August 23, 2024
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WHCP: The city of Cambridge has set aside its lawsuit against Cambridge Waterfront Development Incorporated after the parties reached an agreement Aug 21 to allow cash-strapped CWDI to sell certain properties.
Mayor Steve Rideout declined to specify exact terms of the settlement.
Steve Rideout: “The lawsuit is finally settled and dismissed, and I’m pleased with that it’s a good result for everybody.”
WHCP: CWDI president Angie Hengst did not respond to a request to discuss the matter. CWDI secretary Frank Narr said he was not able to discuss the settlement at all and referred questions to the city.
The rift between city leaders and CWDI members developed last year, when the city manager at the time, Tom Carroll, issued a letter criticizing the private board’s determination to act as its own developer for Cambridge Harbor. Carroll called CWDI’s funding plans unrealistic, it’s furtive governance unacceptable, and its tax plan too heavily reliant on public money.
In May when CWDI moved to sell property to Yacht Maintenance Company without having met developer selection requirements, the city sued CWDI to freeze the sale. Shortly after, the city and CWDI agreed to enter into mediation to resolve the issues. Rideout said that mediation continues as Cambridge officials seek further resolutions.
SR: “The settlement of this case solved this immediate problem, but we still have to work on the relationship because this is a 25 year project, and we need to learn from the mistakes that existed before to find solutions so that the next councils and the next boards of CWDI can move forward collaboratively.”
WHCP: City officials said they also expect to have a hotel developer appear at the next city council meeting Monday, August 26, to present plans for a Cambridge Harbor Hotel. They are hoping for a big turnout of interested residents.
Sources told WHCP that the hotel developer had desired to present plans to the city, but was kept from doing so. CWDI had been promoting a different hotel development firm that CWDI was paying thousands of dollars.
CWDI, executive director Matt Leonard had promised an announcement of a hotel deal for nearly a year. That never happened. He was terminated earlier this month.
Under Leonard’s direction CWDI spent over $200,000 on legal fees and the organization said in its August meeting that it had run out of operating money. Narr said at the meeting that CWDI desperately needed the city to allow the sale of the Yacht Maintenance property to bring in cash. CWDI officials have said that they expect to sell the 2.5 acres of waterfront land for around $650,000.
Sources familiar with Wednesday’s settlement said the city required CWDI to agree that none of the property sales money can be used for lawsuits against the city.
I’m Jim Brady.
