More Nugget Project nuggets uncovered
The Nevada Appeal has uncovered a few new tidbits about Nugget Project consultant Mark Lewis.
Following the piece I wrote on Lewis this week, the Appeal found a grand jury report dealing with Lewis' big project developments as city manager of Stockton, Calif. The report showed that costs associated with development of the the Stockton ballpark and events center swelled from an estimate of $75 million to more than $120 million, and placed the blame for this on Lewis and the lack of oversight by the city's elected officials.
It said that Lewis “unilaterally controlled projects, finances, change orders ... without City Council knowledge and/or approval.”
The story also has some very telling advice from former Stockton City Councilman Clem Lee on how to deal with Lewis:
“The lesson for elected folks: If it seems too good to be true, it usually is, there is nothing that is risk free."
What struck me about this statement was remembering an interview I did a while back with Mayor Bob Crowell about the Nugget Project. Crowell sounded very supportive of the project, noting how great it would be if the city could leverage the $12 million from a 1/8 cent sales tax increase into a $100 million downtown development.
Perhaps Mr. Lee and Mr. Crowell should sit down and talk sometime, because there's several things about this project that sound a little too good to be true.
There are a few things missing from the Appeal reports that we will be working on over the weekend.