Andy Rodriguez was kind to remind voters that I consistently support neighborhoods in disputes with the Jackson City Council and board of supervisors. He was not so forthright about his own role. Andy said, "I was not there when the decision to downsize Kennedy Meadows was made, therefore I don't know if it was made by Keith Sweet, Cascade (or) someone else." Andy was there; he just didn't know it.
On Dec. 24, 2002, the state requested a new resolution properly approved by the council by Jan. 14. On Jan. 13, Andy voted with Rosalie Escamilla Pryor, Al Nunes and Gene Taylor in approving the resolution. Marilyn Lewis was opposed. That resolution was the first time the council voted on the project that was actually built. It was not noticed to the public because they called it an "emergency."
The council voted on Sept. 23, 2002 to approve 78 units. The number had already decreased from 100 to 90. An e-mail from the developer to the city manager dated Oct. 2 first sets 56 units. Keith wrote a guest editorial misrepresenting Marilyn for supporting the neighbors, like Andy did against me, that was published in early October, also during a campaign. Keith described the project as having 78 units, but said that the number had just been reduced to 56 at the end. Then Keith signed a fraudulent resolution that was back-dated to make it appear that the council approved 56 units instead of 78.
Keith was also working for Coldwell Banker, which received $56,000 (8 percent) from the sale. The effect was to finance the project entirely from a grant and a tax-exempt bond. The developer would continue to collect a developer fee of $1.2 million, of which $500,00 was loaned to the project at 6 percent interest.
Keith may not have known what was going on. I had to sue a state agency for access to public records to find out.
The city attorney ruled that Keith had no conflict of interest because Tom Blackman was acting as a private individual, not as a Coldwell Banker broker. He got away with that because nobody in the public knew about the real estate sales agreement, which was reviewed by the city manager and city attorney, signed by Blackman and the developer, and available to any council member who wanted to know the facts. The sales agreement says that Blackman, representing Coldwell Banker, was representing both buyer and seller in his professional capacity for $28,000, not what Blackman told the council. The consequence was that the neighbors could not make Rosalie and the others look into why the numbers did not match.
Friends of Jackson and I always supported affordable housing. We are opposed to giving away more than $1 million in public funds for nothing. That some housing was built is good. More would be available for the same cost to the public if the city had either kept to the original deal where the developer put up some private capital, or it took over the project when the private capital was removed. The neighbors in Rollingwood wanted affordable senior housing. Those of us who wanted affordable housing for families wanted the project located where it would be safe. New York Ranch Road has narrow shoulders that are unsafe for pedestrians, and it is as far from downtown as possible. Families generate more vehicle traffic and children walk. Those community concerns were never addressed because officials like Andy and Rosalie fell for the developer's ploy, at least.
Rosalie and Andy had no apparent financial interest in the project, and it was indirect with Keith. A complaint was filed against Keith, but the agency declined to make a decision. I believe we all sincerely support affordable housing. The developer did not need to bribe anyone; he just needed officials who would resist finding out out what the project was really about. The official reason for the "emergency" was that the developer missed the deadline everyone else must respect, even given three weeks warning.
Elected officials should base their decisions on true facts and for the best interests of the whole community. That is what I would do.
Ken Berry is a candidate for District 1 supervisor.