Concerned Citizens for Crystal City

[jginnever]

I thought I'd post this to track what we're doing in terms of getting information from the city. This is really what the Sunshine Law is about. It's supposed to protect the citizens from secrecy.

As you may know, Jill Thomas had an official request for information submitted before any deal was signed. The signing of the purchase and lease opened up all related information to the public. Jill got that information and we posted it on the front page of this website.

Terry Yesberg went to city hall yesterday (9/17/2007) and requested several documents. Terry knows the city clerk well and got a lot of information just from talking to her. I'll get a list of what Terry asked for - hopefully today.

I asked for a copy of the proposal that Wings gave the city. This is referenced on the first page of the lease agreement. And I also asked for the request for proposal from the city. I sent this via email to the city clerk early this morning.

About 8:45 a.m. or so I called up the city clerk to ask if she got my email. She hadn't seen it yet so I talked to her to see if I could actually get the information that I asked for. She said that neither piece of information is available.

She said that the proposal from Wings was really just a Powerpoint presentation and that they took that with them when they left. She said that it was similar to the presentation that Jim Kennedy gave at the city meeting on 9/5/2007. I asked if there was any other information that I could have about the project. Perhaps Danieli Corus (the engineering firm that has been chosen to run the project) would have some information that they could share?

She said that their information probably falls into the category of "trade secrets" and would not be available either.

So what about the request for proposal that the city solicited? The city clerk responded that the request was verbal. There is no formal request for proposal. This wasn't said, but it implies to me that there was only one company involved. I guess that's normal when you're doing secret deals anyway.

The city clerk told me that most of the information of the details of the project will come along with the submission of the permit request to the DNR (Department of Natural Resources). She also said that surveys are being conducted right now and that would help determine where things will be located. There are "hot spots" in the ground out there and no one will be allowed to disturb them for any purposes, even Industrial.

[jginnever]

Terry has the Confidentiality Agreement. The first set of signatures on it are dated June, 2006. He also got the attendance and speaker's list of the city meeting on 9/5/2007.

[jginnever]

I sent another email to the city clerk today requesting that she respond in writing to my request for the Proposal Request and the Project Plan. She was supposed to do that when I requested it. It will only say that they can't give me the information. But I need it in writing.

[Bulletinman]

The folks at City hall are out of touch and believe that they are accountable to NO BODY. These people need to be fired!
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Bulletinman.com

[Bulletinman]

The people at city hall don't believe that they have to do anything for the citizens. They have no idea who they really work for. Such a shame!
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Bulletinman.com

[jginnever]

I called up Crystal City today and asked if they were getting my emails. They said that they have not. Either they are putting me off or they really aren't getting my emails.

So my requests are not being processed. I'll submit paper-based requests tomorrow.

I also called the Attorney General's office and asked them the question as to whether emails could legally be used for Sunshine Law requests. I got a call back from James Klahr. He said that emails are fine.

I'm not sure that I agree or disagree with you Bulletinman. You've dealt with these people a lot longer than me and I respect your opinion. They haven't done anything to me to my face yet. They just ruined my future in my home

[jginnever]

I sent a certified letter requesting everything that I asked for via email before. And now I included to ask them for a copy of the emails that they've lost and cost me a week's worth of delay.

I plan on addressing the city council tomorrow night with the problems that I've been having getting information.

[jginnever]

I did not get any of the documents that I asked for in my initial request because they said that there was no formal solicitation for a bid from the city and Wings never produced any type of plan.

This was what I presented the city council with on the Sept. 17 meeting of the city council. This is all on video and we hope to have it posted on our site some time soon.

I also submitted some more document requests asking for all correspondence between Wings and the city and between PPG and the city. I also asked for any appraisal that was done on the PPG land. They replied that some of them cannot be produced because the building commission just had back surgery. They also said that some of the documents could not be produced due to the Sunshine Law.

This tells me that the transactions aren't all over yet. I have good reason to believe that there is a current negotiation happening between the owners of Hug's Farm and Wings.

I have lots of documents (61 pages) that were produced from my request. It cost me $222.15 for this. A good portion of those pages are from the appraisal. It turns out that the PPG land appraised for about $2 million.

The other emails reveal some interesting timelines and details. I will post the copies after the city council meeting of Oct. 8.