Local firm hired for city probe

WASILLA — A local law firm has been chosen to investigate the city’s dealings with a developer.

Wasilla City Council has initially given a green light to Denali Law Group to conduct an independent probe of the relationship between city officials and employees, and Meritage Development Group LLC, which is developing the Creekside retail complex off the Parks Highway. The council is expected to make the approval official at its next city council meeting Feb. 11.

Deputy Mayor Kristofer Larson said Denali’s proposal, which was the only completed bid received for the job, turned out “as good as I would have expected.” Larson said he hopes it’s just a matter of time before the city can move forward past the speculation and distrust caused by the controversy over whether the city has acted improperly in its dealings with Meritage.

“I hope they can deal with it quickly,” Larson said. “I don’t want it to get in the way of progress in Wasilla.”

If the council gives the final go-ahead Feb. 11, work on the investigation can begin the very next day, said Bill Miller, purchasing, contracting and information technology officer for Wasilla.

Denali Law Group’s bid calls for a maximum estimated cost of $24,000 for the probe.

Miller said seven firms picked up or downloaded the request for proposal, but Denali Law Group was the only firm that followed through with the whole process. In fact, at least one law firm reviewed the RFP on behalf of Meritage to make sure there wasn’t any mention of the company’s name in the document, which would have been illegal.

Although the city only received one completed proposal, Miller said that is common in the RFP process. While companies may show interest in the proposal process, not all will qualify or have time for the task. For example, one of the seven firms showed interest in the proposal, but wasn’t able to devote enough time to the project because of an active federal investigation.

With that in mind, Miller said having one proposal doesn’t create any problems — especially considering the experience of both of the firm’s partners, Richard Payne and Jon-Marc Petersen.

“It the council would not have been satisfied with their qualifications, we would have went back out with another solicitation — another RFP,” Larson said.

According to the firm’s proposal, Payne has more than five years’ experience as an assistant district attorney for the state — a position that has jurisdiction over 12 communities in Alaska. As an assistant district attorney, he gained extensive experience with criminal investigations.

In addition to prosecutorial experience, Payne served as an assistant municipal attorney for Anchorage for more than five years. In that position, Payne dealt with many legal matters, including those involving Anchorage Municipal Code, state statutes and constitutional provisions. Payne also dealt with other issues like ethics and conflict of interest that pertain to municipal employees and officials.

Petersen has a background in public safety and prosecution. As a former police officer for Chattanooga, Tenn., Petersen’s experience includes interviewing, evidence collection and document review. As a former prosecutor for the Alaska District Attorney’s Office, Petersen was responsible for various aspects of criminal investigations.

According to the city’s RFP, the firm will be responsible for an array of investigative tasks that include answering a set of specific questions outlined by the Wasilla City Council. The questions:

• Was there inappropriate behavior by city employees in their assistance with the development of the properties?

• If so, was said behavior unethical or misleading?

• Was the city secretly working with the developer to develop the properties?

• Were any policies, codes or statutes violated?

• Was there any wrongdoing or is this how city business is usually conducted?

• Was there unfair favoritism given to the developer over other businesses in the area?

• Was the mayor inappropriate in her letter of Aug. 24, 2007, to a local business partnership, or was she acting within her power?

Payne said the investigation will be handled in a fair, open and transparent manner.

“We are not on a witch hunt here,” he said. “We will conduct a neutral investigation.”

The firm plans to “look at every shred of paper” pertaining to the development. That includes both city and company documentation.

Although Payne said it will take some time to sort through all the paperwork, e-mails and other documentation, he is confident the firm will finish its investigation and report by the June 23 due date.

“I guarantee this investigation isn’t going to be as complicated as some of the murder investigations we’ve done,” he said.

Contact Chris Gillow at chris.gillow@frontiersman.com or 352-2284.