The council members were to enter the adjacent parking garage and walk to the meeting place through a door connecting to the building and invisible from the street. They were given pass cards, which Councilman Dale Fritchen pulled out on his way in:

To protect the candidates’ identities, the administration had them park their cars at an outside location so that their vehicles could not be identified, then shuttled them in one by one. 

Debbie Shipp, a supervising human resources analyst, drove out of the parking garage to collect the first candidate at about 9:10 a.m. Chris Zapata, city manager of National City, was waiting for her at the Lexington Plaza Waterfront Hotel:

The second candidate made it in without being identified. On the way out, he hid his face:

The third candidate, former Fresno City Manager Andy Souza, was picked up by Eric Middleton of Alliance Resource Consulting LLC, the company conducting the recruitment. Middleton drove Souza past the front door. He kept going when the camera came out:

He came around again, dropping Souza at a side door:

Souza was cordial, even friendly about it (Souza is what people in the industry call “in transition” so there was no council back home for him to hide from, and no covering his face).

More photos and a wrap to follow.

According to the sponsorship deal, B.A.S.S., among other things, is to:

Design, purchase and distribute to each worker supplied by Host an “official” cap with emblem.

Provide representative of Host an opportunity to welcome anglers at briefing/ registration.

Provide an opportunity for Host to distribute material to anglers regarding the destination and local businesses.

Include mention(s) and graphic(s) of the Tournament site during the television program thereof.

B.A.S.S. is to make:

One (1) local sponsor mention on site during weigh-in each day of the four (4) day tournament (four (4) total).

Five (5) mentions of Host destination during the television program of the Tournament.

The city, in return, is required to be a good host. It is to help secure discounted and complimentary hotel rooms; provide secure parking and overnight security at the weigh-in; install two telephone lines and one DSL lane; and provide electric and water hook ups.

It is also to provide “a large dumpster and assistance with daily clean up,” and it is to deliver ice to the weigh-in.

Finally, the city is to have “an expo, festival or carnival in conjunction with the weigh-in, held on Saturday and Sunday of the Tournament. This event should be complimentary for the public to attend and should highlight the local community’s flavor,” according to the contract.

District 1: Elbert Holman Jr. and Xochitl Paderes
District 3: Paul Canepa and Arthur Murrillo
District 5: Susan Eggman and Ralph Lee White

A panel of staffers also is to interview the candidates. It is unclear when or where on Sunday the panel interviews are to be done.

Anyone hoping for a return of Gus Vina to Stockton as city manager (some people at City Hall were crossing their fingers) saw him take over as interim city manager of Sacramento on Wednesday instead. He worked in Stockton for a decade, including in the city manager’s office, before leaving for Sacramento in the late 1990s.

Community Development Director Michael Niblock is taking questions from City Council members. When that is done, the council is to talk about its upcoming town hall meetings. And then the meeting is to be over.

The blog is done first. Goodnight.

Community Development Director Michael Niblock is up. He is talking about the possibility of requiring a general fund subsidy in community development for non-fee related tasks, such as medical marijuana, the state hospital and annexation concerns.

Niblock is proposing $1.2 million in reductions, including nine layoffs. Last year staff was reduced by 52 percent, he said. Adding these reductions will bring the department to a 63 percent reduction over 2009 levels. Such a reduction will reduce services in building, plan check and inspections, among other services.

He said staff losses could render the city unable to deal with planning when the economy recovers.

“I’m concerned that we will not be prepared to handle that,” Niblock  said.