[Vision2020] an indepth look a the Hawkins deal

[Bill London]

Thanks again to David Johnson of the Lewiston Tribune for an insightful article on an important regional topic.  
DJ’s piece on the Hawkins deal (below) explains both the hubris of the commissioners and their rejection of the legal concerns.
The commissioners have raised economic development to a religious fervor, and no reality will be allowed in the way.
BL

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Whitman County attorney is wary of Hawkins deal 
By David Johnson of the Tribune | Posted: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 12:00 am 

COLFAX - A cautious Whitman County Prosecutor Denis Tracy said Monday barring a legal challenge, the recent decision for the county to spend another $5.9 million on shopping center infrastructure is a "done deal."

This despite Tracy outlining prior to a vote 14 major problems with the amended contract.

"I do have to be a little careful because I am still the attorney for the board," Tracy said, "although I'm not their attorney individually."
County Commissioners Greg Partch and Patrick O'Neill last week voted to fund what amounts to $15 million to further entice Hawkins Companies to build the mall adjacent to the state line.

Commissioner Michael Largent, citing a need for more legal review, asked unsuccessfully to have the measure tabled and then voted against passage.

"They've signed the contract and bound Whitman County," Tracy said.

In a Dec. 28, 2011, memo sent to county elected officials and judges, Tracy asserted the proposed amendment to the initial contract with Hawkins was illegal. He also called it a risk "equivalent of taking the kids' college fund to Vegas."

Tracy wrote it is "unlikely" the county could make payments on the kind of loan necessary to pay for the venture.

Hawkins wants the county to pay the lion's share of costs for infrastructure, such as streets, water and sewer services. The county would own the improvements while Hawkins would be able to offer a better deal to potential mall occupants, like Lowe's home improvement, which has been named as one of the possible anchor businesses.

Jeff DeVoe, spokesman for Hawkins, last month requested the additional $5.9 million in infrastructure during an open commission meeting. But after that meeting, the amended contract was drafted and eventually passed with no public hearing and little or no public input.

Partch, the commission chairman, would not allow any oral input, even from Tracy, at last week's meeting.

This despite much public discussion, a public hearing and solicitation of written public comment prior to when the first Hawkins contract, worth $9.1 million for infrastructure, was adopted. Information was also posted on the county's website the first time around.

More than two dozen people attended last week's meeting, but were told by Partch they could not speak. He said the meeting was a "business meeting." Tracy attempted to speak, but was denied the floor.

The commissioners, Tracy confirmed, met individually with Hawkins representatives prior to the vote.

Those meetings, Tracy said, were allowed by law, as long as the commissioners didn't share their discussions with each other, either directly or through a third party. Tracy said the law requires commissioners discuss all business between themselves in open meetings.

Asked if he, as the commission's attorney, would have preferred commissioners to have met with Hawkins representatives in public and hammered out an amendment to the original contract, Tracy said, "I think I'm prohibited from answering that question."

He did, however, offer a timeline for his own involvement with the commissioners.

"They first came to me on Dec. 14th and asked me to look at it (the proposed amendment to the initial contract)," Tracy said. "On Dec. 27th, I gave them a seven-page memo along with approximately 50 pages of attachments outlining what I felt were major problems with this deal."

On the following day, Tracy said he gave the commissioners another two-page memo outlining additional problems with the proposal. Tracy declined to disclose specifics in the memos.

"I also specifically requested to review any changes," Tracy said. "They came up with their revised proposal, which partially addressed two of the 14 major problems that I see with the proposal."

Legalities aside, Tracy wrote in his memo he doubts the county will have the financial wherewithal to recoup its costs. "As far as I can tell," he wrote, "from all the information provided, there will probably not be enough tax revenue generated to pay for the bonds the county will have to issue to fund this gamble."

The county, according to Tracy's memo, could be obligated to pay nearly $23 million in principle and interest payments over the next 20 years. The entire deal, however, is moot if Hawkins fails to begin development by 2014, according to the contract.
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