Barstow's Mayor & his aide artificially inflate real estate values to benefit pals

In late 2000, Lawrence Dale defeated Barstow's incumbent Mayor Katy Yslas-Yent. Dale had never ran for political office but was a very loyal retiree of BNSF Railroad and a candidate of the local good ol' boys -- the Barstow area's establishment ... businessmen who've controlled things in Barstow for years and who meet every morning in Leonard Purdy's auto garage at Barstow Tire & Break.

In 2001, Dale immediately hired Ron Rector as Economic Development Director for the City of Barstow. Rector was previously executive director of a failed Hi-Desert economic development consortium.

While the turn over at Barstow City Hall has been unusually high since Dale's been Mayor; Ron Rector, despite his failure to make any measureable progress in Barstow's economic development the last seven years, has remained on the payroll.

Since 2001, Dale & Rector have used their positions to manufacture circumstances that articially inflate property values to the advantage of the local land speculators, some of whom are among the contingent of those who meet each morning for coffee and Purdy's garage.

In particular, Dale & Rector have unfairly helped their friends obtain land in tax foreclosure and bankruptcy for pennies on the dollar -- land their friends flipped to wealthy investors from outside the area for thousands more than they paid.

They've promoted public works projects that require state agencies to acquire land at inflated prices owned by their pals.

Frequently involved in their schemes are real estate broker Joseph W. Brady and real estate syndicator Quang Pham (or Pham Quang). Also involved are Santa Clarita-based intimates of Rep. Buck McKeon including Hunt Braly.

Since 2003, Dale & Rector have used the city's PR machine to suggest that Barstow would be home to a casino resort and a large Wal-Mart distribution center, plus large-scale residential real esate developments among other things -- but nothing ever materializes.

These projects have yet to be built, let alone break ground -- and in fact, the casino project has been turned down multiple times in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. There has been no official word from the Wal-Mart corporation on the future of the 1 million square feet distribution center.

But the Mayor's continued promotion of these two projects has grossly inflated land values in and around Barstow to the benefit of the Mayor's friends. And among others, the business partners and family members of Barstow City Councilman Steve Curran have benefited financially from artificially inflated real estate sales prices.

In 2006, an entity known as Barstow Industrial Park LLC acquired land from Overland Lenwood LTD near the proposed Wal-Mart facility and took out a $22.5 million mortgage to do so. The same property had a previous assessed value of just $2.8 million. Property in Barstow generally ranges from $5,000 - $25,000 and acre.

In 2004, Quang Pham (or Pham Quang), with the City's help, obtained land through tax sale for pennies on the dollar and then one year later sold it to Irvine-based National Trails Properties LLC for nearly $7.3 million. The property's assessed value is only $1.2 million.

And Dale has served as lobbyists for BNSF. Dale's made frequent trips to BNSF headquarters in Kansas & Texas but never reported any gifts or travel paid for by BNSF; and Dale's used his official capacity and title as Mayor lobbying on Capitol Hill for BNSF's benefit. It's not clear if the Barstow City Council ever officially gave Dale the authority to lobby on BNSF's behalf.

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• Barstow's Official 2008 Lobbying Priorities
• Did Wal-Mart & Detroit casino financiers influence...
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Advertorial: Barstow's Economic Development Schemes

The following is advertorial paid for by Barstow Economic Development Department and published in September 2007.



The City of Barstow: the Crossroads of Opportunity

Location is everything when it comes to goods movement, and Barstow is one of the premier transportation centers in the U.S. With Interstates and other highways all converging in the city, the area has become a natural location for the trucking industry. Barstow is also home to the largest rail yard west of Kansas City. The ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles are about 150 miles from the city, and freight arriving at the ports is quickly off-loaded and sent via rail along the Alameda Corridor to Barstow for efficient distribution to the western United States.

Since the 2005 announcement that Wal-Mart was planning to build a distribution center in Barstow Industrial Park, the 2006 decision to include the park in the Barstow Enterprise Zone, and the announcement of a rail spur coming in early 2008, the city has seen increasing interest from developers and corporations.

