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Williams’ Mexican-American Council to take up housing places and people featured

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FRIDAY, JULY 20, 2018 • SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA • PRESSDEMOCRAT.COM

RP public safety chief retiring

Announcement comes after
revelation of department’s
asset forfeiture tactics
By JULIE JOHNSON
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Rohnert Park Public Safety De-
partment Director Brian Masterson
announced this week he will retire
from an agency ensnared in contro-
versy over its aggressive efforts to
bring in millions of dollars in seized
assets through traffic stops targeting
black-market drugs and money far
outside the city.
Masterson, 59, who came to
Rohnert Park from the Alameda
County Sheriff’s Office 10 years ago,
notified the City Council and staff
Tuesday in emails stating he will re-
tire Aug. 22.
“This is a good time in our life to
transition into retirement and spend
more time traveling and enjoying
time spent with our children and
grandchildren,” Masterson wrote,
saying he made the decision after
discussing it with his wife.
Masterson didn’t respond to re-
peated messages Thursday request-
ing an interview. City officials did not
explain the timing or reason for his
resignation.
It comes two weeks after The Press
Democrat published a series of sto-
ries examining the city’s outsized
role in the seizure of drugs and mon-
ey in Sonoma County, sending its
officers far outside the city to patrol
Highway 101 near the Sonoma-Men-
docino county line.
One year ago, rank-and-file mem-
bers of his department called for
his dismissal in an overwhelming
no-confidence vote, a rebuke of his
leadership through persistent prob-
lems keeping the department fully
staffed.
Masterson’s statement to city staff Brian
and council members acknowledged Masterson
Rohnert Park has “many challenges RP Public Safety
ahead” but did not directly address Department chief
retiring Aug. 22
TURN TO CHIEF » PAGE A2

MENDOCINO COUNTY » Shoppers are excited about the new store, HEALDSBURG
and business owners hope its arrival attracts more people to town
Body
Costco comes to Ukiah found
in pot
garden
3 arrested in connection
with missing Cloverdale
man’s kidnapping, death
By KEVIN FIXLER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Three Sonoma County men

have been arrested in the slay-
ing of a Cloverdale man who
had been missing since late
June, when authorities said
he was kidnapped and shot to
death in a remote area east of
Healdsburg before being buried
in a marijuana garden west of
the city.
The victim, Jose Martinez,
46, and one of
the suspects,
Socorro Si-
erra, 34, of
Healdsburg,
were involved
in “significant
marijuana
dealings” that
had soured in Jose
a dispute over a Martinez
PHOTOS BY KENT PORTER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT business trans-
Fort Bragg resident Mary King lounges in a recliner Thursday during the opening of the Ukiah Costco. King cut an hour of drive time by not having action, and Sierra had threat-
to travel to shop at the Santa Rosa Costco. “It’s almost like it puts Ukiah on the map,” Ukiah Mayor Kevin Doble said. ened Martinez, the Sheriff’s Of-
fice said Thursday in a written
By MARY CALLAHAN AND HANNAH BEAUSANG statement.
Weston,
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT His body was unearthed
Marlow,

H
Wednesday by detectives from a
Bowen and
undreds of eager shoppers were staged hole dug by two of the suspects
Dawson
outside when Ukiah’s brand new Costco with a rented backhoe at a mari-
Kuykendall
opened its doors to the public Thursday, juana garden on West Dry Creek
pile in a cart
welcoming customers who began arriving before Road, Sgt. Spencer Crum said in
during a trip
sunrise to peruse the aisles of the long-awaited the statement.
Thursday
store, a first for Mendocino County.
to the new
Even before its debut, the national warehouse TURN TO BODY » PAGE A9
Costco in
chain boasted about 9,000 members in the Ukiah
Ukiah.
Valley, offering some guarantee of success as it
tests out its new market area, a company repre- INSIDE
sentative said. ENDANGERED SPECIES:
And there seems to be little doubt about demand Interior Department
seeks sweeping changes
TURN TO COSTCO » PAGE A2 to act that protects
threatened animals / B1

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Putin invited to US amid furor over summit

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Donald even as leaders in Washington Bolton extended the invitation to him. Coats, clearly surprised, Vladimir
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happened when President Don- ready underway.” TURN TO PUTIN » PAGE A10 ©2018 The Press Democrat

