The push to put a city parking lease to a vote fell flat Tuesday as the City Council rejected a motion to put the question on the June ballot. It was City Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy who first suggested in November that the voters should have a say in whether the city leases its parking inventory to an outside company. She conducted a city-wide poll on her website in October, which indicated that 70 percent of respondents favored a public vote on a potential 50-year lease, according to Sheedy. “The (arena) plan hinges on leasing the city’s parking for 50 years,” Sheedy said Tuesday. “I think such a massive public investment warrants a public vote.” Still, after almost an hour of public d

Mayor Kevin Johnson said 13 companies have expressed interest in leasing the city’s parking system for the next 50 years – a move he described as “promising” as the city looks to bring in $240 million to finance an arena through the process. “(The responses) show a lot of interest. That is consistent with what we expected,” Mayor Kevin Johnson said Tuesday at his weekly press conference. “It is really encouraging.” The 13 “letters of intent” arrived after the city sent more than 100 letters to parking operators across the nation in early January. The deadline for interested parties to respond was Monday. The names of the interested companies will be released Thursday, Johnson said. Alt

A new program to raise $10 million for arena financing and turning Sacramento into an “Emerald Valley” were two key points in Mayor Kevin Johnson’s State of the City address Monday. Johnson’s speech focused on boosting the local economy in three areas: building an entertainment and sports complex, green-sector jobs and reforming public schools to create a more competitive workforce. “The economy is bad everywhere, but it’s worse here,” Johnson told the nearly 1,000 people in the audience. “We have to take bold actions,” Johnson said. “We have to make the impossible possible.” The mayor delivered the 20th annual speech at the Sacramento Convention Center in an event hosted by the Sacram

On the eve of discussion about her goal of putting arena financing to a public vote, City Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy announced that she will not be running for re-election to her District 2 council seat in June. “After careful consideration, I have decided not to seek another term on the Sacramento City Council,” Sheedy said in a prepared statement Monday. Sheedy cited 28 years of public service between herself and her husband, Ted, a former county supervisor, adding, “We feel it’s time to call it a day so we can spend more time with our family.” Sheedy would have faced at least four other candidates for her council seat in the upcoming election, including former Obama campaign organizer

As our City leaders continue to debate how to finance an NBA-size arena in the downtown, climaxing with a final City Council vote in the next few weeks, here are ten reasons why I believe financing a new area with a 50-year "parking lot fee" agreement is not good for the financial and emotional well-being of our great City of Sacramento. (1) Fifty-year agreements encourage abuse and escalation of fees. If the capitalist system depends upon free enterprise and competition, 50-year agreements are an invitation for corruption and exploitation. Immediately or gradually, we will all curse the day this deal was done, every time we park downtown. (2) If you can afford $200-$500 for a family to

As the city pursues a potential lessee for the city’s parking inventory, there is an important question to ask: Could the city parking validation program end? If it does, is there a risk of damaging existing businesses – some of which have struggled in the downtown area for years? According to city parking services manager Howard Chan, Sacramento currently validates parking at city-owned garages for many local businesses and venues, providing an incentive to business owners: They buy the parking at a discount, and they have something to offer patrons as a courtesy. Merchants buy discounted parking tickets worth $5 of parking for 50 cents each, and the validation is good in any of nine ci

City Manager John Shirey withdrew a contract Tuesday with two firms that the City Council planned to consider as financial and technical advisers in the search for a potential parking operator lessee, assistant city manager John Dangberg said Wednesday. “We decided it just wasn’t the right direction to go for the process at this time,” Dangberg said. The city hired the firms – Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Walker Parking Consultants – in September to take an inventory of the city’s parking and come up with an evaluation of potential profit from leasing out the assets. Leasing out the city’s parking system is one of a handful of options under consideration for financing a new sports

San Francisco Giants President and CEO Larry Baer compared Sacramento’s efforts to build a new arena to the campaign to build Pac Bell Park in San Francisco, telling a collection of businesspeople and government officials that there is “tremendous opportunity” for Sacramento going forward. Baer’s remarks were part of the 2012 State of Downtown address at Memorial Auditorium Tuesday morning, in which Mayor Kevin Johnson, State Senate President Pro-Tem Darrell Steinberg and other officials stressed the “why” of building a downtown entertainment and sports complex. Baer said efforts to build the downtown ballpark in San Francisco were under way as early as the 1960s, with four attempts at u

The question of whether Sacramento will get a new sports arena heated up this year, as Sacramento Kings owners threatened to relocate the team to Anaheim and potential arena sites – such as a land swap with Cal Expo – came and went. Despite an emotional rollercoaster ride for Kings fans this year, supporters of the team refused to throw up their hands in defeat. Here’s what 2011 looked like from the bleachers. As plans for a land swap between the state fairgrounds at Cal Expo and the current Natomas arena site fell through, a task force appointed by Mayor Kevin Johnson recommended that Sacramento developer group ICON-Taylor explore the viability of building an arena in the downtown area.

