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Council directs attorney to send reservation‑of‑rights after heated public questions about harbor lease
Summary
Public skepticism about a proposed harbor lease and the nonprofit Operation Restore Heroes led council to seek additional protections: after public comment alleging fundraising and transparency problems, the council directed the city attorney to send a reservation‑of‑rights letter to ML and MR Real Estate Investments LLC.
Multiple public speakers raised concerns about a waterfront lease and an associated nonprofit project during the May 18 meeting, and the council took a post‑executive‑session step to protect the city's legal position.
Residents and veterans at the meeting questioned the scale of claimed donations and the structure of the proposal tied to leasing public harbor land. One speaker (S23) said the business plan and claimed fundraising figures were implausible and urged the council to postpone executive‑session action and require the applicant to present full financials. "If it's a pump‑and‑dump scheme to benefit a restaurant under the guise of helping veterans, that's disgusting," the resident told the council.
Operation Restore Heroes representative Michael Rivas (S22) responded in public comment that the organization would not be changing submitted lease terms, that the plan includes restaurant and retail uses in line with the existing lease, and that the nonprofit aims for transparency. Several commenters pushed for a fuller public accounting and an opportunity for applicants to answer questions in open session.
After executive session, a council member moved "to direct the city attorney to send a reservation of right and demand for matter to ML and MR Real Estate Investments, LLC." The motion passed by voice vote. Council did not reveal the detailed legal rationale on the record; the transcript shows the post‑session action but not the closed‑session deliberations that preceded it.
Why it matters: The resolution to send a reservation‑of‑rights letter signals the council’s intent to protect municipal interests in ongoing harbor lease negotiations while residents press for more transparency about the project's financing and nonprofit claims.
Next steps: The city attorney was directed to send the reservation‑of‑rights letter to the named entity; council members indicated no further open‑session vote on the lease was taken that evening.