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Customers clog checkout lines during the opening of Costco on Thursday in Ukiah.
COSTCO
CONTINUED FROM A1
among community leaders,
for whom the huge new store
marks the city’s arrival.
“It’s almost like it puts Ukiah
on the map,” Mayor Kevin
Doble said. “Just the sheer
market area of Costco would
bring people to our town that
ordinarily wouldn’t come here,
and I think that’s always good
for a city, when you’re in an
area where you can be some-
what remote or isolated. I think
it will be a really good thing for
our community.”
Thousands of Costco mem-
bers for years have taken their
hard-earned cash out of Ukiah,
the seat of Mendocino County,
to spend at existing Costco
stores across the Sonoma
County line, in Santa Rosa and
Rohnert Park. The new location
is expected to draw those local
consumers and others from
around Mendocino and Lake
counties, as well as southern
Humboldt and northern Sono-
ma counties.
General manager Michael
Wiederholt said he expected
about 5,000 shoppers on week-
ends and 2,500 customers daily
on weekdays.
City officials anticipate about
$2 million a year in sales tax
revenue from the store, based
on Costco sales projections,
increasing general fund reve-
nue by about 11 percent, Ukiah
Finance Director Dan Buffalo
said.
About half that would be
divided between maintaining
public safety services and
improving city streets under
voter-approved ballot measures,
he said.
But he and other officials also
hope having the popular retail
outlet helps further establish
the city of 16,000 people as a
regional hub, bringing more
people into other stores and
restaurants, and potentially
encouraging other large-scale
companies, like Target, to set
up shop.
Costco’s efforts to open in
town have been formally un-
derway since 2011, though the
company’s interest in having an
inland Mendocino County store
reportedly dates back earlier.
But between environmental re-
view and two legal challenges,
delays pushed back the start of
construction until last fall.
The 141,000-square-foot store
is at 1275 Airport Park Blvd .on
the south end of town, on
15 acres the city had purchased
with redevelopment funds and
later sold to Costco to ensure
the store became a reality.
It’s next to Walmart, Fried-
The Press
Democrat
Owned locally by
Darius Anderson, Managing Member
Steve Falk, Chief Executive Officer
Bill Hooper, Chief Operating Officer
Board of Advisers
Darius Anderson, Chairman
Bill Jasper
Gary Nelson
Norma Person
Jean Schulz
Les Vadasz
Sandy Weill
Chris Rehm, who runs Ukiah Optical, said he thinks the Costco
“might hurt my business a little bit, but it’s good for the town.”
man’s Home Improvement
Center, Food Maxx and Staples,
among other retailers and
restaurants.
The city also dedicated about
$4 million to road improve-
ments at the Highway 101/
Talmage Road interchange and
Airport Park Boulevard, though
Doble said the work was long
needed to facilitate build-out of
the business park, beyond just
Costco.
The new store employs
230 people, more than half of
them full-time. Though 40 were
transferred from other Costco
locations in California and as
far away as Virginia, 190 were
hired locally from the commu-
nities of Ukiah, Laytonville,
Cloverdale and Lake County,
company representatives said.
Wages start at $14 an hour,
said Wiederholt, the general
manager. The company is
known for providing good work-
ing conditions and benefits for
its employees.
“We want to take care of
employees and make sure that
people who have made a com-
mitment to come work for the
company can have a livelihood
and take care of themselves and
their families,” said Drew Saku-
ma, vice president of operations
in Costco’s Northern California
Regional Office. “And we know
if we hire full-time employ-
ees, they’re more committed.
They’re going to do a good job,
and they’re going to be very
loyal.”
Costco’s arrival in Ukiah is
not without worry that small-
er, local stores could suffer as
customers flock to the retail
behemoth, which has about
523 locations in the United
States and last year brought in
$126.2 billion in revenue.
“The local businesses that
support our community are
vitally important,” Mendocino
County Sheriff Tom Allman
posted Tuesday on Facebook.
His message welcomed Cost-
co but reminded residents of
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“The thousands of dollars of
donations they give, the real
estate that they occupy and the
thousands of jobs that our local
residents have cannot be forgot-
ten. I will continue to support
our local small businesses and
hope you will also.”
Most so far are looking on
the bright side and hoping that
everything shakes out to the
benefit of the city and the busi-
ness community as a whole.
“Just like with any new busi-
ness, everybody definitely has
their concerns, and everybody
knows that there’s going to be
little bit of a transition period,”
said Julia Siderakis, president
of the Greater Ukiah Chamber
of Commerce.
With the increased con-
sumer traffic in town and the
recapture of Costco sales that
otherwise would be made in
Sonoma County, she said she
hopes business owners will
find an equilibrium in which
all profit. Siderakis also noted
that Costco is stocking locally
made wines and other products,
such as Gowan’s ciders and
Pamela’s Products gluten-free
baked goods and mixes. They
also have printed gift cards for a
variety of independent, locally
owned restaurants.
At the 43-year-old Ukiah
Natural Food Co Op, General
Manager Lori Rosenberg said
