Lawsuits against Hacienda developer raise questions about city grant

Hacienda Cantina’s flashy cabanas and poolside bar aren’t even a year old, but developer Richard Meaney is in hot water for allegedly failing to pay the people who helped reconstruct the new venue.

“This owner received such a substantial grant through the city, which I would assume would partially go to the subcontractors,” said Marc Homme, attorney for Dateland Construction based in Indio. “And so many subcontractors didn’t get paid.”

Dateland Construction filed a lawsuit against Meaney and his LLC, “Miggy’s Cantina” last November.

“My client was informed that Miggy’s didn’t have the ability to pay my client, and here my client had constructed more than $190,000 of improvements,” Homme said.

Six other companies, including a plumbing company out of Thousand Palms, filed similar complaints. Together these lawsuits claim Miggy’s Cantina owes more than $450,000. They also name the building owner, John Wessman, another prominent developer.

“It’s upsetting this would happen,” Homme said. “So many subcontractors are local people with local families doing this work and not getting anything. That’s very disturbing.”

What some find more disturbing, is that Meaney received a check from the city of Palm Springs last June for $250,000 for Hacienda.

It was part of the city’s redevelopment incentive program, which awarded taxpayer money to help stimulate business in specific areas of Palm Springs. The proposed businesses had to meet certain criteria: for example, to receive the largest grant reimbursement sum of $250,000, the developer had to show an expenditure of at least $1 million.

But according to sections 9 and 10 of the grant agreement, the city will not release the funds until the work is completed, proof of payment to the contractors is provided, and Mechanic’s Liens are released.

“If in order to get the money, you have to prove the contractors were paid, how are there seven lawsuits filed against this business saying they weren’t paid?” News Channel 3 asked Palm Springs City Attorney Doug Holland.

“We have checks that show there were checks that were paid to individual companies, now what disputes they have after we don’t know,” Holland said.

Holland says he only recently learned of the lawsuits and that Meaney will have to repay the city if Hacienda closes within three years.

But the checks Holland referred to were not in the copy of the grant agreement News Channel 3 received from the city as of Tuesday.

“We had sufficient documentation that demonstrated that checks were issued and that contracts were paid,” Holland said.

Richard Meaney is also the president of Union Abbey, the company Mayor Steve Pougnet recently consulted for, earning at least $200,000 over the last two years. Union Abbey lost its business license in 2009 for not paying nearly $50,000 in taxes.

According to city records, the mayor did recuse himself from approving the Hacienda deal.