NO COMMENT… Squid enjoys trading sea snail mail for fun, but only uses it for work if Squid can’t get a response any other way. That’s how Squid’s colleague tried to reach the management at Pacifica Senior Living, the San Diego-based company that owns Pacific Grove Senior Living, to no avail. The company came under fire in a report produced at the request of the California Attorney General, which found a series of failures. The Weekly couldn’t get a response by phone, email or snail mail.
But Squid still wanted to know what Pacifica had to say about the findings, so Squid oozed over to a meeting at PGSL on May 15. After an hour’s worth of updates to a roomful of residents about things like menus and landscaping, Pacifica VP Beau Ayers finally acknowledged the elephant in the room: the scathing report. “I am not here to go through it line by line,” he said. “There are things that were disputed and refuted within this report.” A resident asked: “Can you specify what things?” Instead of a specific response, Ayers said: “The majority of it.” The crowd laughed.
He took some heat from residents for the company’s marketing, which portrays the retirement community as high-end. Speaking to a small group afterward, Ayers said that’s just how marketing goes: “Everyone says they’re the best.”
Squid asked for a copy of the company’s response to the AG, but got nothing. Squid can only imagine what it might say: “We think we’re the best.”
CODE BREAKERS… Squid has done Squid’s best to follow the Golden Rule as taught by Granny Squid – Squid would hope everyone would do the same, but that’s not the case. Hence why we have rules, laws and, sometimes, codes of conduct. On May 15, Pacific Grove City Council considered updating its own code to allow censure of councilmembers for violations – but in the end it was left toothless.
To be fair, the proposal brought by Councilmember Joe Amelio had issues: It included no process for how to perform a censure. Amelio offered to bring back an amended version, but was rebuffed.
While the proposal focused on policing behavior, opponents talked as if it was about silencing others. Councilmember Luke Coletti (whose behavior has come under scrutiny in the last two years, still discussed in closed-session meetings) said a recent surge in censures in other cities “reflects a quasi-religious obsession with policing expression and tone.” Without naming names, he scolded Amelio and his lone supporter, Councilmember Chaps Poduri, saying: “This whole thing, going to war, it’s over, OK. We did it, it’s done with, time to move on.”
Mayor Bill Peake said including censure would be a “tyranny of the majority.” Minutes later, a majority voted down the proposed code of conduct, 4-2.
(5) comments
Councilmembers Ingram and Coletti, thank you for adding to the discussion, including the YouTube links.
Many of the public comments at our 5/15/2024 council meeting demonstrated a fundamental lack of understanding of our rules and law, which then lead to erroneous accusations against Council. For example, Colleen Ingram claimed that I violated the Code of Conduct by expressing my opinion at the April 11 Coastal Commission hearing regarding the proposed ATC Hotel Project. She specifically claims I violated the following provision:
2-K. Represent official policies or positions of the Council or Boards and Commissions when designated as delegates of a legislative body.
First, the City Council did not designate anyone as a “delegate.” Instead, I spoke on my own behalf. Here’s what I said:
“Good afternoon: My name is Luke Coletti, I am a Pacific Grove City Council Member. Two years ago I cast the no vote on this project. The City’s planning effort at that time willfully ignored Coastal staff’s input and repeated warnings. In short, it was a deeply flawed effort, which the Commission immediately appealed.”
“I appreciate Coastal staff’s current efforts, but like many, I still have concerns. To be specific, I have concerns with the Commission approving a very controversial and complex project based on concept drawings and not dimensioned plans.”
“Second, I have concerns with water supply. Staff recommends the activation of long-dormant water use, which has not been seen since 1994. This not only disregards an existing cease and desist order, issued by the state water board, it will also lead to community outrage - a community that still has to labor under the CDO while a luxury hotel gets a pass from the Coastal Commission.”
“The applicant’s apparent “hide the ball” strategy, in not revealing past water meter data, should not be rewarded. We need dimensioned plans and water meter data - thank you.”
Being identified as a Councilmember does not mean you are speaking on behalf of the entire City Council, it means you are speaking on your own behalf as an elected official with free speech rights. Under the First Amendment, “‘legislators “are given the widest latitude to express their views” and there are no “stricter ‘free speech’ standards on [them] than on the general public.’” (See Levy v. City of Santa Monica (2004).
Council member Coletti, do you think your "correction" puts you in a better light? You cannot blame your bad actions on the prior city manager. Having a new CM does not change your character, or your past violations of the code of conduct, many of which had nothing to do with the past CM. It is easy for YOU to say it's done with...time to move on. No.
My comments begin at 3h48m (see link to video below) and address everything that needs to be said regarding your alleged “violations.”
https://www.youtube.com/live/Dyocn72PGDE?si=zrpUIOv-gdrQeSeA&t=13680
https://www.youtube.com/live/Dyocn72PGDE?si=zrpUIOv-gdrQeSeA&t=13680
As a correction to this anonymous opinion piece, here’s what I really said: “We do have a new City Manager. We do have a new direction. Let’s get on board. Let’s get some things done for the public...This whole thing, going to war with each other, it’s over, OK. We did it, it's done with it. Time to move on!”
My comments begin at 3h48m (see link to video below):
https://www.youtube.com/live/Dyocn72PGDE?si=zrpUIOv-gdrQeSeA&t=13680
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