Almost 20 years ago, Frank Tysen had a legitimate voice in Palm Springs politics. I would often chat with him when something was happening. But in he late 90;s, things started to go off the rails. He had a big fight with Mayor Will Kleindienst about restaurants having live music till 2 in the morning and disturbing his guests. Frank was right, he was lied to about the ordinance and it's enforcement. One of the low lights of this event was the then city planning director going at night around the corner from a restaurant taking decibel measurements. At an open city council meeting he declared, "I heard sound but it wasn't noise." What the French Toast?
But even after resolution, Frank became somewhat more of a bitter character. Lawsuits threatened all the time. Palm Springs changed but Frank never did. It was almost as if he was waiting for a chance to become a consequential player again in Palm Springs and Measure J gave him that shot.
To be clear, I did not like all of Measure J. I am not going to rehash old arguments. The people voted in favor of it. It was time to move on. Frank never moved.
When you have developers and a lot of cash, money talks and all else walks. I thought the citizen involvement in the downtown redevelopment was more of a public relations ploy and a feel good thing. I thought the real battles would be in the planning area. (I was right.) Regardless, again the people had spoken.
Then Frank and his group filed their first lawsuit. They were paid 50 grand to drop it. Frank has threatened lawsuit after lawsuit and according to Michael Braun of Wessman Development, he may now have filed another.
This is just flat out wrong. A given is that there have been some mistakes in the process, of course. But it is time for the BS to stop. The people of Palm Springs have spoken on numerous occasions. Another lawsuit now will not stop downtown from getting rebuilt. But it may drive away investors and businesses who are tired of this stupidity.
In my opinion, Frank Tysen was wronged by a City Council. That was over 20 years ago. The war is over. Drop the lawsuit Frank. It is finally time to let go.
Steve Kelly can reached at kellyscorner59@gmail.com or followed on Twitter @skellynj.
Surprise, surprise. I disagree. You said "the people have spoken". People are sometimes wrong.....and they figured it out once they saw that debacle of a building looming over the sidewalks of Palm Canyon, gobbling up view corridors like a hungry tyrannosaurus. There was an agreed-upon Specific Plan, which council then began to "enhance" until it was barely recognizable! So the people changed their minds and spoke again....through an election which changed the face of the Council by electing people who said they were "shocked, I say SHOCKED", by what they could see of the completed plans which "we didn't fully understand" at the time. Well, Frank had TRIED to tell them; he actually can READ blueprints! It isn't so much a matter of Frank not changing, or being bitter......it is more a matter of a City which has never decided what it wants to be when it grows up, keeps trying this and that, throwing away this, keeping that. THERE's your "B.S.". I think of Frank more as a very vocal conscience for the City, keeping an eye on things in progress rather than complaining once it's too late.....like most people.
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