Supervisor Potter – Caught with hand in cookie jar ?
Media Release: Monday, March 28, 2016
Subject: Supervisor Potter Promotes Secret Water Deal for Monterey Downs – County Hiding Records
This morning Helping Our Peninsula’s Environment (HOPE) was forced to file court action to get the County of Monterey to release copies and related public records of a secret Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Monterey County, the highly controversial Monterey Downs gambling horse-racing track, and Monterey Peninsula water purveyor Cal-Am.
HOPE’s sources say the MOU is an promise for Cal-Am to provide water (850 acre feet if necessary) for the controversial Monterey Downs development – even though our Monterey Peninsula is in a state of Water Emergency, and has been since 1998.
HOPE attorney Susan Goldbeck said —
“We asked the County for any documents they have related to the MOU – and they keep dodging the question. They said they “can’t find anything” – which is very different from “they do not exist.”
HOPE Chairman Terrence Zito, concerned about preferential treatment, asked
“How can Cal-Am promise huge amounts of water to a developer, enough for 3,000 homes – when the rest of us are sincerely cutting back water use and our local environment is seriously suffering ?”
“The Carmel River steelhead salmon is imperiled because we have overpumped the river for decades.”
HOPE Executive Director David Dilworth added —
“Monterey County has a long record of hiding vital and embarrassing documents as them seem to be here. We suggested they contact Supervisor Potter, County Counsel Charles Mckee and the County Water Resource Agency Manager. But the County would not respond directly.
“That means they either did not ask anyone else in the County about the records or there is a blanket order to keep everything secret about this improper water deal.”
Dilworth added “HOPE’s sources also said Supervisor Potter organized and ran the meetings where the agreement was hammered out.”
Apparently this deal was arranged because the Draft Environmental Impact Report admitted there is not enough water for the huge project.
References:
Lawsuit : HOPE v Monterey County – Monterey Downs Secret Water agreement
For more information call HOPE at 831-624-6500
or HOPE’s attorney Susan Goldbeck 831-372-2615
Helping Our Peninsula’s Environment
PO Box 1495, Carmel, Ca 93921
831-624-6500
I am confused. Is there an MOU that was disclosed? Is there a written agreement? Are there minutes from the meeting that can be read? If there is proof of this, there should be criminal charges and heads should roll. Cal Am cannot promise water that does not exist.
Thank you for your thoughts Michelle.
The MOU has NOT yet been publicly disclosed – or we wouldn’t need to sue the County to give us a copy to publish on HOPE’s website for you and everyone else to read.
We have solid, credible sources that have convinced us that a signed MOU exists.
Further, no one has yet denied that it exists !
As this case proceeds, we would be foolhardy not to expect some distractions or flat-out “fish stories” or “terminological inexactitude” when those responsible are asked point blank.
Worst case for the public is the MOU exists, but everyone fibs when asked about it and we can’t get it. Then we end up with egg on our face.
Or, we could be the target of an intricate, elaborate prank. But I doubt it.
Considering our sources we are willing to take the small risk.
An interesting question is – If there is no water promise MOU between Monterey Downs, Cal-Am and the County, why did Potter want to stop us from filing our lawsuit ?