MASON CITY – The Mason City Council spent 5 minutes firing a hotel developer for the second time on Tuesday night.
The meeting was called to order Tuesday night at 5 PM by the Mayor and on roll being called there were present, Bill Schickel, Mayor in the Chair, and the following Council Members: Adams, Jaszewski, Masson, Symonds, Thoma, Lee.
The meeting agenda was adopted; the agenda offered no chance for public input, and none was afforded by the mayor, according to meeting minutes.
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The meeting was to consider a Termination of Agreement with G8 Development of San Diego: Motion, Jaszewski; 2nd, Thoma that Resolution No. 18-192, declaring the Purchase, Sale and Development Agreement by and between the City of Mason City and G8 Development, Inc. terminated in its entirety and approving and authorizing execution, delivery and recording of the Notice of Termination, be adopted. Discussion followed regarding the financing documents, why the information wasn’t supplied by G8, etc.
The resolution to fire G8 was approved unanimously.
Schickel adjourned the meeting at 5:05 PM.
Philip Chodur, G8 Owner, did not respond to questions from NIT about being fired. It appears highly probable that he will sue the City for Tuesday’s action.
Citizens of Mason City can only assume the project is moving ahead in some fashion.
At-Large council member Paul Adams today tells NIT in response to questions about the project that “it is a little too early at this point to know if there’s interest from another developer. I am hoping there is something on the agenda for November 6th for staff to take action on next steps.”
Mr. Adams says he remains “optimistic” the Renaissance Project can someday be completed. Currently, it consists of a hotel, multi-use arena, pavilion, skywalk and a convention center in the Music Man Square in downtown Mason City that some feel will rejuvenate the area.
Mason City is a joke the city should be bulldozed down and put back to cropland.
Could you please publish these minutes. They don’t seem to be accurate.
Someone help me awaken from this nightmare! Haven’t the YES voters had enough of this wasteful or impractical project? What does it take to get them to understand? The County had to sue the mall owner for a PORTION of his delinquent property taxes. Now he has until June 2019 to pay the balance. Philip Chodur, the city’s hotel developer, has been fired, and is threatening to sue us taxpayers AGAIN. The Hockey group hasn’t come up with its millions for the arena, and there is no $9.1 million check from the IEDA; its sales and hotel tax rebates. Shut this thing down City Council!
They should fire (IMPEACH) the whole council over this farce. No one is going to invest in this loser, especially now that Clear Lake is going to build a hotel, convention center and so is Forest City.
Most of the ones who voted for this are already off the council, so in a way they have already been impeached. When they saw it going south, they decided not to run again, and got out before the poop hit the fan.
How long does the brain trust at NIT think it should take to fire the hotel developer? I think 5 minutes is plenty as It’s unfortunately pretty clear cut that the developer is not meeting his contractual obligations. Anymore time spent would be waste of city resources (tax dollars).
Our elected officials do not get paid by the hour.
Hey genius, you do realize city council meetings are an expense to the city right? Paid city employees must attend. City buildings must be cleaned, electrified, and heated. 5 minutes of tax payer money on this issue was plenty to those of us who contribute meaningfully to the tax rolls.
lighten up Francis
Says the IDIOT who is to cheap to spend $24 on a subscription.
THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WAS SENT TO NIT BY AN INFORMED CITIZEN:
Pull up the IEDA web site and ref. Mason City listed on file Renaissance Project details. In Des Moines at IEDA they list the long gone Gatehouse Dream hotel as what is to be developed. The City officially terminated this fake developer in Dec. 2017. Today, 10/23/18 the City Council once again voted to terminate a second Developer Agreement with G8/Chodur for failure to deliver certain requested performance documents. So far these two fake so called developers have a 0 for 3 batting performance. Contrast their performance to secure and deliver the hotel project financing and equity funding against the wild assumptions within the City of MC application pending before the IEDA for this requested Iowa Reinvestment Act potential assistance. A lot of unproven guessing as to future sales volume and related future tax revenues.
Net result and current status. No qualified, proven, financed developer as of 10/23/18 for this hotel. Southbridge Mall nearing total vacant status vs the listed status the City application claimed, 50 retailers including two anchors. Both anchors out of business in Mason City as are most of the 50 smaller lessees that were in Southbridge Mall.
Downtown Mason City as of 10/23/18 has more vacant at grade store fronts than at any time in it’s 165 year history. The claims made by the City in it’s application to the IEDA for final approval of it’s Iowa Reinvestment Act application are totally void per either of the two parties that were submitted as being ready, willing and ABLE to financially deliver the hotel project. The party to be the owner of the ice arena and pavilion has proven so far to be unable and/or willing to invest in saving his sinking Southbridge Mall.
Performance to date grade earned by the players in this Iowa Reinvestment Act Renaissance course: F. City out of pocket wasted expenditures, $857,000. and counting.
City’s Legal Counsel clock ticking. More law suits threatened.
Could you provide the specific link, please? I’m looking around on the IEDA site, and don’t seem to be able to find the grants applied for page, just the ones already done. Thanks.