I reached out to City Manager Jim Lindley several times last week to talk about the Morning View film studio, but I heard nothing back. The Sacramento Bee and Dixon Tribune experienced similar silence.
I popped into City Hall Monday in an attempt to get an update. I waited a half hour for Lindley to finish a phone conversation, at which point he invited me in to talk. Below is a condensed Q&A:
Why were you silent last week?
“I was very busy. I knew that this (Bee story) was going to happen and I wanted to see how the reaction was. I knew Thursday afternoon. At that point, I wanted to see the article.”
Do you know the 33 investors behind the project?
“I know some of them.”
How much work has the city done on this project?
“We have not put a lot of city resources into this project. No legal expenses, no planning. Nothing other than a city manager trying to bring them to Dixon ... We’ve spent no money on it. It won’t happen unless they pony up money to pay for it.”
When Morning View says the City has “done everything” to bring the project to Dixon, what do they mean, then?
“We’re not putting up road blocks. [Being a non-business-friendly city is] not a reputation I want to have ... It’s my job to bring good projects to the city. I’ll ride that horse until it dies. If we get off, then we ride another horse. This has huge upside for the city.”
“We work on deals all the time. Some work out, some don’t. This is one of them.”
As Morning View’s progress has sputtered, what do you think of the delays?
“It’s an awful lot of money, so I understand why people are cautious on the investment side.”
Morning View has often cited Measure N as a reason for delays. Is that justified?
“You can’t blame Measure N.”
Have you spoken to Carissa Carpenter since the article?
“Yes … I told her if you’re going to do your deal, you got to get it done. I represent the city. You don’t always get to pick who you do business with ... This is unlike any development I’ve been involved in”
If Morning View has shown reasons for concern during this process, is there reason question about how the business would function in Dixon even if the studio does get built?
“I don’t know. I don’t have an answer to that. As long as they’re doing things to city code.”
Lindley noted that there are other big companies in town, and they didn’t have their personal lives exposed before coming to Dixon like Carpenter has. That's not typically part of the process when a business comes to a city.
Is there anything that would make you cut ties with the Morning View project?
“If it ever reaches a point where the city is deploying resources or is in legal jeopardy, I would stop our involvement in the process.”
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