That was the upshot Thursday of a half-hour meeting of the Board of Aldermen to discuss the status of the 81-space parking lot, which is used by dozens of downtown residents and patrons of nearby businesses daily.
The city announced Wednesday that the parking lot’s owner didn’t want anyone from the public parking there, and was threatening to tow anyone who did.
On Thursday the city’s Aldermen voted unanimously to give the owner, Shaw Growth Ventures, $9,000 for a three-month easement permitting the public use of the lot.
If Shaw refuses to take the money, the city’s corporation counsel said the city can take the easement by eminent domain — but that the legal wrangling associated with that step would take about a month.
In the meantime, what should people who use the lot do?
“My recommendation is know that a, it is private property, and b, the owners have stated they do not want the public parking in the lot,” John Marini, the city’s corporation counsel, said.
The City of Ansonia reminded people Friday morning there are literally hundreds of nearby parking spaces available. See the Facebook post below.
Most of the Aldermen’s meeting went on behind closed doors, which is allowed when public agencies are discussing the details of real estate deals.
Click the play button on the video above to see the end of the meeting, after the Aldermen talked about the deal in private for about a half-hour.
The only public discussion that occurred after the executive session was the reading of a prepared resolution by Second Ward Aldermen Lorie Vaccaro and a unanimous vote by the board.
The resolution is posted at the bottom of this story.
The Aldermen’s step was the latest escalation in a war of words between city officials and Shaw, who have been in talks for 65 Main St. for months.
Now both are accusing each other of negotiating in bad faith.
The dispute seems destined to be resolved in a courthouse, though officials with both sides on Thursday held out the possibility a deal could still be worked out.
The City Says
The property includes the office building, an indoor parking garage, and the parking lot. It also includes a section of a building referred to as 501 E Main St.
Shaw Growth Ventures owns 65 Main St., and the city wants to use the land for a new police station/senior center — and to continue to use the parking lot as a public parking lot.
But Shaw Growth Ventures has not been negotiating in good faith, Marini said.
Shaw wanted Ansonia to forgive about $2 million in blight liens connected to the deal, Marini said. And Shaw was “refusing to make certain warranties” in connection to the sale, including putting the fact they were owners in writing, Marini said.
Economic Development Director Sheila O’Malley said Shaw also wanted a $300,000 nonrefundable deposit, and wouldn’t promise that it had disclosed all the materials it had regarding environmental contamination at the address.
So last month the Board of Aldermen voted to “explore the option” of acquiring the property through eminent domain.
That vote, Marini said, happened after Shaw had previously threatened to close the lot.
Shaw Says
On Thursday Vasilios Lefkaditis, the managing partner of Shaw Growth Ventures, said he had to order the parking lot closed because his insurance company insisted on it.
He said his company had agreed to leave the lot open for public use but that he had no choice to close it because the city has gone AWOL from the negotiating table.
“We’re reducing our liability. We have been working with them in good faith by allowing that parking lot to be used,” Lefkaditis said. “If someone falls and hurts themselves, it’s not the city getting sued. It’s me.”
Lefkaditis said he was willing to work with the city, and contradicted Marini’s account of the negotiations.
“They’ve agreed to a conditional release of the blight lien multiple times. As far as i know that’s not a sticking point,” he said. “We’ve conceded on warranties but we haven’t heard back from them.”
“A fight is not what we’re looking for,” Lefkaditis said. “But they need to communicate. they’re not communicating.”
He said Thursday morning he hadn’t been notified about the possible easement. He said the Aldermen should hold off on taking any action.
“It would be a mistake for them to take such aggressive action when we’re this close to the finish line,” Lefkaditis said.
“If the city wants to employ bully tactics it would be unfortunate,” Lefkaditis said. “They just need to come to the table and negotiate in good faith, which they haven’t done in several weeks.”
Though Lefkaditis said the lot would be closed to the public Thursday, it was still open as of about 8:30 p.m., with about 30 cars still parked there.
What Now?
After Thursday’s meeting, Marini disputed Lefkaditis’ account of the back-and-forth between Shaw and the city.
“That’s not an accurate characterization of the negotiations,” Marini said.
He said the city will now offer Shaw $9,000 for an easement allowing public parking at the lot.
If Shaw refuses, the city will file a notice at Superior Court in Milford to take the easement by eminent domain, along with a “statement of costs” supporting the $9,000 valuation, and a deposit check.
Once 35 days pass, the easement will become official.
In the meantime, he said the city remains open to “making a fair deal in good faith.”
“But at this point no such deal has been reached and at this point there’s been no progress towards bridging the gap,” he said.
The Aldermen will consider taking ownership of the property by eminent domain at their meeting next month, once an appraisal of the “fair market value” of the entire property is finished.
Ansonia Parking Resolution by The Valley Indy on Scribd
