Adelanto council clears stadium credit and OKs $1M engineering contract

The Adelanto City Council voted Nov. 12 to refund a stadium tenant $264,522.88 to clear an overhanging credit related to repairs the tenant completed under lease terms, staff said. City staff said the outstanding credit had been an encumbrance that made marketing and sale discussions more difficult for the stadium.

"Between the total credit that they were due and the total amount that we are due to the tenant, there is a balance between the two," Dr. Gil told the council in the staff presentation, and staff recommended refunding the amount owed to wipe the slate clean so rent payments can resume and the facility is more attractive to prospective buyers.

Council moved and approved the staff recommendation to refund the tenant the pending balance.

Separately the council approved a professional services agreement with Bowman Consulting Group in a not-to-exceed amount of $1,000,000 for engineering support and plan-check services. Staff described a competitive request-for-proposal process (four firms interviewed) and recommended Bowman based on qualifications and interview scoring. Saba, the staff presenter, said the arrangement will not impact the general fund because engineering services will be paid through plan-check, grading, encroachment, inspection and related fees; Bowman would receive 75% of collected fees and the city would retain 25%.

Why it matters: Clearing the stadium credit is intended to remove a barrier to leasing or selling the stadium and to restart rent collections; the Bowman agreement provides in-house development review and construction oversight capacity through a professional-services contract funded by project-related fees rather than general-tax revenues.

Both items passed on council motions at the Nov. 12 meeting; staff said the city manager is authorized to execute the Bowman agreement once finalized.