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A Feature Section inside Our Best this week’s Carmel PET TALKFriends! Pine Cone VolumeThe 100 No. 30 Carmel On the Internet: www.carmelpinecone.com Pine Cone July 25-31, 2014 TRUSTED BY LOCALS AND LOVED BY VISITORS SINCE 1915 McInchak investigation Hundreds sign petition calling for Stilwell to resign closed with no charges n But mayor says things Along with her petition, which calls upon council mem- are ‘going well’ at city hall bers to request and accept the resignation of a city adminis- PINE CONE STAFF REPORT trator they have repeatedly praised and supported with bonuses and cash incentives, Bayne put together a list of nine By MARY SCHLEY A COMPUTER expert hired by the City of Carmel to issues for which she blames Stilwell. investigate allegations against city IT manager Steve They include: ITH HER “Petition to terminate the current city n McInchak was unable to find sufficient evidence to seek any W Refusing to produce documents in a timely fashion and administrator” clipped to boards for would-be signers in in the format prescribed by law, resulting in city government criminal charges against him, Carmel Police Chief Mike front of the Carmel post office this week, and sticky notes Calhoun announced late Thursday afternoon. advising everyone of her planned march on city hall Aug. 5, See PETITION page 24A As a result, the case against McInchak, who has been on Carolina Bayne said she gathered signatures from “over a paid leave since June 2013 and recently sued the city over it, couple hundred people” concerned about how city hall is is being dropped, according to the statement provided to The operating under the leadership of city administrator Jason Pine Cone. Stilwell, and copies of the petition have been distributed “The investigation concerned allegations that Steve throughout town. McInchak unlawfully gained access to personnel files and “In two days, that ain’t too shabby,” Bayne told The Pine information,” according to the statement. “The examiner was Cone. unable to provide sufficient information to proceed further But calling for Stilwell’s ouster is misguided and mis- with the investigation. Based on the inability to further the placed, according to Mayor Jason Burnett, who said Bayne investigation, the police department has closed the case.” should hold the city council accountable for whatever she finds objectionable. “She is asking the city council to hold our staff, most Dog park will get notably our city administrator, accountable for decisions that we, the city council, have made,” he said. “I don’t think it’s ethical.” $175,000 EIR Instead, it’s the council’s job to “look at the totality of the decisions and judge whether the community is being well By CHRIS COUNTS served.” “You have to ask, ‘Overall, are things going well?’” he PPONENTS OF the Carmel Canine Sports Center O said. “And I think they clearly are, on multiple fronts,” PHOTO/MARY SCHLEY have argued that a full-blown environmental impact report though he acknowledged some customer-service issues, like Carolina Bayne (second from left) speaks with passersby outside the should be done before the project moves forward — and now processing Public Records Act requests, have room for post office, where she spent two days gathering signatures to get the it looks like they’ll get their wish. improvement. city administrator booted. The agenda for next Tuesday’s Monterey County Board of Supervisors meeting includes approval of a contract with AMEC Environment & Infrastructure, Inc. to conduct an EIR for the canine center project. The contract stipulates the cost Consultant picked for improvements to Forest Theater of the study won’t exceed $177,469.60. According to the contract, the EIR will study the project’s By MARY SCHLEY said. “And they seemed best to understand what’s trying to be impacts on water, noise levels, traffic levels, “cultural done to the Forest Theater — to preserve it and its rusticity, resources,” “the Carmel River and its riparian corridor” and A COMMITTEE of theater users, city officials and res- but at the same time, bring it up to code and enhance it to the “sensitive species.” idents on Wednesday chose their favorite among four final- degree that you wouldn’t notice.” If approved, the project would establish a dog training ists interested in repairing the Forest Theater, which was “I think what emerged from the interviews was a clear facility on 45 acres at 8100 Valley Greens Drive in Carmel abruptly closed in April due to health and safety problems, need for identifying the historic preservation options and Valley. Its owners are county planning commissioner Martha and the candidate will