Mayor Kevin Johnson spoke confidently Tuesday about the possibility of a new entertainment and sports complex becoming a reality for Sacramento – despite the challenges ahead. “We are at a critical juncture in this process,” Johnson said. “On the court, our team needs to play well. Off the court, I feel good about the progress we’re making on the new entertainment sports complex and the financing.” Johnson said that – on the public side of the equation – the city is moving forward with its “due diligence” on a plan to lease out the city parking system as part of the financial plan for a new arena. “On the private side,” Johnson added, “AEG and ICON and all those folks are doing their pa

The City Council voted 7-2 Tuesday to pursue an agreement that could potentially bring in $250 million for a new arena by leasing the city’s parking system to a private operator. “This is just one piece – a very important piece – in our ability to build an entertainment sports complex,” City Manager John Shirey said Tuesday. Council members Darrell Fong and Sandy Sheedy were the only “no” votes. A recent analysis of the city’s parking system concluded that the city could lease the parking system to a private operator for 50 years – releasing all revenue and control of the system for the life of the lease – and receive an up-front lump payment of nearly $250 million. With an ongoing cit

Now that the NBA players union has taken serious steps to sue the league and team owners local officials in Sacramento are scrambling to salvage the momentum they’ve amassed with their “Think Big” campaign. In a total about-face to the direction of the movement that started and the end of last season, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson quickly played down the significance of a prolonged NBA lockout by issuing the following statement to the press: “I remain hopeful that all parties will come together and reach a solution. From Sacramento's perspective, our focus is on continuing to move forward on developing an Entertainment and Sports Complex. This has never been about an arena for pro basket

Local sporting goods store manager Troy Bedal walked away as the big winner Tuesday in the Think Big Sacramento Citizen Architect competition with a personalized brick Walk of Fame design inspired by a similar design at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Bedal and the two runners-up – Shaun Baland, 42, a state worker from Lincoln, and Gary Bladen, 24, a recent UC Davis graduate working on sustainable development – gathered at City Hall for the announcement Tuesday along with Think Big committee members Greg Hayes and Carla Collins Mixon and local artist and competition judge David Garibaldi. The competition – a contest to design a portion of the planned entertainment and sports complex – opened

Fair Political Practices Commission Enforcement Division Chief Gary Winuk said Wednesday a case would not be opened based on a complaint filed with the FPPC Friday. The complaint, filed by Robert Langdon, Jr., alleged that Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy violated the Political Reform Act with a recent public opinion poll authorized by her office and paid for with campaign funds. Winuk sent a letter to Langdon Wednesday stating that “after review of the complaint, the information you provided is insufficient to establish a violation of the act.” Langdon, a court liaison for Sacramento County Family Court and a Sacramento Kings fan, confirmed Monday evening that he sent the complaint because he

A complaint filed Friday with the Fair Political Practices Commission against Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy alleges election law violations stemming from a recent poll authorized through her office. The Oct. 24 poll was conducted by a polling firm hired by Sheedy to determine public opinion on potential financing plans for the proposed entertainment and sports complex. According to the complaint filed by Sacramento resident Robert Langdon, Jr., Sheedy may have violated sections of the Political Reform Act of 1974 related to telephone advocacy and misuse of a public figure’s official position. “(Langdon’s) allegations are completely without merit,” Joann Cummins, Sheedy’s district director,

As part of the Entertainment and Sports Complex project, the City of Sacramento has posted a "Notice of Preparation" for an Environmental Impact Report, or EIR. The public has until October 31 to provide comments to help city staff determine what factors should be considered in this important document. The Notice of Preparation can be found on the City of Sacramento's website in PDF format: http://www.cityofsacramento.org/dsd/planning/environmental-review/eirs/documents/ESCNOPFINAL.pdf Reports like this EIR are written to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, which requires that California governments consider the effects of their projects on the state's environ

The City Council will consider approving $550,000 in fees Tuesday to bring in experts on sports finance, parking, investment banking and municipal finance to help dig through the details of a complex – and uncertain – arena financing plan. At the Sept. 13 council meeting, City Manager John Shirey told council members that, in order to “proceed with due diligence” on the proposed arena project, the city would need the help of outside professional services. “The City Council and the public deserve to have good information in order to make good decisions,” Assistant City Manager John Dangberg said Monday. Members of the arena focus group, Think Big Sacramento, presented a much-anticipated

Designs for an outdoor amphitheater, an open-air plaza and a walk of fame were announced Tuesday as the top three contenders in the Think Big Sacramento Citizen Architect competition – a contest to design a portion of the planned entertainment sports complex. The contest, which began in July, has been touted by the Think Big Sacramento committee as a way for the public to “leave its legacy” on the new complex, according to a press release. Ideas submitted by Troy Bedal, a sporting goods store manager from Roseville, Shaun Baland, a state worker from Lincoln, and Gary Bladen, a recent UC Davis graduate working on sustainable development, were chosen as the top three out of more than 20 su

City staff and Think Big Sacramento representatives presented the City Council with technical and financial option reports on the proposed entertainment and sports complex Tuesday, and asked council to direct them where to go next. “We have a lot of work to do in the next six months,” said City Manager John Shirey, “and we need both internal and external resources to do it.” To keep things moving forward, though, Shirey told council members that he plans to deliver three things: “a game plan with a timeline, a list of the consultant work we need and a list of how we’ll pay for those things.” Although the technical report presented Tuesday included more detail than previous reports, Shir

A federal funding program allowing foreign investors to provide low-interest loans in return for green cards was one potential arena funding source highlighted in the long-awaited Think Big Sacramento Committee report, which was revealed to the public at a Sacramento Press Club luncheon Thursday. The program, while not a solution in its own right, could buy time, allowing publicly owned land to increase in value for sale at a higher rate, according to officials. Both of those options are parts of the “menu of options” the Think Big Sacramento group was tasked with providing earlier this year. More than 120 business leaders, a few Kings fans and most of Sacramento’s media gathered for the