FORA board's second vote on Preston Park delayed as lawsuit with Marina continues.

The Fort Ord Reuse Authority board was unable to take a second vote today on a resolution that gives FORA the right sell the Preston Park development—an action being legally contested by the city of Marina. As today’s board meeting came to a close, FORA staff were instructed to schedule a special meeting for the vote to take place.

The resolution was already passed by the FORA board at a May 30 meeting, with FORA board members Frank O’Connell and Gail Morton, both Marina City Council Members, voting against it. But because the vote was not unanimous, the resolution was to be voted on a second time (as required by state law) at today's board meeting. The resolution can pass on the second vote with a simple majority.

FORA took out a $19 million loan on Preston Park with Rabobank in 2010, and on June 10 were given a six month extension to repay the remaining $18 million in principal, which had been due June 15.

The resolution states that selling Preston Park is necessary to meet $25 million in mandated capital improvements, language that’s somewhat deceiving: That number includes the remaining loan principal, money that was used to fund such improvements in the past. While a sale of Preston Park is expected to net FORA around $35 million, FORA executive director Michael Houlemard says the resolution’s estimate of $25 million was intentionally low.

“It’s better to be conservative when making analysis,” Houlemard says.

FORA has borrowed against Preston Park four times over the last dozen years (some of the current loan went to pay off previous loans), freeing up funds for projects such as constructing Imjin Parkway and General Jim Moore Blvd, and preparing land for development at Dunes on Monterey Bay.

Houlemard insists Marina itself will be a primary beneficiary of the sale, and that apart from the loan repayment, he says the funds gained from a Preston Park sale will be used to remove decaying former military buildings like the stockade Marina and the “Surplus Two” in Seaside. To date, FORA has spent about $35 million removing decrepit former military buildings in Marina.

In 2012, Marina filed a suit against FORA in Monterey County Superior Court over Preston Park, alleging the city is entitled to the land at a “no cost conveyance.” The case remains in litigation, and while the next hearing is expected to take place next fall, no date has been set.