Fresno Mayor Dyer can’t veto city’s purchase of Tower Theatre. ‘A judge will decide’
Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer penned a letter this week saying he won’t — and can’t — veto the city’s purchase agreement for the Tower Theatre.
The Fresno City Council last month approved a complicated purchase agreement for the property that includes the theater, Sequoia Brewery, and Me-n-Ed’s. The historic theater has been a flashpoint of controversy for more than a year after Adventure Church’s plans to purchase the building became public.
A sticking point in the purchase agreement was a clause that indemnifies Sequoia Brewery and the current Tower Theatre owner if the church takes legal action. That means the city will defend those entities along with itself in the case of a lawsuit. Adventure Church leaders and its attorney already said they plan to add the city to an existing lawsuit.
In his May 2 letter, Dyer said he shares the concerns over indemnification. The indemnification was one reason why Councilmembers Garry Bredefeld, Luis Chavez, and Mike Karbassi voted against the purchase agreement.
Many people asked Dyer to veto the purchase agreement, he wrote, but Fresno City Attorney Doug Sloan advised him the city’s charter does not give him that power over legal direction or contracts for which funding already was appropriated. Dyer could veto a related resolution approved by the Council that outlines how the property will be used. The resolution delegates that authority to the city manager.
Dyer, in his letter, said he thinks the policy, which makes the theater available for all uses and gives the city manager authority, is in the community’s best interest.
“Adventure Church has stated that they will request that the court intervene to stop the sale to the city,” the letter says. “Ultimately, it appears we are headed down that path and that a judge will decide whether the city’s actions are legal. I will respect whatever action the court eventually takes.
“However, as previously stated, under the city charter I don’t have a say in legal matters,” Dyer said.
