M.I.A.

Chico City Attorney Vince Ewing last appeared in the City Council chambers during that panel’s Dec. 4 regular meeting. As you’ll recall, that was the same night three new members were sworn in (i.e., the date the council flipped back to the liberals).

The question: Is Ewing’s absence coincidental? I doubt it. And I think it has everything to do with the Chico Scrap Metal (CSM) saga. Let’s review history.

Back in 2006, the city ordered CSM to vacate its home on East 20th Street by 2011—predicated on the fact that the business’ industrial practices no longer fit in with land-use designations in the area. However, the liberal majority granted deadline extensions and CSM was still there in December 2014, when the conservatives took control of the council.

The representatives on the right began reversing course immediately. They started by crafting a development agreement letting the business stay put and went as far as to sue Councilman Karl Ory, two months after he was sworn into office in late 2016. Ory had been part of Move the Junkyard and helped that grassroots group with its successful referendum to put the issue on the ballot.

In early 2017, Ewing told the CN&R that, among other things, Move the Junkyard’s petition had been improperly prepared. That ostensibly was the justification for the city suing one of its representatives. It also was the opening salvo in a protracted and expensive legal fight.

How pricey? As of a year ago, $75,000 was the cost for two cases: the city’s lawsuit against Move the Junkyard and Ory, and the defense related to the grassroots group’s suit attempting to compel the city to move forward with the referendum or nullify its development agreement with CSM. However, the City Clerk’s Office, in its answer to my public records query, noted that CSM was picking up the tab. That’s because the aforementioned agreement included an indemnification clause stipulating that the business would pay the city attorney’s fees should any legal issues arise.

The rub: The agreement never went into effect. Last summer, a Butte County Superior Court judge sided with Move the Junkyard and ordered the council to either repeal it or put the issue to a vote. The council chose the first option. And since the agreement was never valid—the referendum had stopped it in its tracks—CSM hasn’t paid a dime. The price tag now stands at around $200,000.

Another expense: This past Dec. 3, CSM owner George Scott filed a lawsuit against the city. It includes a request for his attorney’s fees and other damages. In other words, the city of Chico’s counsel is now doing battle against a business with whom it previously had arrangements to receive payment from via that now-defunct development agreement.

At the March 5 council meeting, Ory’s former attorney urged the council to sue Ewing for malpractice based on the indemnification-clause blunder. I’d like to know if that’s why Ewing is laying low, but he won’t return the CN&R’s calls. He again was a no-show at this week’s meeting, and nobody addressed his absence or whether he’ll ever be back.

Indeed, it seems uncertainty is the only certainty. Case in point: It’s anyone’s guess how much money the city—aka taxpayers—ultimately will shell out when it comes to this issue.