FRESNO DESK - In Fresno, these times are hard. Vision and hope for this City's future seem confused, misdirected, self-destructive. Take for example the latest series of bone-chilling incidents at City Hall.
Keep in mind that Fresno's strong mayor Jim Patterson, hired City manager, Jeff Reid, and stands behind him as a competent and thorough public administrator. Hilda Cantu is the City attorney, who advises the administration and the City Council on legal matters. With her large staff of attorneys Cantu represents the City in litigation and settlement negotiations. Under the present City Charter, the seven member City Council acts as in an advisory capacity on all issues on which it musters less than five votes. The mayor may not 'veto' Council action having five or more votes. The City Council controls the public purse within given limits.
Dale Bacigalupi, of the Fresno law firm of Christensen, Bacigalupi and Barrus was hired last year by the City attorney to assist City Hall in eminent domain proceedings for the condemnation of private property in downtown Fresno. Bacigalupi, abruptly resigned from his work on the $100 million eight-story federal courthouse site at Capitol and Tulare streets, Friday.
The facts surrounding the sudden resignation are murky. But some interesting circumstances have come to light in the past few hours.
Apparently, Bacigalupi was involved in negotiations for the City on April 8, 1998. On that day he wrote a letter to the property owner, Civic Center Square Inc., making an offer to purchase certain real property they owned downtown, on behalf of the City.
Reid and Patterson challenged Bacigalupi's offer as invalid, ostensibly, because established procedures were not followed prior to Bacigalupi's letter to the property owner.
Council member Ken Steitz supports the mayor and the City manager's handling of the matter. Steitz told reporters '...an incompetent attorney is off the case now.'
Dan Fitzpatrick, contends that Reid did review a draft of Bacigalupi's letter. Fitzpatrick has now requested that he be reassigned as he no longer wants management responsibilities on the Fresno City and County Redevelopment Agency federal courthouse project.
There should be a penalty assessed for piling-on in this grudge match as an unsigned Saturday's Fresno Bee editorial
"Its Time For Reid To Go" calls for Jim Patterson to fire Jeff Reid as City manager to '...put a stop to Reid's civic atrocities...political vandalism'.
Making matters worse, Redevelopment Agency chair and City Council member Dan Ronquillo, is denying that the he participated in any illegal meetings on the $30 million Fresno Convention Center Exhibit Hall expansion project.
Fresno developer Bud Long was given an exclusive non-bid contract by the City Council and soon began building that project at Inyo and M streets in 1996. Over $1 million dollars was advanced to Long by the City Council. However, 4 months later Long fired his subcontractors, unable to obtain a line of credit from any financial institution to complete the project. The City Council then took back the project but the City money advanced to Long was not returned.
Fresno taxpayer, Bob Dwyer, has now filed a claim against the City in the matter. He contends City Hall violated State open-meeting laws by awarding the project to Long without a public bid. The City of Fresno and Bud Long are the defendants in the Fresno County Superior Court suit, filed by Dwyer's attorney, David Rowell, descendant of crusading Fresno Republican Newspaper founder & publisher, Dr. Chester Rowell.
