Email from agent for Stonelake Landing business owners says California Northstate University 'blatantly lied'

Mike Lee. |   In what is developing into a public relations fiasco, California Northstate University (CNU) is said to have "blat...

Mike Lee. |  


In what is developing into a public relations fiasco, California Northstate University (CNU) is said to have "blatantly lied" by an agent who is representing business owners in the Stonelake Landing shopping center in Elk Grove. CNU is the current owner of the shopping center and hopes to demolish the facility located in Elk Grove's far west side to build a 400-bed $900 million hospital.

The email letter sent to CNU's vice president of operations Mike Lee and their public relations representative Brian Holloway was from Christina Snyder of the Roseville office of TriCommericial. Snyder is representing seven current Stonelake Landing tenants in negotiations with CNU.

At last week's meeting of the Elk Grove City Council, Lee testified that seven tenants decided to have a then unidentified agent represent them in relocation negotiations. Lee implied that the agent sent unreasonable demands (see video below).

Lee also went on to say that he attempted to reach brokers, Snyder, and Brenda Miller, also of TriCommercail, but they had not responded. 

"In some cases, the broker failed to communicate our intent and offer to the tenants," Lee said. "We will continue to do that."

In her email that was sent today to all five Elk Grove City Council members and economic development director Darrell Doan, Snyder said that she and Miller have "worked diligently since I was first contacted back on January 10th after the hospital's media stunt with Paul Wagstaffe. I want to put you all on notice that you were lied to regarding them offering and communicating with the us and/or the tenants to help them with this new development." 

In the email sent on Monday, August 26, Snyder told Holloway and Lee that she was shocked and both should be ashamed for what she called their lies to the city council. 

"You have pressed for us to try to work this out and not go to the media, which at this point we all should go to the media now and you should be exposed for being liars and your intent on putting these minority business owners out of business," Snyder told Holloway and Lee in her email "Frankly, I don’t know how you sleep at night or can look in the mirror."

Since its announcement last December, the formerly for-profit school has experienced a series of missteps that have damaged its reputation. Earlier in the year, the school was represented by former Elk Grove Mayor Gary Davis who enflamed the situation by calling residents of the nearby Stonelake neighborhood childish and dishonest for their opposition to the proposed project. 

At the August 21 meeting, even though he voted to allow CNU to seek  $900 million in public funding of the project, Elk Grove Vice Mayor Pat Hume scolded the school's president Alvin Cheung. Hume told Cheung and other hospital proponents they have squandered considerable political capital with their mistakes.

In her email to the city council, Snyder promised to provide a more detailed accounting of interactions with the school. Snyder, who is not an attorney, closed the letter by telling council members of what she thought could be their potential personal liabilities and that the words of CNU have deliberately tried to slander her and Miller. 

Snyder said, "Since you all agreed to their $900 million bonds, I would be very concerned with your personal liabilities here. They have lied to our faces, now they are violating an agreement in place with these seven tenants deliberately, attempting to slander my partner and I, so what do you think they are going to do to all of you once they get their money. I suggest that we all have a sit down on this. I have everything documented to back this up. Our community here needs your help amongst these small minority taxpayers."


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1 comment

D.J. Blutarsky said...

I would give Darrell Doan a pass, because as he stated to the press on April 12, 2019:

“There seems to be this notion that I’m some devious mastermind who dreamed up this plot to ruin west Elk Grove, and did it with CNU’s help and just didn’t tell anybody about it, and that this whole project’s approval process is fait accompli, because it’s already been cooked up and T’d up in the backroom,” he said. “That’s just absurd. People are giving me way too much credit".

Doan is at the top of his game and I believe everything he says. Besides, there's some huge parcels along Kammerer Road that the City is looking at purchasing, and I just have a feeling that Doan will offer that land as a gift to CNU and other medical-related businesses wanting to located there. Now that's what I call economic development and everyone will be happy in the end!




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