Senator Frank Antenori summed up the Rio Nuevo meeting best in a tweet, “After complaints that Grinnell and Bain didn’t accomplish anything, new Rio Nuevo board meets and accomplishes…NOTHING! I take that back, they did damage the reputation of all involved and found out that the Rio Nuevo District is broke. Time to end the agony.”
The Special Meeting of the new Rio Nuevo Board began with the Pledge of Allegiance. The Mark Irvin created agenda did not include the pledge, but at the request of new Board member Fletcher McCusker, and courtesy of a member of the public who conscientiously hurried through the state building in search of a flag moments before the meeting began, the pledge occurred.
That simple act of citizens trying to do their duty while surrounded by so many that have so little sense of duty, was the perfect symbol of Rio Nuevo.
Rio Nuevo Board member Alberto Moore began the meeting with his opening statement which had been requested by the Governor. The well respected businessman honestly and earnestly laid out for the Governor and attendees, the debacle known as Rio Nuevo.
Moore began, “It is my belief that what has happened here is a microcosm of what is happening across the country.” He explained that “powerful special interests exerted their power and that was the only reason his fellow watchdog members of the Board; Bain and Grinnell were removed.
Bain and Grinnell were replaced this week by state Senator Steve Pierce at the request of Tucson heavy hitters including Jim Click. According to various sources, Pierce just recently received approximately $22,500 from Tucson’s two most powerful players; Click and Diamond, for his re-election campaign.
Pierce replaced Bain and Grinnell with what are considered “city friendly” board members Fletcher McCusker and Christopher Sheafe.
Moore reminded the public that the reason the new Board was seated was because past city friendly boards had squandered nearly $230 million over 10 years.
Moore laid out the tasks the new Board was given by the state: to create an accounting baseline for the district, determine what the district owned, what it was supposed to own, what the deficit was, and how much money would be left after the debt service was paid.
Moore said, “Not only did the state of Arizona want to know where the money had gone, the public deserved to know where the quarter of a billion dollars had went.”
Moore then recited the history of corruption and confusion. He laid much of the responsibility at the feet of City Attorney Mike Rankin. Rankin had created and approved most of the contracts entered into over the years. He said that the city had used Rio Nuevo as “its personal piggy bank to cover everything from current and past City Council members’ pet projects to embarrassing budget shortfalls. The City of Tucson was looting the taxpayers assets.”
“It appears that because of a concerted effort to avoid accountability for what happened to the money, only two of the original members of the new board remain. Alan Willenbock was the first causality. He was appointed by the Governor and had an extensive accounting and bonding background.”
According to Moore, Willenbock analyzed the hotel budget and determined that it was “way over budgeted, but at a cost of over $300,000 per room it could never have met the economic terms required by the district.”
Moore continued, “The consequence was that our attorney Kerry Sylvan and board member Mark Irvin, who I believe is a mole for the City, went to Alan Willenbock and suggested that he could have a serious conflict of interest because his company might be the bond dealer in any future hotel deals. As a result Willenbock stepped down.” Moore said that Willenbock was important to the Board because he understood “the numbers and what the numbers meant. Sylvan and Irvin removed an important asset from the Board.”
Moore then pointed out Irvin’s conflict of interest due to his business relationship with Turner/Sundt. Irvin has refused to step down and has constantly inserted himself in dealings with Turner/Sundt.
Moore described Bain and Grinnell has tireless public servants who “special interests had determined must be removed from the Board. Several major events were coming together that spelled trouble for the City.” Bain and Grinnell had to be stopped from telling the truth and the troubling events had to be stopped:
1. Response to motion to summary judgment filed by Rio Nuevo District’s within the last 2 weeks.
2. West Side Project Forensic audit exam being planned to be released on June 18, 2012. (This is the second in a series of three in progress)
3. Elections for new Rio Nuevo executive officers to take place June 2012.
4. $10 mil alleged and planned to be spent in 3 days on June 12, 2012 there was a rush to spend approximately $10 mil the City claimed had to be spent before the end of June.
5. Declining TIF money collection that covers the Rio Nuevo District’s debt service. Debt service is covered by the TIF revenue exceeds $8,000,000 each year and will increase in the next two years significantly. The payback schedule for the December 2008 bond issuance by the City in the name of Rio Nuevo increases over time.
Moore stated that Rio Nuevo, under the control of the City of Tucson, became a cesspool and “the Arizona Daily Star is the toilet paper.”
Moore’s voice cracked as he concluded, “To be a member of the reconstituted board that worked so hard for a better outcome it was a privilege. Those of us who have fallen and been vilified for standing firm against the rolling tide should be commended.”
When a representative from the City of Tucson’s finance department advised the new Rio Nuevo District Board that they did not have the bond monies they thought they had, Board members Jeff Hill and Alberto Moore nodded in acknowledgement, and an audible gasp could have been heard across town. The truth was spoken by a small woman who shook as she uttered the words, “the bond monies should have been spent by November 2011.”
Just this week, the Arizona Daily Star, otherwise known as Jim Click’s newsletter, reported that the district had bond monies available and the new Board had to convene a meeting quickly in order to spend those monies before the end of the month. The AZDI reported this week that those monies were to be spent by November 2011, and were no longer available.
Irvin tried in vain to gain control of the Board by electing Fletcher McCusker to the Chairmanship position. After it became very clear that Moore and Hill were not easily going to let that happen, McCusker prudently said that he did not want to be considered for the position. Irvin tried to push the issue to the apparent surprise and embarrassment of the new board members.
Hill and Moore did not seem at all surprised by Irvin’s determined play for City power.
In at least two separate instances, new board members seemed to admit to violating the Meeting Law. Neither member appeared to understand the Open Meeting Law, being newly appointed to the public board, but Irvin would have most likely understood that his serial communication with McCusker and Sheafe amounted to violation of the law. He kept his head down during the discussions.
After Moore concluded his comments, City Councilman Steve Kozachik entered the room, sneered at the public and sat down after summoning his aide, Ann Charles to sit by his side. Kozachik left shortly before the public was allowed to comment.
McCusker told the public that he was not a “Jim Click good ol’ boy.” Incredibly, he then tried to argue that with the revenue provided by future retailers Walmart and the Hobby Lobby, Rio Nuevo could be saved. McCusker did support making the audits public. Later he said that he told the AZDI that through the audits, funds might be recouped. He hoped to identify “resources current and future, helping the board find a project or two that the public would support, resolving the TCC.”
The public had much to say.
Ally Miller, the woman who was at the forefront of exposing the City’s waste fraud and abuse of the public’s trust, expressed her gratitude to McCusker for his “noble” decision to do the right thing and refuse a vote on the Chairmanship. Later speakers expressed the same sentiment to McCusker.
Miller decided to run for the Pima County Board of Supervisors as a result of her experience exposing the corruption. Miller, an accountant, had initiated the petition which demanded and won an FBI investigation into Rio Nuevo.
While that investigation is ongoing, it is widely known that Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne will not pursue legal action due to requests from the City’s power brokers and his own legal troubles.
Earlier in the meeting, newly seated Board member Christopher Sheafe said if people did things illegally, the FBI and the Arizona Attorney General will hold them accountable. Sheafe was the head of the Rio Nuevo Citizens Advisory Committee for eight years.
Related articles:
Special interests demand Governor’s action on Rio Nuevo
Irvin’s conflict of interest questions arise in Rio Nuevo (updated)