Officials deny use of fees
Conaway
Ranch purchase under scrutiny again
Wednesday, May 04, 2005 - In a column published in today's Daily Democrat, Jim Nielsen writes about Yolo County considering use of tribal mitigation fees to purchase Conaway Ranch.
"The county appears desperate to find money for land speculation," he writes.
Nielsen references documents that indicate the Pomona Fund and Tribal Fund could be used to finance the Conaway Ranch purchase. The documents include an internal memo written by Auditor-Controller Howard Newens on March 18, 2004, titled "Project Financing and Fiscal Issues."
According to County Administrative Officer Vic Singh, the memo was part of early analysis conducted by county staff to explore all options available to the Yolo County Board of Supervisors as they considered possibly purchasing Conaway Ranch after just learning that National Gas & Energy Transmission was considering selling it.
"The People's Advocate and Ted Costa made a public records act request and obtained a stack of county documents well over two feet in height. I presume the memo was part of that public records act request. There really is no context for the memo and it was written over a year ago," Singh said.
Singh said the Board has approved $3.9 million in mitigation expenditures for direct Casino impacts to Capay Valley, through the end of the 2004/05 Fiscal Year. The Board is expected to approve another $2.4 million in Fiscal 2005/06 for a total of $6.3 million in mitigation expenditures relating to direct casino impacts in Capay Valley, he added.
The county's 2002 agreement with the Rumsey Band of Wintun outlines an agreement in which the tribe pays mitigation fees over 20 years for the expansion of the Cache Creek Casino Resort in Brooks to help cover the costs of road improvements and other impacts.
Doug Elmets, spokesman for Cache Creek Casino Resort, said the county is able to use the money as it sees fit.
"Many of those mitigation fees have benefited the community at large since the agreement was signed. The tribe's a member of the community as well and wanted to be able to mitigate impacts," he said.
The 17,300-acre Conaway Ranch is at the center of a debate about government use of eminent domain. According to county officials, eminent domain was the county's last option after failing to negotiate a purchase price with former ranch owner National Energy and Gas Transmission.
Supervisors have said the county's acquisition of the land will help ensure it remains in agricultural use and the water stays in Yolo County.
According to Singh, county staff typically conducts fiscal analyses that include all revenue sources in order to provide full information to the Board. They conduct similar exercises, laying out all possible ways to solve fiscal issues, when presenting any options for board consideration. This is a typical process during budget deliberations, when budget staff present to the board an array of options for balancing the county budget, he said.
"Mr. Newens's memo, presented to the finance committee, amounts to little more than an exercise, as staff contemplated how the board might consider various options for the Conaway Ranch financing. No action was taken by the board," Singh said. "In March 2004, the County was in the very early stages of considering the Conaway Ranch, and, in fact, the Joint Powers Authority (JPA) was not yet in existence and we were still hoping NEGT would negotiate directly with the County," he added.
Nielsen's column was mentioned Tuesday, during the Yolo County Board of Supervisor's meeting. Marc Breckenridge asked the board to respond to the column. Chairwoman Helen Thomson said she was unaware of the column. Thomson also questioned the source of Nielsen's information.
Nielsen said the information was provided to him by People's Advocate.
During the November election, People's Advocate sent mailers the county residents urging them not to let the county buy Conaway Ranch. The mailers described the Conaway Ranch purchase as a back-room deal, and as being bad for taxpayers, farmers and the environment.
People's Advocate founder Paul Gann led a tax revolt in California in the 1970s. In 1974, it organized citizens groups to fight against higher taxation by using such means as the initiative, the referendum and the recall.
If the county acquires the ranch, a Joint Powers Authority - comprised of the county and the cities of Woodland, Davis, West Sacramento and Winters, UC Davis, and Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District - would manage it.
Tuesday, Supervisor Mike McGowan told Breckenridge: "Nielsen is privy to information the board does not have."
Nielsen said the supervisors' response exemplifies the county's weakness in communicating about Conaway Ranch.
"Some very important documents have not been shared with the supervisors," Nielsen said.
"Know when to fold them," Nielsen quips in his column, referencing the Kenny Rogers tune.
The county is going to play its hand. According to Sharon Jensen, assistant county administrative officer, the county is continuing with plans to acquire the property.
Duane Chamberlain, who was elected District 5 Supervisor in November on a platform that included opposition to the county's use of eminent domain to purchase the ranch said Tuesday he was aware of the column. Chamberlain declined to comment about it.