Supervisor joins call to end economic consultant's contract

The owner of a Market Street cafe, and a growing number of backers, are urging the public to get behind a pair of Colusa city councilmen who disagree with the consultant-based approach to economic development in the city.

Tom Indrieri, owner of Tommy’s Market Street Grill and a county supervisor, wants the public to attend Tuesday’s Colusa City Council meeting to express their support of Councilmen Kirk Kelleher and Tom Reische in what is developing into a referendum of sorts on the city’s economic development policy.

“I’ve been talking to (Kelleher) for a long time on these issues and it finally blew up,” Indrieri said Thursday.

“I’ve been doing this for about 10 years. I’ve been on the (Colusa County) EDC board, and have been the (Colusa County) Chamber of Commerce president ... and I have been around projects,” he added, noting his disappointment in Colusa’s support of the local Economic Development Commission and Chamber of Commerce.

“But when you get people who come in and cannot give you information on (projects), and I have been asking questions and I am being chastised for it, and when I am an elected public official, it is frustrating.”

The lightning rod in this brewing storm is consultant Mark Mayuga, who is paid about $7,800 a month, plus expenses, to bring business contacts and other leads to the city in the hope of attracting economic growth.

He is also the point man on what would easily be the biggest economic boon in city history if a proposed methanol plant – and the promise of commercial and industrial growth that could follow – comes to fruition.

Mayuga has a personal stake in the project as well. He described Calmetha as a client, and at an California Energy Commission hearing on bioenergy in December 2010, was listed as a stakeholder for the company.

Mayuga, who worked with City Manager Jan McClintock when she was at Fontana, was hired in March on a 3-1 vote, with Kelleher absent. The consultant was tasked with some of the marketing and development duties outlined in a $60,000 plan created by Chico-based Chabin Concepts about 16 months earlier.

The two-year contract sets aside $240,000 in redevelopment funds, money borrowed from the city with hopes of a big return from economic growth.

Mayuga’s services were to be billed to the redevelopment agency at a maximum of $7,875 per month, plus 5 percent for direct contractor expenses such as travel and hotel costs, and 15 percent of staff overhead.

That redevelopment agency is now defunct, however, after the state Supreme Court ruled redevelopment agencies as unconstitutional.

That officially went into effect this week, though there are renewed legislative efforts to try to work around the court’s concerns.

Mayuga, through the end of January, has been paid $94,500, the city Finance Department reported.

Indrieri wants the City Council to terminate Mayuga’s contract and put all remaining funds earmarked for the consultant’s contract and anything else loaned to the agency back into the city’s general fund.

He said the argument last March to hire Mayuga without going out to bid for other options was because there was an urgency to address projects that could get away from the city.

Mayuga had been working “pro bono” for a number of months prior to being hired, McClintock had argued, and was paid a $7,857 lump sum for those past efforts as part of the approved contract.
Indrieri said it has been nearly a year now, and that urgency has returned nothing to the city.

However, the majority of the council supports the city’s efforts, and the work Mayuga has produced on Colusa’s behalf.

Mayor Pat Landreth this week said Mayuga has been a valuable asset.

“We have had 16 site visits with various companies who are now interested in Colusa, and that is big,” the mayor said Wednesday.

“Have those contacts come to fruition, yet? No. But to have 16 site visits in nine to 10 months is important.”

Councilwomen Donna Critchfield and Kay Hosmer argue that economic development is a long-term process and have asked for patience. They believe positive results will ultimately be tallied.

However, they were particularly disappointed with how Kelleher confronted Mayuga in what has been described as a heated exchange during a closed session. The consultant apparently had been invited as part of McClintock’s overall job evaluation specific to her economic development duties.

However, all the council members have confirmed the discussion with Mayuga and economic development in general went far afield from the purpose of the meeting, raising questions about whether the council had violated the open meeting laws.

Mayuga’s contract and economic development in general are not part of the specific council agenda for Tuesday, likely creating a scenario in which opponents and supporters of the city’s approach will offer their opinions during the public comment session.

That puts the council in a difficult situation as they are prohibited to get involved in lengthy discussions on non-agendized issues.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.