Logosm.gif (1927 bytes)
navlinks.gif (4688 bytes)
Hruler04.gif (5511 bytes)

Back to Department of Parks and Recreation main page

Attorney General Peter Nickles 
Letter to Councilmembers Phil Mendelson, Kwame Brown, Harry Thomas, Jr., and Michael Brown
Refusing to attend council hearing on the District's settlement with Banneker Ventures

July 9, 2010

Home

Bibliography

Calendar

Columns
Dorothy Brizill
Bonnie Cain
Jim Dougherty
Gary Imhoff
Phil Mendelson
Mark David Richards
Sandra Seegars

DCPSWatch

DCWatch Archives
Council Period 12
Council Period 13
Council Period 14

Election 1998
Election 2000
Election 2002

Elections
Election 2004
Election 2006

Government and People
ANC's
Anacostia Waterfront Corporation
Auditor
Boards and Com
BusRegRefCom
Campaign Finance
Chief Financial Officer
Chief Management Officer
City Council
Congress
Control Board
Corporation Counsel
Courts
DC2000
DC Agenda
Elections and Ethics
Fire Department
FOI Officers
Inspector General
Health
Housing and Community Dev.
Human Services
Legislation
Mayor's Office
Mental Health
Motor Vehicles
Neighborhood Action
National Capital Revitalization Corp.
Planning and Econ. Dev.
Planning, Office of
Police Department
Property Management
Public Advocate
Public Libraries
Public Schools
Public Service Commission
Public Works
Regional Mobility Panel
Sports and Entertainment Com.
Taxi Commission
Telephone Directory
University of DC
Water and Sewer Administration
Youth Rehabilitation Services
Zoning Commission

Issues in DC Politics

Budget issues
DC Flag
DC General, PBC
Gun issues
Health issues
Housing initiatives
Mayor’s mansion
Public Benefit Corporation
Regional Mobility
Reservation 13
Tax Rev Comm
Term limits repeal
Voting rights, statehood
Williams’s Fundraising Scandals

Links

Organizations
Appleseed Center
Cardozo Shaw Neigh.Assoc.
Committee of 100
Fed of Citizens Assocs
League of Women Voters
Parents United
Shaw Coalition

Photos

Search

What Is DCWatch?

themail archives

Government of the District of Columbia
Office of the Attorney General
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 409, Washington, D.C. 20004, (202) 724-1301, Fax (202) 741-0580

July 9, 2010

The Honorable Phil Mendelson
Chair, Public Safety & the Judiciary

The Honorable Harry Thomas, Jr.
Chair, Libraries, Parks & Recreation

The Honorable Mary M. Cheh
Chair, Government Operations & the Environment

The Honorable Michael A. Brown
Chair, Housing and Workforce Development

Council of the District of Columbia
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004

Re: Joint Public Oversight Roundtable: Settlement Agreement with Banneker Ventures, LLC

Dear Chairpersons K. Brown, M. Brown, Cheh, Mendelson, and Thomas:

This responds to your July 8, 2010 letter, in which you request that I appear today at the joing public oversight roundtable of your respective committees to answer questions about the settlement agreement with Bennker Ventures, LLC.

As you anticipated in your letter, I am currently out of town. I will not, therefore, be appearing at the roundtable. Furthermore, because I negotiated the agreement — and without involvement by the Executive Office of the Mayor — I will not be sending “the individual responsible for negotiating the agreement and signing the agreement” on my behalf.

That said, I will note here a number of points about the settlement itself. First the fact that a settlement was even being negotiated was no secret. Indeed, in a June 8 letter to Mr. Trout, I advised him that negotiations were then “ongoing” and that I would apprise him when any agreement was reached. I did just that on July 7, when I sent him a copy of the executed agreement.

Second, while any possible fraud or illegality underlying Contract No. 2009-05 was not my focus during the negotiations, I saw no evidence of it. Had I done so, the negotiations would have ended immediately. Furthermore, if, through the Council's investigation or otherwise, it is determined that there was some form of wrongdoing, the settlement will not prevent appropriate action to redress it.

Lastly, but more importantly, the settlement is fair and, as such, is in the best interests of the District of Columbia. For example, the proceeds will be used to pay the outstanding claims of third-party service providers whose work contributed to the overall success of the various DPR projects. Satisfying those claims will avoid the possibility of future litigation against the District.

Collectively speaking, the documents related to the settlement are the best evidence of its value. Mr. Trout has requested copies of the documents, and, in a letter to him yesterday, I agreed to produce them as soon as possible, despite bona fide considerations of confidentiality. I suggest, then, in the interests of having a more constructive dialogue about the settlement agreement, that you postpone the roundtable until after Mr. Trout has had the opportunity to review the documents.

Sincerely,

Peter J. Nickles
Attorney General for the District of Columbia

cc: The Honorable Vincent Gray
The Honorable Jack Evans
The Honorable David A. Catania
The Honorable Muriel Bowser
The Honorable Tommy Wells
The Honorable Yvette M. Alexander
The Honorable Jim Graham
The Honorable Marion Barry
Robert P. Trout, Esq.

Back to top of page


Send mail with questions or comments to webmaster@dcwatch.com
Web site copyright ©DCWatch (ISSN 1546-4296)