Monday, January 25, 2010

The Theft of Markley Cove, @ Lake Berryessa, CA




Over a year ago, the United States Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) went out to bid on the seven concession areas here at Lake Berryessa, in central California.  After the bid deadline, the bids were opened, and awarded.

One spot went to Forever Resorts, Markley Cove went to the existing operators, a retired United States Marine and his wife, and the rest of the Lake concessions were awarded to Pensus, a British company.


Naturally, the bids were made public, and the losers were able to see them.  Likewise, the winning bidders were allowed to see and analyze the bids for those spots that they were not awarded. 
In other words, Pensus was able to view and analyze the winning bid for Markley Cove.

Almost immediately, word began circulating that Pensus was threatening to pull out of Lake Berryessa completely if they were not also awarded Markley Cove.  This information was relayed by BOR employees, as well as employees of the other bidders, but was denied by BOR managers.


Nonetheless, lo and behold, it was not long before the BOR announced it
was voiding the awarding of the bid for Markley Cove and starting over- because of a “technicality”, with the explanation that somehow National Park Service language had gotten into BOR bid documents.

However, the bid that was awarded to Forever Resorts for Pleasure Cove would not be affected, because, after all, THAT contract had already been signed.


Fast forward to the week of January 11
th, 2010.  Bids were solicited, the second bid deadline has passed, the bids have been opened, and they have been under analysis by the BOR.

To absolutely nobody’s surprise, Pensus was awarded the concession at Markley Cove
.

The BOR had the opportunity to do the right thing, to adhere to the intent of the initial bid process, to the “pure” process, the objective one, the one where the end results, by all accounts, were not affected by the “technicality”- a technicality so innocuous that it did not void the signing of a contract for the Pleasure Cove concession.  Of course, Pensus did not covet Pleasure Cove.


Instead, they awarded a contract to the people who only were able to submit a winning bid because of Bureau error, because of “insider” information gotten by seeing the winning bid from the first round- gotten, if you will, solely because of incompetence by Bureau of Reclamation employees.


Or was it?  Was it really an accident?  How exactly does National Park Service language end up in a BOR bid process?  These folks have been running Lake Berryessa since the 1950s.


Is it really a stretch to believe that this was done intentionally, as a safeguard for the big-business interests that are dominating the national landscape, and just recently were outrageously-endorsed by the Supreme Court?


The Winters City Council voted on Tuesday the 19
th to ask both Congressman Mike Thompson and Senator Barbara Boxer to seek Congressional hearings on the process.

The City of Winters has an interest in Lake Berryessa for one simple reason: it serves as the Gateway to the Lake, and the travelers going to and from the Lake are critical to both the City and its businesses.


The City has no direct financial interest in, or benefit from, the current operation/operators of Markley Cove.  It does, however, want as many operators around the lake as possible, as insulation against a complete shutdown of the lake in case of bankruptcy or hostile takeover of concessionaires.


Most assuredly, though, they do favor local operation and control of United States government property over that by a company headquartered in the United Kingdom.


Do an Internet search on “Pensus”.  You can find, for instance, that they created, and donated up to $50,000 to, a “grass-roots” group to suppress competition on Lake Pleasant in Arizona. 


On a lighter note, one also has to be suspicious of Pensus’ owner, with a name like David Maule-Fiche.    


On January 14
th, the regional manager of BOR, Mike Finnegan, told the Winters City Manager, John Donlevy, that the final decision had been made in Colorado.

On January 15
th, the BOR’s Public Information Officer, Pete Lucero, told Winters City Councilman Tom McMasters-Stone that Mike Finnegan had made the final decision, after receiving the feedback of an “independent panel of experts”.

When McMasters-Stone asked Lucero about the conflicting explanations, there was silence on the phone line.


It really doesn’t matter where the final decision was made.  Climbing in bed with somebody for money is illegal, except in Nevada, and I don’t think they call it “Reclamation”.  If you make the critical decisions, you are a principle in the transaction, and even if you are not a decision-maker, it doesn’t mean you are in a different line of work.  


Please, call your Congressman or Congresswoman, and your Senators.  In the grand scheme of things, this is a small blip on the national radar screen.  On the other hand, all tumors start small. 


One last thing.  Perhaps the Bureau of Reclamation should consider a name change.  Mustang Ranch is already taken, but Black Water is available.  

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