Formerly an agricultural site, the 1,200-acre Barstow Industrial Park is flat, has no known environmental issues, and all utilities are currently extended to the site. With its strategic access to major highways, airports, railways, and deep-water ports, the Barstow Industrial Park is an ideal site for manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution activities.

Because the park is located within the Barstow Enterprise Zone, park tenants have access to special incentives designed to encourage business investment and promote the creation of new jobs through tax incentives. Other state incentives for businesses locating in the Barstow Industrial Park include the Barstow Recycling Market Development Zone, Foreign-Trade Sub-Zone #243, and employment training assistance.

The Barstow area also offers an abundant labor force of approximately 120,000 workers [NOTE: the population of Barstow is only 23,000]. Nearby community colleges and universities provide specialized training opportunities for workers. Currently, 60,000 Barstow area residents commute daily to jobs outside the area. This qualified workforce is available at wages 10% to 20% below the prevailing wages in most of Southern California.

Valmont Newmark International cited Barstow’s numerous strategic advantages and its business-friendly attitude as the reason it selected the Barstow Industrial Park as the location to build its 84,000-square-foot manufacturing facility for spun pre-stressed concrete poles.
Barstow currently has an abundance of low-cost, available land.

To find out how you can join the building excitement at the “Crossroads of Opportunity,” contact Ron Rector, economic development director for the city of Barstow at: 760-255-5106 or rrector@barstowca.org.

You may also want to review these related posts:

• Did earmarks guarantee exclusive casino developmen...
• Federal Earmark: Lenwood Road Grade Separation, Ba...
• Barstow's Official 2008 Lobbying Priorities
• Did Wal-Mart & Detroit casino financiers influence...

Barstow likely to lose fifth city manager in four years; Mayor blamed

During Lawrence Dale's seven years as Mayor of the City of Barstow, the small Hi-Desert town has seen five City Managers come and go -- according to the Desert Dispatch there have been five City Managers in the last four years!

And now, Mayor Dale has appointed Ron Rector, the city's economic development director these past seven years, to the role of acting City Manager. Locals indicate that Rector is the Mayor's political flunky at City Hall. Rector may be the only senior manager to have served throughout Dale's seven years as Mayor.

Disappointingly, Rector has produced no significant signs of positive and sustanined economic growth in Barstow since he was hired back in 2001 (seven years ago), shortly after Dale became Mayor. Prior to landing the job at the City of Barstow, Rector had been executive director of a failed Hi-Desert economic development consortium that has since been disbanded.

During his 7-year tenure, Mayor Dale cut resources to the Barstow Police Department while crime rates continued to rise (Barstow crime rates are higher than the national averages) and re-directed funds to Rector's various failed economic development initiatives. Prior to Dale's tenure in office, it has been pointed out that local crime was on the decline.

Locals point out that while there have been numerous public relations campaigns during the Dale/Rector years; few have panned out and little true progress has been made in a City that has some of the worst economic circumstances in the state. During the Dale/Rector years, significant taxpayer funds have been directed to the Barstow Chamber of Commerce in exchange for the Chamber's support of the Mayor's failed initiatives.

Mayor Dale fought City Manager Hector Rodriguez earlier this year when Rodriguez recommended the hiring of Barstow Police Chief Diane Burns. By all accounts, Chief Burns is turning around a department that had been spiraling downward throughout Dale's tenure as Mayor.

Dale and Rector have received gifts of travel from Detroit-based casino syndicators Barwest, LLC and took all expense paid trips to Canada and China, all under the auspices of so-called economic development.

What came first Barwest or the Los Coyotes tribe?

Like the age old question "What came first, the Chicken or the Egg?" there never seems to be a consistent story about how it was that Barwest and Los Coyotes came to Barstow. Barstow City economic development director Ron Rector has said one thing; and Los Coyotes tribal council member Kevin Siva has said another.

With a little digging through the news archives, TVT has found this passage from a 6.17.03 story in the San Bernardino Sun:

"Tom Shields, the Los Coyotes project spokesman, said he never heard of Harris Delorean or their involvement. He said his interaction has mostly been between the BarWest investors and the city before he met Los Coyotes."