be considered by the Carmel City Diehl, her husband, Ken Ekelund, and Ernie Mill. Council at its Aug. 5 meeting, city administrator Jason See THEATER page 12A Stilwell told The Pine Cone this week. See EIR page 15A In late June, the city issued a request for proposals from qualified consultants, and by the time the application period closed July 8, they had Summer film series Small bridge with a great view received nine, according to Walt deFaria, who represents the nonprofit Forest Theater moving to youth center Foundation and helped interview the finalists, as did Stephen Moorer from PacRep Theatre By MARY SCHLEY and Yvonne Hidlebrand-Bowen from the Forest Theater Guild. They were joined by two AFTER BEING locked out of the Forest Theater when it city staffers, resident Carolyn Hardy and was abruptly closed in April because an engineer said it was builder Chris Tescher. Six applicants were dangerous, the Forest Theater Guild faced the challenge of from out of the area, three were local, and all finding a new venue for its Films in the Forest summertime were from California. series, which raises money for the theater group. It received “The panel evaluated architects on their tentative approval from the Carmel City Council in June to experience with similar projects, the qualifi- show the movies at Vista Lobos, the city-owned parking lot cations of the architect and other project team and buildings at Torres and Third, but a couple of nearby members, technical ability and understanding hotels worried the noise would bother guests. So, when offi- of the historic building code and accessibility cials from the Carmel Youth Center offered their building, the requirements, and proposed approach to work- group jumped at the chance to move the series there. The ing with the city, user groups and the commu- modified Films in the Forest kicks off Saturday, July 26, with nity to address the building violations and the first showing of “Frozen” at 5:30 p.m. reoccupy the facility as soon as possible,” Because the movies are being shown indoors instead of Stilwell explained. outside — where darkness has to fall before they can be seen The group then ranked the four contenders on the big screen — there will be two showtimes each night, in order of choice, and the vote for the top at 5:30 and 7:45 p.m. (or later, for longer films). Also, rather selection was unanimous, according to than showing midweek, as they did in the outdoor theater PHOTO/CHRIS COUNTS deFaria. because that’s when plays weren’t being staged, the movies Nearly completed, a new bridge just north of Sobranes Point at Garrapata State Park “They had done in-depth research, consid- will offer visitors who walk across it a nice surprise. See page 10A. ering they come from outside the area,” he See FILMS page 12A Have the complete Carmel Pine Cone delivered every Thursday evening to your iPad, laptop, PC or phone. Free subscriptions available at www.carmelpinecone.com 2A The Carmel Pine Cone July 25, 2014 Sandy Claws By Lisa Crawford Watson Dance Mr. Bo Jangles, Dance SHE WAS willing to take any puppy they had, as is. Mr. Bo is 10 years old. But his person likes to long as it was a female. Week after week, she visited say he’s been 5 for five years. the breeder to play with his red Australian shepherd Trained as a therapy dog, Mr. Bo has since puppies and pick a little female for her family. Yet each retired, yet certain stories remain vivid in his per- time, the females would run away from her, leaving a son’s memory. Even when traveling with his fam- little male just sitting, waiting. It took her several visits ily, Mr. Bo used to visit hospitals and nursing to understand she wasn’t there to choose a dog. She homes. While in Boston, they stopped in at had been chosen. Children’s Hospital, where he found his way into Looking at him, “Mr. Bo Jangles” came to mind. As the room of a little girl, lying in bed with her legs soon as she said it, he danced. Mr. Bo fit in fine with her in casts. family, which included German shepherds, but she “Mr. Bo sat 5 feet from the child’s bed and sensed he would have liked to be top dog. And now, he then, over course of five minutes,” says his per- son, “he crept closer and closer. Ever so slowly, the little girl put her hand down and started pet- ting him. Within 10 minutes, she was talking to him. Her mom started crying, saying her child hadn’t spoken in three weeks. Bo had done it. He’s really very special.” Mr. Bo’s gentle spirit ignites into exuberance the moment he hits the sand at Carmel Beach. Splashing his way down the shore, he greets other dogs, grabs Frisbees, and dances like nobody’s watching.

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