ABSTRACT: Random Reportings regarding the Flanders Mansion property, Forest Theatre Schematic Design and the State Water Resources Control Board Hearing.
• With regard to the disposition of the Flanders Mansion property, the City has issued checks in August 2008 and September 2008 totally over $32,000, including checks to Denise Duffy & Associates for Environmental Impact Report (EIR) Services ($22,160.90) and to Attorney Joel Franklin for Legal Services ($8,857.70). The City has yet to inform the public through a public hearing about the status of their intentions with respect to the selling or leasing of the Flanders Mansion property in light of the fact that there are two "new" City Council Members who were not Members at the time of the City Council's vote to sell the Flanders Mansion property, namely City Council Members Ken Talmage and Karen Sharp.
City of Carmel-by-the-Sea
August 2008 Check Register
115987 8/12/08 JOEL FRANKLIN $ 8,857.70 FEB-JUN 2008 FLANDERS LEGAL PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
116054 8/19/08 DENISE DUFFY & ASSOCIATES $ 4,952.15 FLANDERS PROPERTY EIR
City of Carmel-by-the-Sea
September 2008 Check Register
116266 9/16/08 DENISE DUFFY & ASSOCIATES $ 17,208.75 FLANDERS PROPERTY FEIR EXPENSES
116226 9/9/08 MONTEREY BAY PLANNING SERVICES $ 4,618.47 PLAZA DEL MAR & FLANDERS MANSION PLANNING PROF SVCS
• As part of the Capital Improvement Budget, the City Council authorized the expenditure of $65,000 for “Forest Theater Master Plan-Design Work,” as follows:
City of Carmel-by-the-Sea
Capital Improvement and Capital Outlay Budgets
FY 2008-09 Thru 2012-13
Revised FY 2008-09
Capital Improvement
Forest Theater Master Plan-Design Work $65,000
To date, there has been no check issued to Theatre Architect Richard McCann for services related to the Schematic Design. However, according to a Forest Theater Foundation source, it is anticipated that the City will place the Schematic Design on a City Council November 2008 or December 2008 Agenda.
• For the State Water Resources Control Board Hearing regarding the proposed Cease and Desist Order for California American Water regarding the continued unauthorized diversion of water from the Carmel River, held in Sacramento, City expenditures included $40.80 to City Administrator Rich Guillen, $999.11 to City Attorney Don Freeman and $222.85 to Mayor Sue McCloud, as follows:
115909 7/29/08 RICH GUILLEN $ 40.80 SACRAMENTO WATER BOARD TRAVEL EXPENSES
116013 8/12/08 PERRY & FREEMAN LAW OFFCE $ 999.11 SACRAMENTO WATER BOARD TRAVEL EXPENSES
116096 8/19/08 WELLS FARGO (CREDIT CARD) $ ( 222.85) REFUND FOR SACRAMENTO HOTEL EXPENSES FOR MAYOR
(Source: City of Carmel-by-the-Sea, August 2008 Check Register)
4 comments:
Well, well. After the meeting at the Forest Theater, the city and Mr. McCann have gone ahead with the $65,000 schematic design. And I thought there was a consensus for a retooling of the pre-design. Another example of the city going ahead and doing whatever it wants to do in spite of public input to the contrary. Why am I not surprised? Because they can and do get away with it. I suppose deep down they think they know what is best for us, but they feel they have to at least put on a show of listening to us, when they clearly do not listen and heed the concerns of the residents.
O.K. Lets see what the schematic design entails. Will it incorporate all of the recommendations made at the public meeting at the Theater or will it be something else entirely or will it be much like the original McCann pre-design? Judging by past performances, whatever it is on the Nov. or Dec agendas is premature and it will probably be into 2009 before we see anything.
Mayor Sue is again secretly going about whatever she is going about. She just cannot do anything without it being shrouded in a secret cloud. This is not the way an open local government should operate. We don't need a mayor who fails to understand the need to keep the public informed every step of the way, especially when it deals with the potential selling of an historic resource and a structure long associated with the park and physically central to the park. It is a poor use of public finanical resources indeed to keep spending funds for lawyer fees and consultants and not put that money to the building itself and finding a proper use for it.
I am also very tired of the Flanders Mansion being used by Sue in her personal vendetta against Melanie Billig, pres. of Flanders Foundation. We expect more of our mayors, not the small minded, petty nature shown by Sue McCloud.
It would also help if we had some independent minded council members who did not just talk the talk, but actually demonstrated their independent judgment by disagreeing with Sue and educating themselves and voicing their desire to maintain and keep Flanders Mansion as a public asset, but that may be too much to expect in Carmel today.
RE: The Forest Theater - As I recall, the major changes where a true consensus developed were:
1) Remove diagonal parking along Mountain View.
2) Remove added parking along Guadalupe
3) Expand parking within present fence boundaries
4) Reduce footprint of the two large bathroom facilities, perhaps by combining them into one.
5) Address handicapped parking/access issues.
6) Address problems with current concession stand.
It will be very telling indeed if these things are ignored. As to the other minor recommendations (addressing some of the user needs), as far as I am concerned, they were a bit nit-picky and are of no interest to me.
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