This report would seem to be most compatible with the sworn court deposition of Kevin Siva in which he indicates Barwest officials first met with City of Barstow officials to explore casino development and then later met the Los Coyotes tribal leaders and brought them to Barstow in late 2001 or early 2002 .

Barstow spends at least $96,000 on lobbyists

9.20.07

Lobbyists advocate for city’s interests beyond Barstow


By JASON SMITH, staff writer

BARSTOW — When a citizen needs help, they call the city. When the city seeks federal or state help, they hire a lobbyist.

The city contracts with lobbyists “to protect and advocate for city interests,” said city spokesman John Rader. The city budgeted $96,000 for lobbyists in 2007 — $36,000 at the state level and $60,000 for efforts in Washington.

Each year city staff compiles a list of projects for which the city seeks federal and state support. The list is considered by the City Council in early January and given to the city’s lobbyists: Nick Medeiros in Sacramento and the law firm of Del Smith in Washington, D.C.

Meetings are then held with Barstow’s federal and state government representatives to put in funding requests and discuss legislation which could affect the city. In addition to the lobbyists, the city pays $9,000 each year in dues to the California League of Cities and California Redevelopment Association, which also lobbies for its members.

According to Patricia Morris, assistant to the city manager, the lobbyists are important advocates for the city’s interests. This year’s priorities include federal funding requests for improving Lenwood Road and the wastewater facility upgrade as well as securing approval for the Los Coyotes/Big Lagoon dual casino project.

“The city hires them because in the real world, you need them,” Morris said.

She said that the lobbyists monitor Washington, D.C., and Sacramento lawmaking bodies for bills that may affect Barstow. Lobbyists help write letters expressing the city’s opinion about the proposed laws and sometimes hand deliver the letters to lawmakers.

“Personal relationships are very influential in the outcomes of events,” Morris said.

She said that over the years, the influence of Barstow’s lobbyists has been instrumental in securing the city’s Enterprise Zone, preventing the closure of the Marine Corps Logistics Base, Barstow, and bringing the Veterans Home of California — Barstow to the city.

The Barstow veterans’ home, built in 1997, was the first facility built in California in over 100 years and many cities were competing it, Morris said. She said Medeiros was instrumental in attending committee hearings in Sacramento and making the case for Barstow.

Medeiros has been the city’s lobbyist in Sacramento for almost two decades. His other clients include the Big Lagoon Rancheria tribe and the city of Glendora, Calif. He did not respond to calls seeking comment for this article.

Some groups are concerned that city and county lobbying efforts are a misuse of public funds. Annie Patnaude, spokeswoman for the non-partisan organization Americans for Prosperity, said her group opposes public entities spending taxpayer dollars to lobby other public entities. She said local government lobbying of the federal government has increased 193 percent from $20.3 million in 1998 to $59.5 million in 2006. According to records from the California Secretary of State, California cities and counties spent over $40 million last year in their lobbying efforts.

One effort that has been problematic for Barstow’s lobbyists is trying to get the Big Lagoon/Los Coyotes casino proposal approved by federal and state authorities. In addition to the city’s lobbying efforts, the casino’s developer BarWest LLC, and the two tribes employ lobbyists to garner legislative support for the project. City spokesman John Rader said that though the city supports the project, private developers pay the city’s expenses when staff goes out to lobby for the casino.

At Monday’s city council meeting, the council approved paying for travel expenses for city Economic Development Manager Ron Rector to meet with state officials about the Big Lagoon/Los Coyotes casino. The trip was under $1,000 and was budgeted under the city manager’s budget for advocacy travel, Rader said.

“Per City Council direction, the city will be seeking reimbursement for the trip from BarWest,” he said.

Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4126 or jason_smith@link.freedom.com

Barstow official & Barwest attorney kept their knowledge of reported Chemehuevi campsite in City of Barstow hush-hush

Although publicly denying any awareness of a Chemehuevi archaeological site in Barstow at City Council meetings and in Sacramento, a string of 2005 e-mails obtained by TVT clearly indicate that Barstow Economic Development Director Ron Rector and Barwest attorney Lance Boldrey as well as others in the City of Barstow and associated with Barwest LLC were fully aware of the remains of a former Chemehuevi campsite within Barstow City limits -- less than one mile from the proposed Barwest/Big Lagoon Rancheria/Los Coyotes Band of Indians casinos and resorts.

