And from the dais
Here's the statement Mayor Bill Bogaard read at the outset of deliberations last night:
We are about to make a “new beginning” on the Heritage Square project, which was previously before the Council on April 30, May 21, July 30, and August 6. On the latter date, the Council unanimously terminated the developer selection process and requested the City Manager to offer recommendations as to how to proceed.We now have a report from the City Manager, and I look forward to getting this project moving once again. Deliberations on Heritage Square so far have been unusually controversial, and I have friends from the community who tell me they left the Council Chamber on prior occasions with feelings of anger, futility and disrespect, and that others they know had similar feelings. I sincerely regret such feelings and want to offer a short comment.
Read more for the rest ...
The starting point is that Heritage Square is an important priority for this Council. It will provide needed housing opportunities, retail outlets, economic vitality to a large and important area of the City, and valuable jobs both during construction and thereafter in the operation of the facility. The City’s commitment to local hiring will be strong and will be aggressively enforced.The City’s support for this project is evident from the investment of nearly $9 million for acquisition of the property, and its commitment to invest the entire value in this project. Recently Pasadena’s downtown was named the most attractive and vital of all California mid-sized cities, and Councilmembers Gordo and Robinson both stated that the vitality that exists in the downtown must be extended to other sections of the City.
I agree with that, and would urge that we rededicate ourselves to the wellbeing and success of the Northwest. As I have thought about the Heritage Square experience to date, it seems to be a classic example of the disparity that can occur between “intent” and “impact”.
In communicating with others, one person can have a particular intent, but that does not prevent another person from receiving a totally different impact. This is what people sometimes call “unintended consequences”.
This phase of the project began in October of last year when the City Council approved a Request for Proposal. A Request for Proposal, at least in my mind, creates a competitive process to seek out the most qualified of all parties that want to complete the project. This competition is based on a careful review of all aspects of each proposal; on due diligence of the proposers under consideration; on expert analysis of the financial feasibility; and on documentation of all competitive analysis to assist the final decision maker in making the decision.
During the prior meetings, my questions were intended to gather information from ourstaff that reflected results of that kind of competitive process. It turns out that the work that I expected to be done was not performed in this case, or at least has not been documented in a manner that allows it to be made available to the Council to review. I regret the delay that has taken place, the loss of decorum that occurred in this chamber, the impression that people were disrespected or insulted. To any who had such feelings, I express an apology.
Tonight we have the opportunity for a new beginning, to restart the City’s engines in regard to this important project. But, as noted earlier, it is important for all of us to think beyond this project to the needs and the opportunities of the entire Northwest. Projects like Jackie Robinson Park and the Washington Theater should be recognized not only as helpful, but as critical for the continued progress that this City intends to make. I think it would be well to pull out the Northwest Plan and review the extent of the City’s accomplishments and to rededicate ourselves to the goals of that Plan that have not yet been achieved.
