Shady doings at the Coppergate Motel

“I don’t like getting backed into a corner with someone holding a gun to our head,” said Turco-Levin, who suggested putting off the bond vote until the council had more time to determine the facts of the case.

Only the beginning?

The full price of Coppergate likely won’t stop with the added $143,000. The same day the council met to weigh the bond, Augustine and personal injury attorney Eli Basch filed a notice of claim signaling their intention to sue the city for asbestos exposure and injuries suffered at the job site. Assistant Corporation Counsel Shayne Gallo told aldermen that the city would likely be party to the lawsuit.

“You have a situation where there is no written agreement which would hold the city harmless or indemnify the city in the event of this kind of behavior,” said Gallo. “So preliminarily it looks like the city could be on the hook.”

Gallo, who is running for mayor, later said that since there was no written contract between McGowan and the city, he was unaware of the deal. If he had been, he said, he would have advised a written agreement including a hold-harmless clause. Turco-Levin, who is running on a platform that includes ethics reform in city government, said the affair is exactly the reason new rules are needed.

“This lack of oversight is why we are where we’re at in this city,” said Turco-Levin. “This deal probably came out of some conversation at Twalfskill after a round of golf and a round of scotch.”