[RP TownTalk] Repeal of Jey's Auto Eminent Domain.....

[Jonathan Ebbeler]

Mayor Archer -

You have had plenty of time to answer the questions in my post here ( http://riverdale-park.org/pipermail/towntalk/2016-May/019825.html ).  I am also waiting for the town to comply with state law via my Public Information Act requests.  I have been amused to watch the obfuscation go from demanding a pre-payment of $6200 to produce the documentation, to now two payments of $350 each.  What happened to the supposed 'thousands of emails' that justified the minimum $6200 price tag?  Why hasn't the town complied with the addition PIA request asking for proof that the town has established due process guidelines for pricing of PIA requests as the Maryland state statute requires?  Why hasn't the town complied with the PIA request asking for production of all previous PIAs over the last two years?  Is it because they are going to show that the town picked my requests as the first time in our history to charge money and ask for egregious sums to do what you know you have to do for free out of the public interest?

Since you have not answered the questions I will once again take the liberty to do it for you.  It is mindboggling that you ascended to the position of Mayor running on a platform of open and transparent government when your administration is anything but.

1)      Was there any quid pro quo regarding the timing of your letter attempting to remove me from office for the second time in 9 months and Jey's Auto or was it just a coincidence that the issue was brought up 2 days after I reminded you of your legal obligations as Mayor?

Answer:  Of course there was.  Why do you think I haven't responded to the PIA requests.


2)      Do you consider that Ordinance 2013-OR-03 was faithfully executed?

Answer: Of course not.  It doesn't take three years to act on laws the Council passes especially when all I had to do was give the attorney the go-ahead.  I was hoping you would just forget about it just like the town has forgotten about the Riverdale Park sign that Joe Caputo owes us in front of the Wells Fargo and the Beale Circle improvements that are all part of the covenants with the town.  Sometimes I enforce things, sometimes I hope the issue just goes away.


3)      Are there additional costs involved and/or were there contemplated increased expenses by waiting to act vs. acting when the Ordinance was passed?

Answer:  Of course.  Everyone knew the market was appreciating and since I did not feel like acting on laws that were passed I figured I could just drag my feet and not file the lawsuit until the land was so valuable it became problematic to do so.  This is also why I lied to Council on the initial negotiations and claimed there was not a counteroffer when there was and only slightly higher than what we originally offered.  It was easier to just lie when I was asked if there was a counter and say no vs. admit there was one and be forced to actually consummate a deal I didn't want to (regardless that the Council voted unanimously 4 times towards this direction).  It is too bad I was caught in this lie by Jey and his son in a public meeting.  Sometimes the Open Meetings Act gets in the way of my agenda of non-performance.


4)      Do you consider three years a reasonable timeline to contemplate filing eminent domain legislation given that the law only allows for a maximum of four years before the Ordinance times out and cannot be filed per Md. REAL PROPERTY Code Ann. § 12-101.

Answer:  Nope.  Just like it is not reasonable I have not enforced the covenants at Wells Fargo to get the sign they have a legal obligation to provide as well as the Beale Circle improvements.  Maybe our new Town Manager will since they are costing the town 30-40% more than our current one.


5)      Was there confusion in regards to the will of the Council and the direction you were supposed to take in regards to this property with the 4 unanimous council votes over 2 years?

Answer:  No, I readily understood the votes, but clearly you misunderstood my will as Mayor to refuse to enact laws passed.  This deal got in the way of the new Town Hall I wanted to build.  I know I expressed several times over beers that I hoped that we would name the building for me since I am the town's first 6-term consecutive Mayor.  I pretended to be joking about it but I knew you knew I actually expected it.


6)      Is it your opinion that you as Mayor and Chief Executive can pick and choose what Resolutions and Ordinances to enforce and faithfully execute or do you agree that your oath of office requires you to enact legislation even if you do not personally agree with it?

Answer:  My actions answer this question in full.  I will not go on the record to admit to violations of the oath of office.


7)      Did you deprioritize the Jey's Auto economic development activity in favor of the Town Hall rebuild and 58% build-up of the administrative cost of government?

Answer:  Yep.  And I dragged my feet on other things as well like the Quiet Zone.  Every year I would ask you "are you sure Councilman that the Quiet Zone is a legislative priority?"  I even tried to dissuade you from pushing this forward with I met with CSX and they told me they could still blow their horns.  You stubbornly prodded forwarded and demand we act despite the obstacles I put in front of you.  Thankfully, I illustrated an inability to do anything about Jey's long enough that you left office and now we get to rescind the legislation.  I will take my victories where I can get them.


8)      Did you issue an Executive Order under false premises and pretenses so as to interject executive oversight on town spending and allowing you to re-prioritize spending without holding a public hearing to disclose financial matters of the town and pass a required Budget Amendment as required under the law and adhering to best practices for open and transparent government administration?

Answer:  I routinely engage in behavior that is not open or transparent ergo pretending there are 'thousands of emails' and demanding payments of thousands of dollars.  The Executive Order let me kill the economic development you had lined up.  After you reminded the Council they were acting illegally to award a small grant we rescinded that legislation as well.  Economic Development is not a priority in my administration, bureaucracy is.




9)      Do you agree that your oath of office requires you to adhere to legal due process requirements and to execute your duties without partiality or prejudice?

Answer:  Just because I did things like expended thousands of dollars in taxpayer money to try come up with a legal justification to refuse to swear you in and later declare your seat vacant and invent new standards that only apply to someone I don't like doesn't necessarily mean I am showing partiality or prejudice - just trust me, I am the Mayor and I am doing a good job.


Vernon - I will be blunt.  I don't dislike you despite the fact you dislike me.  It's sad that you disgrace the office of Mayor, but ultimately you make those choices yourself.  I don't want you to be unsuccessful - quite the contrary - I want you to be enormously successful.  But you aren't and in six terms never figured out how to.  I realize you will continue to ignore questions and refuse to address what I bring up but that is to your own detriment.  The points I brought up are fair, reasonable, and correct.


1)      Town Hall was a ridiculous effort and you should have abandoned the project long ago

2)      Town Hall took away from economic development

3)      The nonsensical 'professionalizing' of staff is insulting to those that have worked for the town or currently do.  Adding layers of staff does nothing towards addressing if the town acts or performs in a professional manner.  In any organization this happens based upon the top leadership.  If you think the staff was not professional enough, look in the mirror; it was up to you to set expectations, manage to those expectations, and hold people accountable.

4)      In my five years you went from saying in the 2011 budget hearing how we were 'embarrassingly rich' to now abdicating your financial responsibilities to the town.  If RP was a publically traded company subject to Sarbanes- Oxley these misstatements and misrepresentation would land you in jail.  Count yourself lucky that you are only a public official (for now)

5)      In the last five years you blew through our surplus and left us in a position where our taxes have effectively gone up (due to higher assessments) and the rate will ultimately have to go up next year.  You took a surplus and acted like every other lottery winner in the country.  There is a reason 90% of people that come into money, like lotteries, file for bankruptcy, financial incompetence.  We are very, very lucky that at some point in time 5-10 years down the line that the Cafritz project will help bail the town out of the financial morass you created.  You may think the town will forget in a year or two why there are financial problems; I will make sure the public is reminded and who should get the credit

6)      If you really care about the financial solvency of the town, shelve the Finance Director position and save us 100k
JWE
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