Tomorrow night at the Palm Springs City Council meeting there may be the greatest display of footwork since Ginger Rogers graced our Valley. The Council will look at the independent legal review of the disposition of former Redevelopment Agency Properties by the Los Angeles based law firm of Kane, Balmer and Berkman. I have read the report and it left me flat footed.
The report is big on process but very little else. It describes various actions the city took in getting rid of property after the state mandated closure of the Redevelopment Agencies. While it raises questions over the sale of the Prairie Schooner lot and some lack of communication between various city agencies, unless one wants to cure insomnia, it is not recommended reading.
This report was requested by Council person Paul Lewin back in the spring when questions were raised about the city and certain dealings with developer Rich Meaney. This was to be the report that would exonerate city officials and reassure the public all was well and above board in Palm Springs.
All of this was blown out of the water by the Task Force raid on City Hall back on September 1st. The real review of the city and how well they did in the divestiture of these properties is now taking place in the US Attorney's office in LA. The real entertainment should be tomorrow night.
If Mayor Steve Pougnet is there, he obviously will have no comment on the report because of advice of counsel. While the Palm Springs City Council never misses an opportunity to congratulate itself for both normal and customary doings, they really can't go too overboard in this case. This is a self-commissioned report that has been made redundant by the federal probe.
Despite an ever growing smaller circle of acolytes who will praise all that happens in Palm Springs, the City Council and staff will have to show all the dexterity of Julianne Hough as they will praise the report while never mentioning what happened on that September morn.
The only time I can remember a similar circumstance was about a dozen years ago when the "Naked Bridge" opened on Palm Canyon. Then Mayor Will Kleindienst wanted it referred to only as an archway. The word archway was bandied about 50 times during the council hearing on the project I believe designed by current council member Chris Mills. But finally a member of the audience reminded the council the archway was a bridge for nudists to cross the street, from one part of the resort to the other.. It was a "Naked Bridge." The name stuck.
Abraham Lincoln once said, "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt." Regarding this report, advice that Palm Springs officials should heed on Wednesday.
Steve Kelly can be reached at skelly@rrbroadcasting.com
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