Stanislaus County supervisors unanimously authorized two lawsuits in closed session Tuesday, including suing the Gallo Arts Center's builder because the downtown Modesto facility leaks when it rains.
Cracks between concrete blocks on the center's sides apparently formed because they had not cured properly and shrunk, said Joan Cox, an Oakland attorney helping the county on the case. The county spent $25,000 applying temporary sealant and expects to shell out at least $100,000 on a permanent repair, she said.
County Counsel John Doering said a lawsuit will bring the builder's insurance carrier, and those of subcontractors, to the negotiating table. "We'll all sit down and work it out," Doering said.
County leaders agreed three years ago to pay $500,000 to settle a previous dispute brought by the Sacramento-based builder, Clark & Sullivan. The company sought millions in a lawsuit, saying the county provided conflicting designs and caused costly delays.
The elegant performing arts center opened in 2007. The county owns the building and contributed $15.2 million, while the nonprofit Central Valley Center for the Arts paid $23.8 million toward the total $55 million cost.
Mental health lawsuit
Also Tuesday, supervisors agreed to join about a dozen other counties protesting new state mental health policies that could cost Stanislaus County millions of dollars, officials say.
The state has covered medical costs for mental health patients in some lockups, but recently passed responsibility to counties without hearings or notice, Doering said.
Stanislaus County pays about $3.8 million each year for mental health treatment of such patients; currently there are 39. Assuming responsibility for their medical treatment could add millions of dollars, said Adrian Carroll, associate director of Behavioral Health and Recovery Services.
The county joins Tuolumne, Orange, Sacramento and others in an upcoming lawsuit. Those considering joining include Merced and Los Angeles counties.
Supervisors unanimous
In other action Tuesday, supervisors unanimously:
• Approved a tax-sharing agreement with Modesto, enabling eventual annexation of the Shackelford neighborhood off Crows Landing Road in south Modesto. The county and city would split $250,400 in property tax generated by about 1,500 people on 153 acres. The county extended sewer services in 2004, costing $9 million, and city voters agreed to the annexation.
• Agreed to assume housing components of the county's former redevelopment agency, which dissolved at midnight under orders from state leaders and the California Supreme Court.
Supervisors had agreed Jan. 10 to become a successor agency for other redevelopment functions, including paying off bonds for sewers and storm drains in various unincorporated towns. They've spent $80 million in 20 years, planning director Kirk Ford said.
Officials excluded plans for sewers in Modesto's unincorporated airport and Parklawn neighborhoods from a list of ongoing obligations. Doering said the county would not argue if state officials want to restore those projects, worth $36.2 million, to the county's to-do list.
• Restored a clerking position in the county's Health Services Agency.
Bee staff writer Garth Stapley can be reached at gstapley@modbee.com or (209) 578-2390.
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