An eighteen-minute gap… “Much of the council’s housing-related business is conducted these days at the committee level, where no minutes are kept, according to [City Clerk Doreen] Mathews. From there, it usually makes its way to the consent calendar of the City Council. A grant deed on file at the county Recorder’s Office references a [...]

The City Council will vote to develop a ballot measure (at a cost of $36k) that will likely raise LLAD fees at its first meeting of the year — Tuesday, 7pm at City Hall. (Any proposed rise in fees needs to be matched with increased City accountability and enforcement of its third-party contracts. The City [...]

The city could use some more community meeting space… “According to records furnished by the city, the redevelopment agency spent $123,971 to acquire the condo of Adelyn Jill A. Balico [Councilmember Ed Balico's daughter], on Devonwood in the Village Park section, in a short sale; a grant deed was recorded with the Contra Costa County [...]

The issue of fairness and equity is unavoidable when you hand out very large loans to City employees and insiders… “[Hercules resident Dave] Crescenti learned about the mitigation program from reports about some six-figure bailout loans, including one of $460,000 in June 2009 to Eguzki Olano, the administrative assistant to the Hercules city manager, and [...]

Adding dollar figures into the mix… “The Hercules City Council, without any discussion, awarded almost $1 million in service and consulting contracts for the current fiscal year to a firm founded by the Hercules city manager and now owned by two of his daughters.” Ahem, easy bake. The list of approved vendor contracts is available [...]

Earlier this decade, the then manager of the City’s Affordable Housing agency — Darrick Jonathan Chavis, a former city employee — was arrested by the FBI and IRS on multiple counts of fraud, as part of a “scheme to bilk the City of Hercules out of $390,494,” using the financial vehicles that still exist today, [...]

I assume every resident read all 16 pages (the benefits of train travel)… “The Hercules Redevelopment Agency, under public scrutiny of late because of six-figure mortgage loans to some employees of the city and its affordable housing contractor, has responded with a beefed-up newsletter that extols the agency’s accomplishments in creating jobs and housing for [...]

Two members of the City Council — Kris Valstad and Ed Balico — approved the loan… “The administrative assistant to the Hercules city manager got a mortgage of more than $450,000 in June from the Hercules Redevelopment Agency on a house across the street from a similar one that sold for less than two-thirds that [...]

The City Manager position is a tough job in any city, probably more so in Hercules, and it pays well. According to the Contra Costa Times database, City Manager Nelson Oliva had a final take-home pay of $248k in 2008. That amount includes a base salary of $201k and performance bonuses* of more than $46k. [...]

Tom Lochner’s report echoes concerns that have been raised on this blog (what I have termed an easy-bake council)… “Some Hercules residents are calling for a more open city government, complaining that City Council meetings are long on ceremonial matters while much of the business of the city gets conducted out of public sight. Million-dollar [...]

A Hercules resident is perplexed by the affordable housing scandal… “I’m wondering if the residents of Hercules are asleep or not reading or watching the news. [...] Is this nepotism or conflict of interest, or what?“

It was 4:30 in the morning when Councilmember Ed Balico’s phone started ringing. Balico wasn’t sleeping because — as you know — vampires never sleep. It was City Manager Nelson Oliva who was frantic on the other end of the line, and based solely on his trembling voice, somewhat disheveled in his appearance. The most [...]

Despite heated rhetoric by residents, only one person chose to actually address the City Council on the matter of potential impropriety in the City’s affordable housing agency this past Tuesday evening, who laid out a reasoned and factual, if uninspired, argument…

The information in this report — the loan amounts, loan forgiveness, etc. — is not new (it was originally reported in June when the City Council approved the matter), but the fact that the CEO of the company (and daughter of the City Manager, founder of the company) with a multi-million dollar portfolio, and is [...]

A resident* of Hercules lambastes city officials in an editorial… “I commend you [the Contra Costa Times] on your investigative articles on some of the questionable activities from officials in the Hercules city government. Are they above the law? [...] They used the funds to bail themselves out of some condominium investments they made for [...]

Tom Lochner breaks down the family tree that operates as the affordable housing contractor… “She’s still in college, and until recently waited on tables at a Hercules waterfront restaurant, but at 20-something, Taylor Oliva already has three years’ tenure as president and CEO of a company with a multimillion-dollar portfolio. [...] Until her younger sisters, [...]

