Nov. 22, 2009
In case you weren’t in court last month to catch this, we taxpayers are on the hook for close to $1 million because some bureaucrats at Caltrans thought they were above the law.
I know some of you are already pulling on your righteous boots ready to stomp all over lawyers and their “frivolous” lawsuits, but if it weren’t for this lawsuit, we the people who pay these Caltrans clowns would not know how self-serving some public servants can get.
Not that the Caltrans people were stuffing their pockets with tax dollars or anything like that.
In a way, it was worse: They apparently were willing to breach a contract and scuttle a pretty good deal in order to appease a California Transportation Commissioner — the ultimate yes man gone bad scenario.
Way back in 1993, Flying J (yeah, the same company that owns the now-shuttered Rosedale refinery) bought about four and a half acres outside Mojave along Highway 14 with plans to build one of their palatial truck stop plazas.
About 1999, Caltrans wanted the land for an access road to build the Highway 58 bypass.
Flying J and Caltrans signed a contract in 2001 in which Flying J would pay the state $40,200 and give them the four and a half acres in exchange for 20 acres of “excess” land nearby that Caltrans owned.
Except when it got to the CTC in October 2002, a commissioner named John Lawson pulled the deal from the consent agenda over concerns the state wasn’t getting enough for the land. (There’s more to Lawson, but in a sec.)
His actions sent Caltrans bureaucrats into a hand-wringing tailspin, as evidenced by a number of communications, called “right of way parcel diary” forms on which Caltrans workers jotted down instructions and updates chronicling how this land exchange was handled.
In the run up to the October meeting, the Flying J deal appeared right on track.
But a few weeks after the meeting, on Oct. 31, 2002, Caltrans bureaucrats decided to tuck tail on the exchange proposal as noted in this entry:, “Retreat, regroup, surrender.”
Lawson never actually voted “no” on the proposed land exchange and wasn’t even on the commission when it came back in February 2003.
Still bureaucrats were so worried about his disapproval they decided to kill their own deal, despite the contract and despite the fact that Flying J had already given up its own four and a half acres.
“Message from Steve Cameron (in Caltrans’ legal department) has some concerns — feels we should make the commission vote ‘NO’ — before renegotiating,” was noted on November, 18, 2002.
From then on out, Caltrans officials gave Flying J the royal government runaround until the commission voted against the exchange in February 2003, ordering that the 20 acres be put up for auction. The land was bought by a friend of Lawson’s, by the way, which just adds another layer of stink to the whole mess.
“It’s the worst bureaucratic nightmare coming true,” said Ron Katz. He and attorney Jack Yeh, both with the Los Angeles office of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, represented Flying J.
Ownership of the 20 acres is also up for question and Flying J is making the case they own it per the contract that the jury verdict says was in force.
As Flying J pursues the land (and appeals for higher damages), I can’t help thinking about the real losers in this case — you guessed it, Joe and Jane taxpayer.
Think about it.
We got no truck plaza, which would have meant jobs for people in Mojave and more taxes for Kern County. And we’re not only paying $1 million for the verdict (minimum), but we’re also still paying the salaries, health benefits and retirement for the bozos who hatched this debacle.
Hey, I’m glad we found out about all this. Kudos to Flying J for standing up to this garbage
But, really — does it always have to be the taxpayers who get hosed?
Opinions expressed in this column are those of Lois Henry, not The Bakersfield Californian. Her column appears Wednesdays and Sundays. Comment at people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/noholdsbarred, call her at 395-7373 or e-mail lhenry@bakersfield.com
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