Inhollerable

So what Town in the United States has nothing better to do than to harass and try and shut down a local Farmer’s Market which was named in memory of a beloved local restaurateur and Councilmember.

Mammoth Lakes, of course.

At 1 p.m. Wednesday, just hours before the start of the weekly Skip’s Outdoor Market held on the Frontage Road in front of the Mammoth Outlet Mall, Mall Owners Paul and Kathleen Rudder received the following email from new Public Works Director Grady Dutton:

Dear Paul and Kathleen,

After discussion today with various Town staff:

Thank you again for meeting with Town staff last week to talk about the operation of Skip’s Outdoor Market.  As we discussed, staff will be agendizing this item for Town Council discussion on July 16.  We will raise with the Town Council the issues of liability, insurance, and indemnity, explaining your reluctance to assume liability and your request that the Town assume the liability for the event, and ‘sponsor’ the event. Please let us know if you wish to review the staff report prior to July 16 and whether you are able to attend.

Until this matter is resolved by Town Council, staff request that you not use the public right-of-way for Skip’s Outdoor Market, but rather site the event on private property.  It appears that Town-owned barricades and possibly other traffic control devices have been set out. Please remove the barricades and any other Town-owned equipment, storing them out of the frontage road or any drive aisle, and we will have Public Works staff come collect them.

So let me get this straight. You have a meeting the week before and agree to agendize the issue for the next Council meeting, but then, fearing that someone might slip on a tomato or eat an improperly labeled GMO muffin, get cold feet and decide to cancel the event IMMEDIATELY just hours before it’s supposed to begin?

Because the market has been there for the past three years and nothing has happened so surely, if we don’t shut it down now, something may just happen and we’ll be sued for another $50 zillion.

So I try to call Town Manager Dan Holler for comment, but when I call the Town number and extension, it tells me Dave Wilbrecht doesn’t work there anymore, and that current Manager Marianna Marysheva-Martinez uses extension 228. This is not the first time. Maybe Holler’s smarter than the rest. Maybe he figures once he finally puts his name on the answering machine the clock starts ticking …

I later learn Holler is on vacation. Of course he’s on vacation. Much easier  to be on vacation and leave the Public Works Director who’s been on the job one week to look like the bad guy. As if Dutton was the one who initiated it (extremely doubtful).

Great leadership. It made me half-wonder whether “Risk Manager“ Michael Grossblatt had been rehired on the sly. But he was more interested in harassing women, not farmers.

A brief history lesson: The whole idea of animating the frontage road and promoting a “feet-first, pedestrian-friendly” Town came about in 2006 when the Town forgot to plan a fireworks show.

It was Skip’s idea to try and pick up the slack by organizing and hosting a block party in front of Base Camp Cafe.

Then, a few years later, when the existing farmer’s market was floundering out at Mammoth Creek Park (lack of visibility), Skip brought the market over to Main Street in front of his shop.

I know the excuses. Town property, Town liability, etc. But this is what Towns do. Towns assume certain risks and responsibilities for the public benefit. If you want to be a resort that’s worth a damn, instead of harassing Rudder, work with him, and instead of trying to bury the market on some side street or back alley or back corner of a parking lot, put it where it belongs – i.e. right where it is.

By the way, on Thursday, Mono County Environmental Health Specialist Christopher Babula contacted Kathleen Rudder to inquire/harass her about an “organizer permit.”

I’m telling you … it’s those GMO muffins.

From Vane/Evans

I Schat the County … 

How much money can you con out of Mono County before the County notices? In the case of Schat.net, about $30,000.

According to court documents filed in January and March of this year, Mono County alleges that Schat.net continued to collect a lease payment from the County for a storage facility in spite of knowing the County had discontinued use of the leased building.

The County had a several year contract with Schat.net, paying $700 per month to use a Schat.net-owned structure at the Casa Diablo Summit to house Sheriff Department emergency communication equipment.

The County discontinued using the site as of Dec. 2007.

The County alleges Schat.net was aware that the County had discontinued using the site, however, Schat.net continued to bill the County $700 a month …

… And the County continued making these payments for about 42 months, from Jan. 2008 until June of 2011, amounting to $29,400 to lease a space it hadn’t used in three and a half years.

The County is now requesting the return of the $29,400, plus 20 percent of the amount (or $5,880) in damages, for a total of $35,280.

Perhaps failing to cancel a bill can be profitable.

Schat.net has denied the County’s allegations, and representatives of both parties met at the Superior Court in Mammoth for case management on Thursday, July 10. The next case management conference is set for Oct. 9.

According to Deputy County Counsel John Vallejo, “It’s not a huge dollar case.”

Meanwhile, Attorney Rick Wood, representing Schat.net, questioned why Sheet reporter Evans had any interest in covering such a “small case.”

One wonders how many such ‘small cases’ a cash-strapped County can afford.

Lodestar Update 

I have appreciated Senior Planner Jen Daugherty’s updates and the Town’s dedicated web page regarding the Lodestar Area 5 subdivision.

Developer Rob Mitchell has submitted a request to create 13 separate lots. 12 one-acre lots for residential development and one three-acre lot for a hotel.

However, “The specific lot layout and product type will be determined at a future time.”

There is mention of an ability to consolidate some parcels and perhaps build a 300-room hotel, but it doesn’t really sound convincing, like anyone’s heart is in it.

The Area was initially master-planned in 1991 for 500 hotel guest rooms and 80,000-square feet of resort-related commercial.

The South District Neighborhood District Planning Study completed in 2011 reiterated that “the consensus concept is for Sierra Star to build out as a major year-round resort development.”

“Key ideas for Sierra Star include:

-Larger scale lodging, including a major hotel, and complementary residential development in a resort core located adajacent to Bear Lake.

-Remaining development areas west of Minaret Road incorporate … higher density residential development that take advantage of its situation next to Bear Lake to create a lakefront plaza and trails around the lake.”

Clearly, the vision, as outlined as recently as 2011, does not call for a simple smattering of stand-alone trophy homes. There is that hotel element with the envisioned two levels of underground parking which is the risky part. It will be interesting to see how Mitchell tries to finesse this going forward.