UPDATED: Councilman Lashes Out at Mayor, Blasts Emergency Meeting to Sell $40 Million in Land to Gold Line

Councilman Tom Adams fired off a scathing letter Monday night to the City Council protesting an emergency meeting to sell off nearly $40 million in land to the Gold Line Construction Authority (GLCA) while taking aim at the mayor in the process.

The city's redevelopment agency gave notice of the Tuesday meeting on Monday afternoon and intends to sell the land that would be part of the project to shield it from being taken away by the state under Gov. Jerry Brown's .

But Adams, who cannot attend the special meeting because of a previous engagement, said in a letter that the decision to sell the land to the Gold Line should not be made abruptly.

"I know we are told there is danger, danger that the state could take this land and block the Gold Line from coming," Adams said. "I would rather risk what the state could do than rush this through in an off cycle meeting at an inconvenient time that seems to be less than transparent."

For the first time, Adams publicly expressed dismay about locating a maintenance yard in Monrovia that is , pointing out that selling the land to the GLCA would prevent Monrovia from ever collecting tax revenue from the property again.

"My objection is not about the placement of the yard but at what cost?" Adams wrote. "Every city along the Gold Line will benefit from the yard yet we are the only ones taking a loss from the transfer of our land to the Gold Line, which is wrong."

Adams singled out Mayor Mary Ann Lutz in his broadside, writing that he repeatedly asked her to reach out to surrounding communities to help defray the cost of the maintenance yard.

"It is wrong because our mayor never asked, or at least there is no evidence that the mayor asked and it is wrong because the people of Monrovia will be taking the economic hit for this decision," Adams wrote.

Patch did not attempt to contact Lutz in the early morning hours Tuesday but she said Tuesday afternoon that she would prefer to comment on the matter at the special redevelopment meeting.

"I prefer to do city business ... in public," Lutz said.

She said she would have a statement about Adams' remarks in writing after the meeting.

The letter represented a marked shift in the dealings of the City Council, which have for years been characterized by a spirit of close cooperation. Dissenting votes amongst council members are a rarity, and a public letter rebuking the mayor is especially uncommon.

A rift between Adams and Lutz first became public in February, when the councilman that a new city logo was unveiled during the mayor's State of the City speech without the final approval of the council.

Adams referenced the incident in his letter sent Monday, saying that Lutz's in January that a preliminary deal with Gold Line officials had been reached may have undermined future negotiations.

"This is beginning to look a little like the city logo, the mayor knows what the council approves before the council has an opportunity to approve it," Adams wrote.

The letter also comes just weeks before the city's April 12 municipal elections, when Adams hopes to win reelection. He is running against Councilwoman Becky Shevlin and newcomers Jason Cosylion and Chris Ziegler for two open council seats. Lutz is running for reelection unopposed.

Adams asked that City Manager Scott Ochoa or another council member read his letter during Tuesday's special meeting.

Check Patch later today for more on this story.