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FBI eyes Atherton and county, sources say By Renee Batti Almanac News Editor
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he FBI is interviewing Atherton residents and others about town matters, according to a former employee who said he was interviewed recently. But the federal law enforcement agency’s interest apparently goes beyond the town’s borders, according to another person who was interviewed and who contacted The Almanac. Former finance director John Johns said he was interviewed in late January by an agent in the San Francisco office of the FBI.
Mr. Johns, who successfully sued the town for wrongful termination and has a complaint filed against the police department for alleged evidence tampering and falsification of a police report, said the agent didn’t share information with him about the scale and scope of the investigation. “It would be prudent for me to not convey to you what I conveyed to them,” he said. He added, however, that he was asked about his own experiences with the town, and that he spoke to the agent about “the conduct of both elected and appointed
officials.” “And they seemed to be very interested in what I said,” Mr. Johns told The Almanac. “The FBI took very good notes.” Mr. Johns said he felt free to acknowledge that the interview occurred because he was not asked by the agency not to talk about it. A reliable source who also was interviewed by two FBI agents and who contacted The Almanac said the agents’ interests extended to “a number of people who work for the county.” The person spoke on condition of anonymity.
An Atherton resident who did not wish to be identified acknowledged that he, too, had been interviewed about his experiences with the town. Julianne Sohn, a spokeswoman with the San Francisco office of the FBI, said that as a matter of policy she could not confirm or deny that an investigation is taking place. Mayor Jim Dobbie said he knows nothing about an FBI investigation of town matters, nor does anyone he has spoken to. “But that doesn’t mean it’s not happening,” he added. Councilwoman Kathy McKei-
then, who has publicly criticized the town for not hiring neutral outside investigators when public officials are accused of possible wrongdoing, did not return The Almanac’s phone calls seeking comment for this story. Town turmoil
The town has been the target of numerous complaints and accusations of wrongdoing that go back even before the 2007 firing of John Johns. Those complaints have involved the town’s police department, building departSee FBI, page 8
Menlo Park says it will reach out before poisoning again
82 heritage trees on chopping block
By Sandy Brundage
■ Sharon Heights Country Club wants them gone.
Almanac Staff Writer
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ere’s a recipe for sparking outrage in Menlo Park: Poison ground squirrels without telling the public. The city has now decided that’s not a recipe it wants to try again. According to Deputy City Manager Kent Steffens, in an e-mail to one of many residents upset about the covert poisoning of squirrels at Bedwell Bayfront Park last August, “The City has received negative feedback from numerous residents and Park visitors regarding the lack of public outreach prior to hiring a contractor. The City is committed to correct this should any similar activities be performed in the future.” The contractor, Animal Damage Management Inc., used chlorophacinone bait to kill the squirrels. A report filed with San Mateo County indicates the contractor applied 30 pounds of the poison at the park, although neither the city nor the contractor would confirm that. County agricultural commissioner Fred Crowder said
the bait’s toxicity is considered relatively low. Since the label didn’t indicate a need to prevent anyone from entering the area of application for at least 24 hours, he said, state and federal law didn’t require Menlo Park to post warning signs. “The city, having responsibility for the park, may adopt an in-house policy as to posting when pesticides are used, but this would be self-enforced,” Mr. Crowder explained. That may or may not help residents feel safer about the risks to their pets and children. Mary Paglieri, founder of the Little Blue Society, a consulting group that says it specializes in ecologically sound, humane methods of animal population control, called the city’s behavior appalling. She pointed out that many species eat ground squirrels as food. “The toxicity of chlorophacinone may be slightly lower than other compounds, but when predators consume multiple squirrels that have been poisoned over a period of time, they will die from secondary
By Sandy Brundage Almanac Staff Writer
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eople living near the Sharon Heights Golf and Country Club at 2900 Sand Hill Road will soon see a letter from the city sitting in their mailbox. Menlo Park is contacting anyone who lives near the club about its request to cut down 82 heritage trees, of which 79 are coastal redwoods. The city will accept public comment until Monday, Feb. 28, before staff makes a recommendation City of Menlo Park regarding the proposal, accord- This picture shows some of the 82 heritage trees earmarked for ing to Rebecca Fotu, envi- removal at the Sharon Heights Golf and Country Club. ronmental programs manager. The city also contacted those economically, Mr. Edwards tage trees at the club. Most of subscribed to the city’s heritage wrote, the trees were planted the approximately 1,470 trees on tree e-mail list and the environ- too close together to thrive. site are coastal redwoods; chopmental quality commissioners. The country club wants to ping down 82 would remove Arborist Straun Edwards of plant 172 replacement trees about 6 percent of the total Trees 360 Degrees inspected of mixed variety, including trees. Information about what the heritage trees slated for Pacific dogwood and flower- phase two would do was not yet removal and concluded that 75 ing purple leaf plum. available. percent are either hazardous or According to the city, the Visit tinyurl.com/5rjaomd to unhealthy. In addition to poten- request is the first phase of a review the proposal and associtially hurting the golf course two-phase plan to remove heri- ated reports. A
See SQUIRRELS, page 8
City tries to counter state plan to kill redevelopment agencies By Sandy Brundage Almanac Staff Writer
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mergency legislation proposed by Governor Jerry Brown to stop redevelopment agencies from tying up local funds in new projects inspired a fast response from Menlo Park. The
city’s next step in the chess game between state and city over redevelopment assets was to create new funding agreements and a housing authority to tie up the agency’s assets before the emergency bill could pass in March. Although state Proposition 22,
which passed with 60.7 percent voter approval in November, made it unconstitutional for the state to take money from local funds such as redevelopment revenue, the state now appears to be saying that if there’s no redevelopment agency, there’s no revenue for a city to pro-
tect. Approved unanimously by the City Council on Feb. 8, the new agreements cover public improvements, housing, and blight remediation activities. City Attorney Bill McClure said the agreements don’t commit the council to approve any
project on the capital improvement list, but instead makes those projects eligible for funding. Likewise, the council would still need to approve any contracts worth more than $50,000 for projects that have See RDA, page 8
February 16, 2011 N The Almanac N 5