Responding to an inquiry Monday evening from an Auburn resident about the plodding pace of development in downtown Auburn compared to Kent Station, Mayor Pete Lewis was reciting some history when a bit of impromptu drama stole the show.

Just as Lewis reached the point in the narrative when the Cavanaugh family’s ill-fated Project Ace took the stage, Councilmember Virginia Haugen stood and headed for the exit.

Lewis and everybody else was caught off guard.

“Councilmember Haugen, are you coming back?” Lewis called out. “Councilmember Haugen … ?”

“No I won’t, your honor,” Haugen responded.

“Do you have a reason that you are leaving the meeting before it becomes excused or unexcused?” said Lewis.

“I don’t think I want to comment,” an agitated Haugen said and walked out.

The mystery continued Tuesday when Haugen left a note in the Mayor’s office informing him she wouldn’t be attending a meeting of the Law Enforcement Officers and Fire Fighters Disability (LEOFF) board that day because of legal concerns stemming from her unexplained departure the previous night.

The why of Haugen’s odd exit prompted collective head scratching and brow furrowing.

“I can’t figure it out,” Lewis said. “We have all been puzzled, trying to get an answer to what’s going on. We had no idea she intended to walk out, and we have had no communication since. I wouldn’t have stopped her if she wanted to say anything. I tried to give her the opportunity to respond, but she didn’t avail herself of it.

“… It’s really the oddest thing I have seen in a long time,” Lewis added.

As Haugen explained to the Auburn Reporter on Wednesday, she left because she believed Lewis was not being truthful when he described Project Ace as a development stemming from a private agreement between the Cavanaugh family and its development partner, Ben Errez. Project Ace, directly southeast of City Hall, was to include a five-story Ramada Inn and waterpark, condominiums, retail space and a historical hardware store, but it foundered owing to financial problems. All that was ever built was a two-story parking garage. Its failure ultimately cost the Cavanaugh’s their 114-year-old business, which closed in April.

Haugen alleges that the city was involved in Project Ace to a greater degree than the mayor has been willing to admit – that in effect it was a partner. She cited an agreement dating to August of 2005 between the city and Project Ace principals, signed by Lewis, assistant city attorney Joe Beck, and Pat Cavanaugh wherein the city said it would “underground” utilities running through the alley behind the since-demolished Cavanaugh block.

“I was OK with what Pete was saying until he came down to the Cavanaugh part of it, and started to talk about the private agreement,” Haugen said. “Then I knew he wasn’t going to tell that man the truth. I know for a fact that the City of Auburn approached them. The mayor and city attorney have both told me that the city was not directly involved in the fiasco at Cavanaughs.”

Lewis called the document a standard agreement.

“If you are going to do a development that crosses an alley, then you have to redo the utilities including the underground utilities that go through that section, and any downtown redevelopment requires underground utilities,” Lewis said. “It’s not a request; it’s what you must do. I have told Councilmember Haugen this at least three times.

“That certainly doesn’t make us a partner with a developer, because we charge them for what they are supposed to do,” Lewis said.

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Letter from

Lewis to Haugen

“Your sudden, unanticipated departure from the City Council meeting on Oct. 6, 2008 was somewhat disruptive and interfered with the flow of the meeting. However, more particularly, your departure at that early juncture of the meeting prior to any City Council action leaves no other conclusion but that this was an unexcused absence.

“In that regard, my request of you for a reason for your sudden departure was met by a resistance on your part to explain your thoughts. Please be advised that I see it as the responsibility of all City Council members to attend meetings and participate in the business of the city. That includes attendance at meetings even when you do not agree with me or other members of the City Council on particular items of discussion or council action.

“If you have a reason why this should not be counted as an unexcused absence from a City Council meeting, please advise me.”

(State law says a council member can be removed from office if that person misses three consecutive regular council meetings without being excused by the council.)