[Vision2020] an indepth look a the Hawkins deal

Art Deco art.deco.studios at gmail.com
Tue Jan 10 12:23:53 PST 2012


I do not understand why so called free enterprise capitalists like the
Hawkins Group needs gross amount of  welfare from ordinary citizens in
order to succeed in a profit making enterprise.  Why aren't the
conservatives and the free market believers objecting loudly?

Let us not forget that agreement that Walter Steed, a long time crony and
associate of the Hawkins  and their enterprises, negotiated as a Moscow
Councilperson without telling the rest of the council of his
previous/ongoing relationship with Hawkins.  Notice that that city attorney
didn't participate in those negotiations either.  That agreement prohibits
Moscow from objecting to any part of the Hawkins development.

I guess the electors deserve the slime they sometimes elect.  One oould
hope that they would wise up sooner or later and elect officials whose main
interest was the community's, not their own.Moscow

w.

On Jan 10, 2012, at 11:48 AM, "Bill London" <london at moscow.com> wrote:

>
>   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
>
> ------------------------------------------
> 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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-- 
Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)
art.deco.studios at gmail.com
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