The Windsor Town Council opted to delay a vote regarding the future of the controversial Civic Center project until after the special election in April, when a fifth council member has been seated.
The proposed project extension would have given developer Robert Green the ability to complete terms of the exclusive negotiating agreement (ENA) his company entered into with the Town of Windsor in 2019, having faced delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Windsor’s recent political upheaval over the Dominic Foppoli scandal last spring.
With Councilmember Rosa Reynoza recusing herself, all three of the remaining council members needed to vote for the extension to approve it, however, Mayor Sam Salmon would not support the extension.
Green, having met a recent public backlash over the project, defended the project to the council before their vote, saying he would work with the community to make a project that was appropriate to Windsor, dismissing fears that he was going to build a Montage-style hotel that would take the Town Green away from Windsor residents.
“We have not ever proposed a luxury Montage-style hotel. It would not be appropriate for Windsor,” Green said. “We want a comfortable, casual, more widely sought-after environment we think Windsor is all about.”
Green said the hotel would be affordable, at one-fifth of the price point of the Montage Hotel in Healdsburg, where rooms can run nearly $1,000 per night.
He also defended the process his company went through with the town council, emphasizing that his company did not approach the town, but the council itself sought proposals for the development of the Civic Center on its own.
“The goal that we have always achieved is to benefit the communities we build in and the people we work with. We did not come to Windsor to change it for anything but the better. In fact, we did not come to Windsor at all. Windsor conducted a process that led them to seek proposals from developers like us, and, contrary to much of the misinformation that’s being circulated, that was all done through a very open and public process — a process that has to be allowed to continue,” Green said.
Green also expressed concern that if the ENA were not extended, a private property owner with whom he reached an agreement necessary for the project may pull out of the sale agreement, making the project impossible.
The Town of Windsor sought requests for proposals (RFPs) for the site in 2017, and entered into the existing ENA with The Robert Green Company in 2019. Through a public-private partnership established by the ENA, developer Robert Green would purchase the land to develop his businesses and then give it back to the town at no cost. The town would then lease the land to Green, using that money, along with increased sales tax and hotel tax, to fund the construction of a new Civic Center complex.
While many in the community say the project will “privatize” the Town Green, fearing the space will become a money-making attraction for tourists that leaves out Windsor residents, proponents say the agreement will give the town the ability to construct state-of-the-art public facilities without raising taxes. The Windsor Unified School District, library and police department all support the project, which would see new facilities constructed for them to replace current buildings which are too small for the populations served.
After a lengthy public comment section in which opponents urged the council to let the extension request serve as an opportunity to nix the project while proponents suggested the council grant the extension to allow the preliminary negotiations, at least, to continue, leaving the decision on whether or not to approve the project to a future date when more information was on hand. Councilmember Debora Fudge argued to her colleagues on the council that the town would not be acting in good faith with Green if they allowed the ENA to expire because of circumstances outside the developer’s control.
“It would not be an action of integrity to stop it at this point for the reasons people are asking us to. We need to honor what we started, we need to see it through in good faith to the next point. We can’t make any decisions without all the information and we certainly don’t have that now,” Fudge said.
She further reiterated that extending the deadline would not mean the project was improved, only that Green would be able to complete the second of three information gathering phases that would help the council and the developer decide if it was feasible to move forward, and if so, how.
“We’re not talking about approval. It’s still conceptual. The first thing that needs to happen is the ENA process to continue so that we understand the financials of this — so that we get full information,” Fudge said. “And if we decide to go forward at that point, and that’s still an ‘if,’ the project would then start through the (environmental impact review process), go through the planning commission and the town council. And that’s if the financials come out the way we want them to.”
Fudge also made clear her concerns that, with one council seat vacant and another council member recused, the decision on whether to start fresh finding a developer for a project the town had been wanting to pursue for decades could be nixed by a single councilmember.
“We started looking at this as a long view for the future. We also started this as a five-person council and now we’re down to three. What’s really scary for me is the democracy of this, because it could get down to one council member instead of five making this decision and I don’t think that’s right,” she said.
Vice Mayor Esther Lemus agreed with Green that the circumstances responsible for the delays were outside his control, and expressed that the council should approve the extension to keep the possibility of a future project alive while respecting the sacrifices Green had made in good faith.
“Mr. Green did not have any control over that. I certainly do not believe he should be punished for that. I do believe he has worked in good faith with our town,” Lemus said. “It’s been made clear that this is the process to move forward. We’re not improving any design. Approval (of the extension) means allowing a fact-finding process to continue. As members of a government body, we have to have all the information on hand to make a decision.”
Mayor Salmon, the sole vote that would prevent the extension, said he was aware that an incomplete council should not be making the decision.
“It’s not democratic. It’s not fair that one councilperson can kill a project,” Salmon said.
Still, he maintained that he could not in good conscience support the extension, and that he had never supported the project alternative selected by the council in partnership with Green.
“My recollection is that I didn’t support (this alternative) of the project. The project as presented has a magnitude that is not working for me. This project took on a life of its own,” Salmon said.
After refusing to back the project, Salmon asked town staff and Green if there was anyway to table the project until a fifth councilmember could be selected in April.
Ultimately, the town council and The Robert Green Company decided to employ a process called tolling, which would allow the deadline to pass without termination, but would require the extension be approved at a later date.
The council decided that June 30 would be the hard deadline, effectively putting the project “on ice” until that date, according to Green.
If Salmon maintains his position that the council should not extend the ENA and Reynoza remains recused, the fifth council member to be selected by Windsor voters in April will effectively cast the deciding vote on whether to kill the project.
Salmon said he imagined that the Civic Center will become a decisive issue in April’s election.
“It may make the election a polarized election,” Salmon said.
