Melissa Turley's vote cannot be bought

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

By Jake Nichols

With Imagine Jackson chairman Mike Halpin in the audience, eagerly awaiting the outcome of the vote that could secure state funds that would allow his Meridian Group to design the grounds for a second building next to Square One, there was a bottle of his Grand Teton Water at every councilmember’s place … except Turley’s. She drank from a pretty pink Nalgene.

After all, Melissa was the reason for the Imagine Jackson Part II redo. Absent from the last council meeting, Turley’s “nay” would join a presumable thumbs down from Bob Lenz and deadlock the whole deal — bye bye $1.2 million.

Enter into the record a letter from Turley to the Mayor and Council asking that they hold off voting on January 24 until she could be there. Lenz, apparently, was the only one who got that letter or read it. He held the fort while Tabatabai — who would later say he seconded Lenz’s stay of execution only “out of respect to you, Bob. It was an olive branch; a courtesy,” — and Mayor Barron were ready to break ground on a second score from the Business Ready Community Grant gravy train.

The public perception, thanks to sketchy or unclear media reports, has been that the whole shebang reeks, somehow, of insider profiteering or, at best, political interference in the free market and conflicts of interests.

But Lenz would have to admit, for such a controversial topic, the opposition was scant. Given dual opportunities to air their beef, public input in the council chambers included a grand total of one in opposition. The good citizens of Jackson, it seems, prefer to mutter about their government at water coolers.

“All the public comments I have received, minus three, have been supportive,” Tabatabai said. “I could dwell on the sad comments that some of the members cannot be trusted. I resent and am disappointed at the smearing of good names with innuendos, and not facts, behind them.”

Some resistance came in the form of a January 11 email to Melissa Turley from former NAG writer and political junkie, Jim Stanford. He wrote: “I’m urging you to oppose another partnership with Imagine Jackson. Nothing I have read about this group and its proposals has convinced me that this is a proper role for town government to be involved in.”

While few will deny Square One — recipients of the debut $810k grant secured by Imagine Jackson — has not been a success story for Jackson white collar workers looking to push pencils for $50- 80,000 a year, some, like Lenz, are more worried about the “murky political agenda.”

“Imagine Jackson does not create jobs,” Lenz said. “Entities like Square One create jobs. Imagine Jackson buys real estate.”

On the other hand, attracting worthwhile, meaningful jobs is a chance for local government to effect real, boots-on-the-ground, positive results in a community that is in danger of losing its soul.

The Business Ready Grant offered by the Wyoming Business Council has worked to perfection in other counties. A classic demonstration is Riverton’s Brunton Inc. The homegrown, outdoor gear manufacturer, most known for its domination of the “compass market,” grew so rapidly in the last decade they were in desperate need of finding new digs. They could have, and threatened to, move out of the city, county and state, if not for a $1.5 Business Ready Grant obtained to help them afford a new building near Central Wyoming College.

It’s the unique real estate market in Jackson that makes this simple grant application request such a tricky covenant. “This is not some depressed town in Wyoming where investing in real estate is poorly conceived and risky,” Lenz said.

Enter Turley, who campaigned on cutting through the bull and opening the local government process up for the people to see. Perceived, by some, as the token member of the Council who could, or would, break up the musty, “good ol’ boy” network, Turley looked past the cries of corruption and focused on the prize, even while feeling, admittedly, “very conflicted about the issue.”

“The conflict is in the politics and not what we are being asked to consider,” Turley began, slicing away the red tape. “We process grant requests all the time … It’s the politics of this that have been handled poorly. But this application has the potential to
provide a long term community benefit.”

“Keep the politics out of it and use good judgment,” Tabatabai echoed. “The application in front of us is merely a motion for application.”

“I’ve clearly supported this all along,” the Mayor said. “This has passed every level of scrutiny. We still value people and try to get them to reside in our community.”

Tabatabai’s motion to approve a grant application for Imagine Jackson was seconded by Turley and passed 3-1 with Lenz opposed and Imagine Jackson founder, Mark Obringer, recused.
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Melissa Turley's vote cannot be bought | Planet JH News Article: Council Chronicles

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