Analysis of CITY EXPENDITURES FOR THE SALE OF THE FLANDERS MANSION PROPERTY

ABSTRACT: In the context of a recent letter to the editor, The Monterey County Herald, written by Marikay Morris, the City’s expenditures for the sale of the Flanders Mansion Property are presented and analyzed through COMMENTS, including the following: The largest share of the total $787,290.25 (as of the City’s August 2009 Check Register) expended by the City for the sale of the Flanders Mansion Property has been as a result of the City’s decision to continue to pursue the sale of the Flanders Mansion Property after a Judge’s ruling finding in favor of the Flanders Foundation and against the City and City Council of Carmel-by-the-Sea.

On Tuesday, 15 September 2009, The Monterey County Herald published a letter to the editor entitled “Flanders Foundation running up tab” written by Marikay Morris. Morris wrote, in part, as follows:

“In response to the letter last week complaining that Carmel has spent almost $800,000 regarding the sale of Flanders Mansion, the focus should have been the people who instigated the lawsuit: The Flanders Foundation.”

“...The exceptional part of this case is that a very small minority continues to cost the public endless time and money.”

CITY EXPENDITURES FOR THE SALE OF THE FLANDERS MANSION PROPERTY (as of City’s August 2009 Check Register)

Legal & Associated Expenditures:
Joel Franklin: $163,059.01
Susan Brandt-Hawley: $160,000.00
William B. Conners: $84,228.00
Subtotal: $407,287.01

Gianna Rocha (Transcription Services): $10,685
Mark Askew (Flanders Mansion Appraisal): $1,500.00
Subtotal: $12,185
Total Subtotal: $419,472.01

EIR Expenditures:
Denise Duffy & Associates, Inc.: $102,689.34 (DEIR & FEIR)
Denise Duffy & Associates, Inc.: $67,000 (RDEIR; per Resolution August 2008 not to exceed $67,000.00)
Denise Duffy & Associates, Inc.: $ 77,949.56 (RFEIR; per Resolution June 2009 not to exceed $77,572)
Subtotal: $247,638.90

Planning Consultant:
Monterey Bay Planning Services (Brian Roseth): $38,916.99
Subtotal: $38,916.99

Economic Analysis Project:
CBRE Consulting, Inc.: $52,483.72 (per Resolution August 2008, not to exceed $40,000.00)
CBRE Consulting, Inc.: $ 15,416.00 (per Resolution June 2009, not to exceed $23,000.00)
Subtotal: $67,899.72

Site Evaluation & Construction Cost Estimates:
Architectural Resources Group (ARG): $8,540.00 (per Resolution September 2008, not to exceed $11,500.00)
Subtotal: $8,540.00

Monterey County Recorder EIR Report Filing Fee: $2,818.25
Subtotal: $2,818.25

Meeting Notices:
Carmel Pine Cone: $249.90 (Flanders EIR Meeting Notice, 4/14/09)
$149.94 (Special Election Noticing)

Monterey County Herald: $1,789.54 (Flanders Mansion Meetings Public Notices)
Subtotal: $2,189.38

GRAND TOTAL: $787,290.25

COMMENTS:
• City expenditures for the sale of the Flanders Mansion Property can be divided into three categories, as follows:
1. Expenditures associated with regulatory requirements, including the DEIR and FEIR, and appraisal; a total cost of approximately $105,000.
2. Expenditures associated with legal costs from the time of the Flanders Foundation filing their original lawsuit in 2005 to Judge Robert O’Farrell’s ruling in 2007; a total cost of approximately $245,000.
3. Expenditures associated with the City’s decision not to appeal Judge O’Farrell’s ruling and continue to pursue the sale of the Flanders Mansion Property; a total cost of approximately $425,500.

• Significantly, expenditures associated with the City’s decision to pursue the sale of the Flanders Mansion Property after the Judge’s ruling in favor of the Flanders Foundation and against the City and City Council of Carmel-by-the-Sea represent expenditures for the RDEIR, RFEIR, Consultant Planning Services, Economic Analysis Project and Site Evaluation and Construction Cost and attorney fees totaling approximately $425,500.

• The largest share of the total $787,290.25 expended by the City for the sale of the Flanders Mansion Property has been as a result of the City’s decision to continue to pursue the sale of the Flanders Mansion Property after a Judge’s ruling finding in favor of the Flanders Foundation and against the City and City Council of Carmel-by-the-Sea.

• Yet, despite all the aforementioned facts and despite a Monterey County Superior Court Judge’s ruling against the City, Marikay Morris writes that “the focus should have been the people who instigated the lawsuit” and ““a very small minority continues to cost the public endless time and money,” which begs the question: Do the individuals in favor of selling the Flanders Mansion Property advocate the City violate municipal and state laws as a means to their end of selling the Flanders Mansion Property and do so with impunity?