Saundra McDavid

In response to my editorial on opposing a bond election and bailout for the Eagle city hall building, Mayor Bandy sent an e-mail to me (full text below) claiming he had nothing to do with the questionably legal lease for city hall.  In the e-mail he states that he was on the planning and zoning commission when the city hall building was built and the initial lease was entered, so he had nothing to do with the lease.   What he didn’t mention is that he was on the city council when the lease was amended in September of 2006.

Alarming is his view that to do nothing and allow something to happen affords him the right to deny responsibility. In four years as City Councilman and Mayor he has not made any noticeable effort to remedy this mess, until recently when it has become clear to everyone that there is overwhelming opposition to Eagle’s transgressions.  He ignored Councilman Shoushtarian’s requests to get an appraisal on the building and commence working on a solution to this problem that is “bleeding Eagle dry” as stated by Councilman Semanko.  He has sat day after day in Eagle’s multi-million dollar, gold lettered, palatial city hall and has approved the inflated rent checks to the landlord each year.

Most interesting is Mayor Bandy’s reaction to my public testimony Tuesday, when I mentioned that he was distancing himself from the decision.  This appears to be a hot button with him, as he broke from protocol, interrupted public testimony and was disrespectful to those who were making observations and providing suggestions.   Luckily the boy scouts who were observing the meeting had left before this outburst.  It truly was behavior unbecoming to a city leader.

Along those same lines, on Tuesday we heard Councilman Huffaker request that the public stop writing editorials when they have a concern about city affairs, along with a suggestion to the press to stop publishing the editorials.  According to Councilman Huffaker, public discourse is not helpful.  If you are reading this, it appears as if the First Amendment has prevailed.

We also heard Councilman Semanko claiming that a legitimate question on whether the mayor has the right to break a tie vote on an appointment was merely people playing politics.  This tactic is a logical fallacy called attacking the motive; where people choose to attack the motive of the person making the statement, instead of addressing the issue at hand.  Semanko claimed he did not run for office to be in politics; a surprising statement from the chairman of the Idaho Republican Party.  He clearly gave the impression that anyone questioning whether the city administration is acting legally is not acting in the best interest of the city.  These are interesting comments from someone who ran on a platform of transparency.

In spite of the attempts by some to thwart public testimony and subvert the first amendment the outcome of Tuesday’s meeting was a victory for all.   As a result of overwhelming opposition, the city conceded that mistakes had been made and remedied the situation.  The task force is moving ahead, now with ample resources to do the job.

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Mayor Bandy’s e-mail:

January 26, 2009

Ms. McDavid – as a follow up to your most recent article in the Valley times, provided below a brief timeline regarding my tenure with the City of Eagle vis-à-vis Eagle City Hall:

City Hall Timeline:

March through May 2000 – City Facilities Assessment Commission created and members appointed

January 2002 – I was appointed to the Planning and Zoning Commission.  I served as Planning and Zoning Commissioner through December 2005

February 2005 – Council approved Request for Proposal (RFP) for Building Construction

May 2005 – Interviews conducted with developers

May 2005 – City entered into the first basic lease agreement with Hawkins-Smith

January 2006 – I was sworn into office as City Councilman

January 2008 – I was sworn into office as Mayor

As such, contrary to your assertion that,

“Several years ago, using questionable legal reasoning to justify subverting the will of the people who three times voted “no” on a bond to purchase a new City Hall building, Phil Bandy, then City Council member, approved entering a one-year lease for a building which was constructed on land owned by the city; said lease to be renewable for fifty years in a row.”

“All options should be on the table to fix a problem created by Mayor Bandy and previous city leaders.”

I was not involved in the facilities assessment commission, as a Planning and Zoning Commissioner I was not involved in the development of the building construction RFP, I did not participate in interviews with potential developers, I did not participate in the decision to retain Hawkins-Smith, and, I had no part in the leasing decision.

Although I agree all options should be on the table and the issue needs to be addressed as soon as practicable, the problem at hand is not one of my creation.

Regards,

Phil

Phil Bandy, Mayor
City of Eagle, Idaho

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Sounds like everyone is jumping off the “city hall” ship.  Mayor Bandy is the last of the “old-guard” who was responsible for steering this ship into deep water.  From his statements it appears he too has jumped off.  So, who is left at the wheel?

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