The news came during the opening of the Vallejo City Council's semi-annual goal-setting retreat on Mare Island and within one week of Martinez's and Mayor Tony Intintoli Jr's announcement that they oppose a proposed liquefied natural gasification project on Mare Island.
They announced their opposition after Shell Gas and Power withdrew as a partner in the project with Bechtel Enterprises. Intintoli also cited health and safety concerns.
The proposed $1.5 billion, 900-megawatt power plant and liquefied natural gas re-gasification facility has met with intense community opposition, while a Health and Safety Commission was still studying the feasibility of the project. Opponents fear it would subject the area to a terrorist attack and that an accident at the facility would threaten the health and safety of area residents.
Martinez's official announcement says he will retire on Dec. 13, but made no mention of the turmoil that the project has caused among city council members, as well as between two council members and Martinez and Intintoli. However, sources tell Globest.com that council members Joann Schivley and Pam Pitts criticized the mayor and city manager at the opening session of the retreat last Friday morning for declaring in a press release last week that the LNG project was "in effect dead'' without consulting other council members.
Martinez says that Schivley did make "some strong comments'' at the beginning of the meeting, but that it continued in a professional and productive manner. He says that when Shell announced it was withdrawing from the project, "I interpreted that to mean the project was finished.''
He says the retreat to discuss the city's future was the perfect time to inform the council well in advance of his intention to retire after 28 years of public service, five of which was as Vallejo's city manager. His contract expires at the end of this year. Martinez says he hired Fred Wright and that Wright's departure is "a natural break.''
Intintoli confirmed Friday afternoon that Schivley and Pitts took issue with the press release, and that Schivley then left the meeting. "The present situation is largely over the LNG issue,'' he added, noting that his statement regarding opposition to the LNG project "was my opinion and only my opinion."
"Each council member is an equal and has the right to express an opinion,'' Intintoli continued. "There's no reason to think this dispute is anything more than a bump in the road."
The mayor says that he is still planning to run for re-election, but if between now and August " I decide I'm not an asset to the council, I would not run.''
Intintoli is serving his fifth term on the council and has served 12 years as mayor.
The council is scheduled to vote Feb. 4 on whether the LNG project should continue after Shell Gas and Power withdrew as a partner. Bechtel tells Globest.com that the firm is currently seeking another partner for the project.
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