school to survive financially.

And because any discounts might mean more losses during the first few years — leaving less money to recoup if Laureate pulls out of the deal — councilors voted down Ortiz's idea.

Ortiz did manage to amend the lease to include a provision that Laureate work with the Santa Fe Public Schools to develop some sort of college preparatory program, though no specifics for how that would work were given.

He also included a provision that would keep the College of Santa Fe name — despite Hinz's plea to allow Laureate to change the name after six months in case prospective students are turned off by it because of its recent history — while also giving Laureate the flexibility to add other words.

After the lengthy talks surrounding the lease, the council took little time to approve a number of other measures.

Those included a purchase agreement with the College of Santa Fe and an agreement with Gov. Bill Richardson that once again states his commitment of $11 million in state funding toward the purchase of campus property and the school's operations. Councilors also approved a memorandum of understanding with Santa Fe Community College that calls for community college officials to establish a higher learning center on a piece of the campus not leased by Laureate.

Two proposals on financing the plan — ordinances outlining the issuance of up to $30 million in bonds and borrowing of up to $30 million from the New Mexico Finance Authority — were approved unanimously and with no discussion.

The city will follow through on only one of those proposals, most likely the NMFA deal because it would mean a waiver of some fees and better interest rates.

While it's unknown whether they swayed councilors, a number of state officials, including Richardson, were present at the meeting to urge councilors to vote for the deals.

"Tonight you have the fate of the College of Santa Fe in your hands," Richardson told the council, calling approval "the right thing to do."

Contact John Sena at 986-3079 or jsena@sfnewmexican.com.