Oscar Goodman Mayor has invited former, current officials to council meeting

Mayor Oscar Goodman acknowledged Monday that he knew of possible wrongdoing by a city official before a controversial vote to allow homes to be built on golf course land.

Goodman said he knew of allegations that in the 1990s the public works director had violated city rules to help developer Bill Walters acquire city land and then develop a golf course on the land.

Earlier this month, the council voted to lift a deed restriction on the land so that homes could be built at the site of the Royal Links Golf Club, near Vegas Valley Drive and Nellis Boulevard, and near the city sewage plant.

"I knew much of the information when I cast my vote, about the Redlein memorandum and contents thereof," Goodman said, referring to a report prepared by Deputy City Attorney John Redlein.

That five-page report laid out nine violations of city protocol by then-public works director Richard Goecke in 1996, 1997 and 1998.

That memo and a police investigation that charges Goecke's decisions likely cost taxpayers "millions of dollars" were released in the days after the vote. Redlein said Goecke violated bidding or spending protocols by providing information exclusively to Walters, trying to change contracts without bids and negotiating a favorable deal to irrigate the golf course after Walters had won the bid.

In exchange for lifting the restriction placed on the land in 1999, when Walters bought the land from the city, the developer agreed to pay $7.2 million in addition to the $854,000 discounted price he originally paid. He also agreed to return rights to buy inexpensive treated water from the adjacent city sewage plant.

Lifting the deed restriction to allow construction of 1,200 homes increased the value of the acreage by $24 million, to $35.6 million, according to one appraisal the city commissioned. Another appraisal for the city found lifting the deed restriction increased the land's value by $28.7 million, making the parcel worth $55.7 million.

The City Council will consider Wednesday rescinding lifting the grant deed restriction and another vote to transfer water credits to another course owned by Walters. Councilman Steve Wolfson, who put the items back on the agenda, said he was concerned that the council didn't have all the information in front of it when it took the original vote.

But Goodman said Monday, "I hope by the end of the discussion on Wednesday, this is a matter that is old news."

When asked how this rated on the Las Vegas City Hall political brouhaha scale, Goodman responded "zero."

Not everyone agrees. Craig Walton, president of the Nevada Center for Public Ethics, said that he had trouble getting through by phone to the City Council offices the day after the Redlein memo was made public. Ethical lines appeared to have been crossed, he said, "that's why people are so dang mad."

He applauded the council for putting the item back on its agenda.

"The question is, will anyone speak for the people of Las Vegas?" said Walton, professor emeritus of ethics and public policy at University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

He said that developers, particularly those who donate or help raise large sums of campaign money, often get what they want.

"To have this kind of restraint that keeps the developers' schmoozing and solicitation at arms length would require a strong love of community, and respect for the community and citizens," he said. "It's not strong enough yet."

Goodman invited a number of current and former officials to attend the meeting, including former Mayor Jan Jones, former City Manager Virginia Valentine, Walters, Goecke and former Councilman Michael McDonald.

Goecke, who resigned in September and has denied any wrongdoing, said Monday he would attend the meeting. Walters, who also said he had done nothing wrong, also plans to be in attendance.

Valentine said she had not yet received the letter, and was not sure if she was going to go. She joined the city as manager in May 1998, after Walters had taken control of the land.

"I'm an open book. If they have questions, I'll answer them," said Valentine, now a Clark County assistant manager.

Meanwhile, former City Manager Larry Barton, who was repeatedly mentioned in the Redlein memo, was not invited.

"I've always been a great believer in anybody referenced in a prior discussion, giving them an opportunity to comment on that reference," Goodman said. "It's a public hearing, and people may be referenced."

He said Barton "has not been mentioned to me at all as being involved in this." He would not elaborate on who was suggesting who was involved.

Before the council voted on Nov. 2 to lift the deed restriction, Goodman said he had been told by City Manager Doug Selby that a Las Vegas police report said no criminal charges would be filed.

"That's what I'm interested in," he said at the time.

Selby said Monday that he would not comment on what he told Goodman or the other six council members.

"There seems to be an effort to drive a rift between me and the council," he said. "I'm not going to get into any of that."

During an interview last week, Undersheriff Doug Gillespie said he told Selby that no charges would be filed, in part because the statute of limitations had expired.

The police report said Goecke's decisions cost the city "millions of dollars" and that he "did commit acts which were likely criminal in nature" in the late 1990s.

But it also found that there was no criminal wrongdoing by Goecke when a key engineering report was edited to paint a rosier picture of the dangers, costs and concerns of building housing next to the Water Pollution Control Facility.

Back in July, when the council was first considering lifting the deed restriction, Redlein had briefed council members Lois Tarkanian, Wolfson and Steve Ross about the history of the Royal Links Golf Club. City Attorney Brad Jerbic briefed Goodman.

Goodman called for the investigation into whether Goecke unduly influenced the original engineering report that was edited. Tarkanian called for an outside engineering report and appraisal.

The latest study, released late last month, said the city would immediately have to spend $5 million to ease the smell if the homes are built next to the facility.

Goodman has maintained that the investigation into the criminal report is the only issue with which he was concerned when he decided to lift the deed restriction.

Review-Journal writer Frank Curreri contributed to this story.