By George Fallar 
ANOTHER CITY COUNCIL MEETING IN GLENDALE?!?
Seriously, just when you thought the only problems you had to worry about as a Coyotes fan related to subpar on-ice performance and who will be the draft pick.
Nope, Glendale is considering voiding their contract with IceArizona, they’ll be voting to push it forward tonight (June 10) at a special City Council meeting at 6pm City Hall, 5850 W Glendale Ave, Glendale.
Whether you show up or not, the vote will be 6-0 with CM Gary Sherwood absent on other business. Well, maybe 5-1 or, at best, 4-2 but you get the point.
There’s no way Weiers and Hugh would let this meeting happen unless they had the necessary votes to have the end result go their way.
Apparently, at the long awaited meeting at City Hall with Barroway, the City asked if it was possible to renegotiate the arena management deal. IceArizona said something like “Are you kidding?” and the City moved to kill the deal anyway.
Speak Up
If you would like to get up and speak, you’d have to complete a “speaker card” before the meeting. Even if you chicken out later, it never hurts to complete one of the cards in case you have something to add.
Glendale’s Case
The city is alleging that the former Glendale City Attorney, Craig Tindall, is now working for the Coyotes. So, the clause in the contract cites AZ law regarding potential conflicts of interest for people that had substantive input into the construction of the deal.
Glendale’s problem? Tindall wasn’t working for the City at the time, except on a limited consultancy basis. He was certainly not instrumental in crafting the deal, and thus not restrained from working with the Coyotes afterwards.
The timelines are easy to follow and document from the Glendale web site, any one of the councilmembers could have spent an hour to find out Tindall is a non-starter as far as voiding the deal.
What Happened When
If people remember the “request for proposals” (RFP) fiasco, where arena management went out for open bidding, the deadline for RFPs was EXTENDED on April 13, nearly two weeks after Tindall resigned. The real problem is one of those eventual “bids” was one that Ian Hugh espoused (and continues to espouse), so he’s been gunning for a chance to kill the existing deal ever since he won his council seat.
Seriously, remember Darrin Pastor? His bid was rejected by the NHL on May 13, nearly SIX WEEKS after Tindall resigned. Remember the NHL wouldn’t even let ANYBODY talk to Glendale until THEY selected the group they wanted to get the Coyotes? Remember? I do.
Renaissance Sports and Entertainment wasn’t even given the go ahead to BID on the Coyotes until well after Craig Tindall was gone. Yet, the City wants to use his “conflict of interest” to renege on their existing deal.
The Coyotes attorneys will eat them for breakfast.
But, if you wanted to show up at the council meeting tonight and mention the timeline, it wouldn’t hurt.
AZ State Bar Dismissed This Already
Phil Lieberman filed a complaint with the bar association in November of 2013, alleging an ethics violation by Craig Tindall when he accepted the job with the Coyotes while the City was still paying him a severance stipend.
The AZ STate Bar checked it out for eight months and decided there was no merit to the argument.
Click here for the story.
Yet, Glendale now wants to resurrect essentially the same allegation so they can renege on their deal, or “renegotiate” as they stated this morning.
What’s The Alternative?
Years ago, the now dismissed Interim City Manager was tasked with coming up with a “Coyotes versus No Coyotes” financial scenario for the City to be able to make an intelligent decision on whether to vote for a couple arena management agreements.
Beasley’s work was flawed, but at least existed.
Has the new City Council done such a study now with the new revenue numbers? Have they considered the new bond ratings and the effect on their current financing overhead?
Has the new City Council done ANY real work on the financial difference if the Coyotes are evicted?
Ask them tonight, I’m curious what their answer will be.