Something smells in Wimberley, some residents say, and it's not Cypress Creek.
At
a town hall meeting Monday, more than 40 residents protested Mayor Tom
Haley's plan to move City Hall from its current rented space on RM 12
to a strip mall owned by one of his major campaign contributors,
developer Todd Routh.
At
the meeting, Haley said he did not call for open bids on the new lease
because the contract did not involve a capital purchase or public works
project.
"There was nothing on my part that involved doing any favors for" Routh, Haley said.
But, Wimberley resident David Joiner said, "it just doesn't pass the smell test."
Although
it's about 40 cents per square foot cheaper, the new space will cost
$3,900 more a year. Moving the offices will cost $10,000 more.
Wimberley
now pays $3,475 a month for about 2,556 square feet of office space in
a small shopping center on in the village center.
The
city would pay $3,800 for 4,000 square feet under a one-year lease in
its new home at the Plaza del Sol strip mall on RM 12, about a mile
south.
Plaza
del Sol is owned by Routh, an Austin real estate developer who gave
Haley a $1,000 campaign contribution in March 2003. It was one of the
largest checks Haley received; two other donors also contributed $1,000
to Haley's campaign.
Haley,
who described Routh as a friend and former banking client, said he
doesn't recall telling the council, which unanimously approved the
move, about the contribution or his relationship to Routh.
Haley said he looked at two other possible locations for City Hall but neither was suitable.
The
move, planned for Oct. 21 and 22, will give the six city employees more
office space and provide a larger council chambers and more parking,
Haley said. Haley said he did not contact the city's current landlord
about renewing or renegotiating the city's lease.
City
Attorney Patty Akers said there is nothing unethical about the new
lease or the mayor's relationship with the city's new landlord.
The
mayor and council members must disclose any current business
relationships that might pose a conflict of interest, but those
disclosure laws don't apply to prior business relationships, Akers
said.
"In a small town, there wouldn't be any place you can rent that wouldn't have participated with someone on council," she said.
But
Jeff Brooks, a public interest advocate with the Texas Public Interest
Research Group, said regardless of the lease's legality, elected
officials should avoid even the appearance of impropriety. "It's
possible to do things that are legal and are still not appropriate,"
Brooks said.
Routh
said he's known Haley for more than 12 years and contributed to Haley's
campaign because he thought Haley would be a good mayor.
The
move to Plaza del Sol had come up five years before, Routh said. The
city had called looking to lease space in the then-fully occupied strip
mall, he said.
The
lease was an honest transaction, Routh said, adding that he would
release the city from its lease without any penalties if the city
wished.
"I
don't think for a $1,000 donation (Haley) is going to move City Hall,"
Routh said. "If it was $100,000 or $200,000 maybe, but not for $1,000."