A Contra Costa Times reader and Waterfront resident opined on the affordable housing affair… “I am very concerned and would like an independent review. The words ‘grand jury’ come to mind.“

In what could lead to a series of investigations by the County, the Contra Costa County Assessor “will be reviewing all the condominiums in the city of Hercules.” Eep.

This is a rude awakening — paying more in property taxes because of (potential) affordable housing fraud… “When [Karen Kahn, the homeowner] called in May to protest, an assessor’s official told her a somewhat smaller condo on the same street had sold for $350,000 a few months earlier, Kahn said. Recent sales of ‘comparable’ properties [...]

The Contra Costa Times editorial staff rips the City’s affordable housing program (which should be suspended indefinitely)… “There are two issues here. First, there’s the issue of the conflict. Second, it’s clear that the city is throwing good money after bad. By paying off the loans, or, in some cases, buying the properties outright, the [...]

Affordable Housing Solutions Group (which also does business as NEO Consulting), the contracted consultant that runs the City’s affordable housing program, is made up — in part — of the following team… Michael A. Sakamoto, former Hercules City Manager and one-time mentor of current City Manager Nelson Oliva; Walter McKinney, former Chief of Police of [...]

An informative report by the Contra Costa Times’ Tom Lochner on the origins of the current Affordable Housing program in Hercules was published in 2003 (shown below; currently unavailable online). It should be noted that former City Manager Mike Sakamoto currently works for Affordable Housing Solutions Group, and is also a consultant to the City [...]

Interesting details uncovered by Tom Lochner… “NEO Consulting — the initials are Nelson E. Oliva’s — was founded by Oliva, but he divested himself of his interest in the company in early 2007 before he became Hercules city manager that April, he said. ‘[Oliva] does not manage the corporation and has never as city manager [...]

In a related story, Tom Lochner reports that “the Hercules Affordable Housing Department and a slew of affiliated city programs are run from a portable next to City Hall by a private contractor, largely without City Council review. [...] The firewall between the city and its contractor at times appears ill-defined. In addition to referring [...]

The following email was sent same day (June 12th) to our city leaders in response to their four-page memo regarding Safeway Station… Dear Lisa Hammon, City Manager, Mayor & City Council, Planning Commission, Planning Department, Redevelopment Agency, and City Staff: Regarding the June 12 Memorandum, here are five questions. Most importantly is the last question, [...]

The following email was sent today to our city leaders in my best attempt to respond to the Safeway Station presentation… Dear City Manager, Mayor & City Council, Planning Commission, Planning Department, Redevelopment Agency, and City Staff: I am writing all of you today in a search for accountability and design leadership with the City’s [...]

One interesting issue that came to light at last night’s Planning Commission meeting was the seeming potential that the City has a runaway Redevelopment Agency… The Redevelopment Agency is made up entirely of the City Council, the City Manager (who acts as the Executive Director), and the City Manager’s staff.

The Friends of Hercules, a “community-based quality of life group,” has announced their support for the Waterfront Now initiative. In a statement posted on their website, the group says that they have “investigated [the initiative] and verified that both the developer and the City would appreciate your signature and your support. [...] Feel free to [...]

The Oliva and Szabo show includes several attempts by the City Manager (Nelson Oliva) to paint the AndersonPacific plan in negative light. AndersonPacific has since responded to all of the potentially false claims. Note: These are notes taken by a resident of Hercules during a meeting with a representative of AndersonPacific. AP has accepted the [...]

The City passed the resolution with Szabo-friendly language on Tuesday evening, and it was reported in the Contra Costa Times… Transit center language draws ire HERCULES: Some residents say city officials are being too specific too early about the design of a proposed terminal By Tom Lochner The Hercules City Council unanimously passed a resolution [...]

Below is a rendering of the signature train station that is being proposed by AndersonPacific… In today’s Times’ report, City Manager Nelson Oliva derided this design as a “‘Taj Mahal’-like train station,” although such a subjective opinion has not been discussed openly. The AndersonPacific signature station would include below-grade parking, retail and flex space on [...]

The same article from yesterday reappeared with a different headline this morning: “Hercules disputes ‘big-box’ transit theory; Official says speculation that community center will be an ‘ugly eyesore’ is false.” It’s probably worth it to respond to the article in close-read fashion… There is no “secret plan” to transform a pedestrian-friendly Hercules intermodal transit center [...]

A range of development issues will be discussed at tomorrow evening’s City Council meeting, including the issue of the intermodal transit center, which may or may not take shape as the Szabo plan we have spoken out against as a community. There will be a vote on a measure stating that the “transit facilities will [...]