City Negligent on San Jacinto

All of you who have been following the San Jacinto Park debacle have been made to believe that the contractor on the project is at fault for the delays in the opening of the park. The city has been creating this notion going so far as to state that the contractor is being assessed a daily fine. I have been pointing out for months that there is more to the story then what the city has been telling everyone. (link to articles)

On Tuesday, city council discussed the naming of the proposed café at the San Jacinto Park in agenda item number 15.1. Although the agenda item was about the contract for the café, the discussion focused on the naming of the café. It was clear that Cortney Niland is upset about the delays on the park. She used the naming of the café to disclose to the community the fact that San Jacinto has not been completed because of the city’s negligence.

That is right, Cortney Niland pointed out that the city’s incompetence is the reason San Jacinto has not been completed. See it for yourself.

Before you blame Niland for this latest city fiasco, it is important to note that she is the one who finally let us know that it is the city’s fault. You may have noticed Oscar Leeser tried his best to keep the lie in place by reminding Niland that she was disclosing executive session information.

For many months, I have been trying to find out the exact reasons for the delays. There are many rumors but very little facts. There is a reason for this. The city has been using executive session as a way to keep its secrets. I believe this has been improper. You may have noticed that San Jacinto has been an executive session agenda item for months now, although executive session is supposed to be to discuss very narrow legal and personnel issues.

Public policy is supposed to be discussed in public.

Cortney Niland should be applauded for finally peeling a little bit of the misuse of executive session and letting the taxpayers get a glimpse of who is really at fault with the San Jacinto debacle.

Now consider the following; back in May, the city told you that the San Jacinto contractor is being assessed a $1,000 daily penalty. From May 1 through the city council meeting of October 6, there were 158 days.

If you believe what the city has told you, then the contractor now owes the city $158,000 in fines.

Thanks to Niland, we now know that the park may not open until next year.

Do you really believe that the contractor will continue to accept the daily fines? Do you really believe that the city is fining the contractor daily? Or, is this just another one of those famous El Paso “wink-wink” deals?

Corruption includes incompetently doing the job and covering it up with lies. This is especially true when it comes to using taxpayer funds. This is just one more example of city corruption.