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Previously:

• Crescent City Harbor Officials Decline On-Site Development's Request to Present Their Vision For Redeveloping Bayside, Redwood Harbor Village RV Parks

• Another Company Makes Pitch to Crescent City Harbor Over Its RV Parks, Says Plan Includes the Long-Term Residents

• Harbor District Explores Partnership With Renewable Energy Firm That Extends Beyond Electricity

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Though she accepted the Crescent City Harbor District’s decision not to hear her firm’s presentation, Kay Fry, project manager of On-Site Development, stood by her statement that port officials could withdraw from negotiations with Alex Lemus and Renewable Energy Capital.

Fry had hoped to give a presentation on a redevelopment project for Bayside and Redwood Harbor RV Parks — offering an alternative to Lemus and REC — instead she responded to a rumor that the company she works for did not participate in a $22 million hotel restoration in Nashville, Tenn.

“It’s come to our attention that erroneous information has been disseminated regarding the beautiful work that was completed for a hotel renovation in Nashville, Tenn. by my uncle Jim Fry,” she told commissioners. “We just want to the record to be clear that Jim Fry was 100 percent responsible for all of the construction on that project.”

Fry spoke during the Harbor District Board of Commissioners’ public comment period on Tuesday after another member of the public, Leonard Franklin, had to be escorted from the room after he called Harbormaster Tim Petrick a liar.

Franklin referred to an email Petrick sent to county resident Linda Sutter concerning On-Site Development and the Nashville hotel project. According to Franklin, Petrick told Sutter that he had spoken with the hotel project developers and they told him they had never heard of On-Site Developers or its founder Jim Fry.

In an email to the Wild Rivers Outpost on Wednesday, Petrick said an email request Fry had sent to the Crescent City Harbor District last week, formally asking to give a presentation to the Board on Tuesday, had included pictures of Union Station Hotel in Nashville.

“The owner and developer of the property is Southwest Value Partners and as part of my due diligence, I called them and asked about On-Site Development and Jim Fry. I was told they did not know either the company nor the man,” Petrick told the Outpost. “This is NOT (sic) something I was trying to share with the public because I don’t want to give that young lady a reputation of misrepresentation when she’s trying to start off in the business.”

Kay Fry had initially approached the Harbor District at its March 15 meeting, saying that she and her uncle, Jim Fry, had developed a revitalization plan for the RV parks that included its long-term tenants.

Despite assurances to the contrary from harbor officials, several RV park residents have said they are worried they will be evicted to make way for Lemus’s project, which is meant to make the parks attractive to overnight visitors.

Before launching into public comment on Tuesday, Harbor District Board President Rick Shepherd, reading a statement from the district’s attorney, said he and his colleagues acted on advice of their attorney when they decided against hearing Kay Fry’s presentation.

“The district engaged in a public RFP process many months ago to work on these properties,” Shepherd said, referring to a request for proposals Lemus answered in December 2020 to revitalize the two RV parks. “This company, district staff and counsel are in the process of completing negotiations and it would be inappropriate to entertain other offers at this point.”

Shepherd also said he was striking two items Tuesday’s agenda — ground lease agreements with Lemus for the two RV parks. Shepherd said there were “a couple things we need to discuss” before the commission votes on the leases.

According to Petrick, the harbor district’s acceptance of Lemus’s proposal in December 2020 gave Lemus exclusive negotiating rights. Petrick said negotiations would have been finished a long time ago, but commissioners often send him back to the “drawing board in negotiations” in an effort to answer the public’s questions and concerns and to be transparent.

“We’ve been very close to a deal for a couple of months. Questions and concerns have been raised by the public over the last year, generally because they don’t have information about the process,” Petrick told the Outpost, adding that negotiations are private. “The terms of the deal have been set for awhile and we have just been working out the language.”

On Tuesday, Fry said she spoke with her company’s attorneys who stated that nothing in the RFP indicated that it would have prevented the Harbor District from withdrawing from negotiations with Lemus.

Fry referred to Page 7 in the RFP — which states “the selected developer will enter into an exclusive right to negotiate” as well as Page 12, which states “the receipt of proposals or other documents at any stage of the RFP process will in no way obligate the Harbor District to enter into any contract of any kind with any party.”

“What was awarded to Mr. Lemus was the exclusive right to negotiate, not the promise of a contract,” Fry said. “This is the only reason we attempted to give you a proposal in the first place. We believe the tenants should be allowed to stay where they are. We care about the tenants. We have local ties. That’s why we tried to do this for you.”

In his email to the Outpost, Petrick said he stood by his statements denying Fry’s presentation placement on the Harbor District’s agenda.

“Our legal counsel advised us that it would not be beneficial and we will defer to our legal counsel on this one,” he said.

Documents:

• CCHD Land Development Request for Proposals

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