Boldrey and others speaking on behalf of Barwest LLC and its tribal partners have repeatedly insisted in public testimony that no modern-day tribes have any ancestral histories in Barstow.

They may have kept this information from Governor Schwarzenegger's representatives as well while they were negotiating agreements in 2005 that would give Detroit-based Barwest LLC the right to develop and manage two side by side casino resorts in Barstow and earn up to 30% of the net proceeds of the two Indian casinos.

Curiously, The City of Barstow has been delaying public participation in the legally mandated update of its ten year old General Plan, last updated in 1997.

* * *

FROM: Ron Rector (Barstow Economic Development Director)
SENT: February 23, 2005
RE: HCED Listserve Draft Tribal Consultation Guidelines Regarding Local Land Use Planning

Lance:
Looks like the Chemehuvis’ [sic] may get a shot at you yet.

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FROM: Boldrey, Lance R. (attorney, Barwest LLC)
SENT: February 23, 2005
RE: HCED Listserve Draft Tribal Consultation Guidelines Regarding Local Land Use Planning

I would not necessarily jump to that conclusion, although I’d be interested to get Scott’s [Priester, then-Barstow Planning Director] perspective after he’s reviewed the materials and gone through the workshop (if he’s going).

First, these appear to be triggered only upon adoption or amendment of “general” or “specific” plans. I defer to you guys and the CEQA experts as to whether that is required by our development and a new MSA.

Second, and more to the point, these require consultation only when a tribe has a “cultural place” within the city’s limits. As I read the definitions and examples of such sites (page 4 of the supplement document), the asserted Chemehuevi “place” does not appear to fit. “Cultural place” appears to be intended to capture those sites of either permanent habitation or of particular religious significance, with the caveat that the term also includes sites listed or eligible for listing in the CA Register of Historic Places. The Chemehuevi “site” within the city’s limits was only a campground on a trading route from, I believe the late 1800’s. We also do not know if any historical evidence has actually established it as such. (All we know is someone from the City contacted the tribe several years ago to see if this campground was linked to them, and they of course agreed that it was.)

As you know the historical research we commissioned from experts in the field shows that the Barstow area was inhabited historically by a band that is now extinct. Any other tribal ties to the area would have been tenuous ties from tribes essentially just passing through. Accordingly, I would not conclude that the Chemehuevi will have standing to weigh in even if a new or amended “general” or “specific” plan is required.

(From an outside perspective, I think this bill is likely to lead to real chaos, as many tribes will undoubtedly “overclaim” the protections of the act to demonstrate power over larger areas of territory. If there is no real independent check to determine if a site is, in fact, a “cultural place” expect a nightmare.)

Finally, this issue does present one potential problem with moving the site for the gaming development, if, in fact, the parcel that Argovitz is pursuing is the same parcel that the Chemehuevi had optioned, the Chemehuevi’s fee-to-trust applications asserts that the so-called Chemehuevi campsite is actually located ON THIS PARCEL. This could complicate matters if different tribes seek to have the land placed into trust ...

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FROM: Scott Priester (Barstow Planning Director)
SENT: March 03, 2005
RE: Lance Boldrey Comments

Thoughts/comments on Lance Boldrey’s comments

1) I am not attending the workshop – it’ll likely be in northern California;
2) The destination resort project is located in the adopted Lenwood Specific Plan area. Depending on the details of the development that will be off federal lands, an amendment to the specific plan may be needed to carry out the project (the devil’s in the details).
3) It doesn’t appear to matter if there is a “cultural place” in the City – if their name is on the Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC) list, we’re subject to it. I have requested a list from the NAHC of the tribes with whom the City will have to consult. It was faxed to NAHC in Sacramento today, so stay tuned.

All in all, I don’t necessarily think this will be a way to tube a project, but it could cause delay, mitigation negotiations, etc. on certain projects.