Easelgate Update, Aug. 2
Editorial staff

When community activist Lisa De Paul-Snyder began investigating the city’s easel escapade on April 22, she wasn’t just fishing. The huge pile of easels she saw trashed on city property pointed to an obvious waste of tax dollars. From the beginning of Easelgate, the official response from city administrator Keith Rattay has made no sense.

De Paul-Snyder and other activists have been reviewing approximately 2,000 pages of public documents from the files of city contractor Jamey Clark, who built the easels.

After residents thought they had heard it all, Rattay surprised everyone with his June 18 statement that “150 volunteers donated 800 hours” building the easels for the city’s 20th anniversary photo display. His remark first appeared in a memo to City Manager Dennis Wilberg, and he was quoted in the July 9 issue of Saddleback Valley News. Rattay’s claim was immediately challenged by activists.

To reveal Rattay’s whopper about volunteer work, this week’s Easelgate Update centers on how many of the 500 easels were built by Clark at $45/hr. Documents the city released to De Paul-Snyder show that the city paid Clark for building all 500. Where does that leave Rattay’s claim about 800 hours of volunteer help? The following information is from Clark’s invoices to the city. Clark refers to easels as “frames.”

• January 18: cut wood as per bid for picture frames, $3,780.00
• February 1: cut wood for art frames and pre-drill holes in 350 and 200,
   $1,035.00
• February 5: assemble 60 frames, $308.00
• February 8: pre-drill holes for 69 frames; assemble 101 art frames,
  $675.00
• February 14: assemble 130 frames, $720.00
• February 29: cut and assemble 210 frames; cover with tarps, $1,517.00

A summary of Clark’s easel-related activity through February 29 accounts for assembling 501 “frames” (easels) – more than 100 percent, but who’s counting? Wait – there’s more.

• March 7, paint 45 frames; cut, assemble and paint 90 frames; assemble and paint 12 frames, $1,035.00
• March 18: assemble [no number given]; mount on boards, secure and level, $877.50

According to invoices, Clark had assembled more than 600 frames (easels) by March 18, and the clock was still running.

• March 18: paint 169 frames, $1,350
• March 20: paint [number of frames/easels not given], $5,205.00
• March 25: reinforce all 540 frames, repair five frames and staple,
  $462.00 and $46.94
• March 27: assemble boxes [are these the 8-foot-tall signboards?],
   $298.00
• March 27: set up and stake flags and picture stands [are these “stands” easels?], $885.00
• March 27: pick up boxes, paint, assemble/install boxes, $231.00
• March 28: assemble boxes, $2,545.00
• March 29: assemble boxes, $231.00
• March 29: provide labor support for event, $2,730.00

In case anyone is trying to add up the cost, don’t bother. Amounts listed above are the tip of the iceberg in this taxpayer-funded fiasco.

As a separate problem for Rattay (beyond his story about 150 volunteers), he attempted to count the “large easels” or banner boxes in with the 500-plus for the photo gallery, possibly to confuse anyone trying to tabulate the cost. But activists discovered that the large easels had been built and paid for – probably long before November 2007, and Clark refurbished them for use in the 2007 Veterans Day event. Clark’s fee for refurbishing 75 “banner boxes” in November 2007 was $7,415.00 – more than $100 each just for repairing and touching up paint.

One discovery leads to another, but the purpose of the numbers above is primarily to demonstrate that Rattay’s claim of engaging volunteers in easel construction was a hoax. As for what else happened, the allegations get a lot worse – and that's coming.

Keep in mind that the city manager gave reporter Lindsey Baguio of SVN a list of 30 residents to “provide balanced input” against unfavorable articles about city hall. It will be interesting to see how many from the list of “The 30 Most Confused Residents in Mission Viejo” will want to comment.