it’s too early to say what kind of
impact Costco will have on the
locally focused grocery store,
which provides 106 jobs, 57 of
them full-time.
More than 7,000 people are
members, though anyone can
shop at the 6,800-square-foot
store on South State Street, she
said.
“I’m looking at it as an
opportunity for having other
people come to Ukiah and have
an interest in exploring other
business in town,” Rosenberg
said.
Chris Rehm, who for nearly
two decades has operated Ukiah
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THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • FRIDAY, JULY 20, 2018
CHIEF
CONTINUED FROM A1
concerns with his leadership or
ongoing investigations into at
least two public safety officers
related to highway drug seizure
operations.
“While I will say the last
10 years have not been easy, they
have been challenging as well as
rewarding and we have accom-
plished many things together to
improve the quality of life for our
residents here in Rohnert Park,”
Masterson said in the email an-
nouncement.
Masterson was hired in 2008 to
lead Rohnert Park’s unified po-
lice and firefighting public safe-
ty department after he served
27 years with the Alameda Coun-
ty Sheriff’s Office, retiring from
that agency as a captain and
commander of the Port of Oak-
land and the Oakland Airport. In
2017, Rohnert Park paid Master-
son $196,537 plus benefits worth
$57,867.
City leaders Thursday praised
Masterson’s leadership and de-
clined to acknowledge or com-
ment on the questions surround-
PHOTOS BY KENT PORTER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT ing his oversight of the agency,
which has struggled for years to
fully staff its force and has in re-
Optical in the Pear Tree Center,
said he thought the Costco
“might hurt my business a little
cent months faced public scruti-
ny over the city’s aggressive civil
asset forfeiture policies.
bit, but it’s good for the town.” The city has hired an outside
The small shop where he firm to investigate two of its pub-
works with one other employee lic safety officers, and what roles,
is filled with an estimated if any, they played in a drug sei-
500 frames, and he prides him- zure along Highway 101 in Men-
self on his customer service. docino County. In April, the city
“The town has not been launched an investigation into
growing,” said Rehm. “You see its top highway interdiction offi-
a lot of vacant storefronts. In cer, Brendon “Jacy” Tatum, and
the long run, it may be good he has since resigned from the
for the town and bring in other department. Tatum and another
business, hopefully.” officer, Joseph Huffaker, remain
Gina Vaughan, a pharmacy under investigation in connec-
technician at Myer’s Pharma- tion with a drug seizure by un-
cy, opened in 1982, similarly identified officers on Highway 101
expressed confidence in the in Mendocino County.
independent store’s strong The City Council is scheduled
personal attention to customers to meet behind closed doors
and staying power. Tuesday to discuss the investiga-
The shop employs local peo- tion involving the officers.
ple who know their customers Vice Mayor Joseph Callinan
and their families by their first called Masterson “an excellent
names. chief of police” and said he will
“Everybody likes the new be “sorely missed.” Callinan de-
stuff, and it’s shiny and it’s ex- clined to address questions about
citing,” Vaughan said of Costco. the city’s asset forfeiture pro-
“But long lines, everybody and gram nor would he address con-
their brother is there. People cerns about Masterson’s over-
already are talking about avoid- sight of the department.
ing it the first few months.” “Everybody has concerns
There’s no question the new when there are rumors,” Calli-
store had a good day Thurs- nan said. “We’re under investi-
day, with the first customers gation and until I know the in-
arriving at 3 a.m. and 300 to vestigation is complete, I have no
400 gathered outside when the comment.”
doors opened a bit earlier than Rohnert Park officers seized
the scheduled 8 a.m., after a for- $2.4 million in cash and valuable
mal ribbon-cutting. By 1:30 p.m., assets from people in the past
about 2,000 people had come three years through civil forfei-
through, Assistant General ture laws, more than any other
Manager Hunter Granstra said. law enforcement agency in Sono-
“Everyone is so excited ma County.
today,” Granstra said. “The en- Much of the cash was acquired
ergy in this building is unreal.” during missions to intercept the
Carts rolling across the flow of illegal drugs and cash by
gleaming floors were laden with conducting traffic stops along the
oversized packages of paper Highway 101 corridor. City Man-
towels, flats of bottled water, ager Darrin Jenkins declined to
bulk fruits and vegetables. Oth- speak with The Press Democrat
er goods on the shelves ranged on Thursday, saying he was too
from a $179, 93-inch plush teddy busy with meetings. In an email,
bear — one of which took a Jenkins praised Masterson, not-
tumble from its perch — to ing the director “cultivated posi-
a $4.99, 12-ounce package of tive relationships in our commu-
plump blackberries. nity.”
Potter Valley resident Debbie He credited Masterson for his
Rensen, 65, said she has been a leadership during a time of de-
Costco member since the early creasing crime rates as the city
2000s. She came to opening day continued to grow and adjust to
for shampoo, but found herself the impacts from the Graton Ca-
leaving with a large pack of sino, which opened in 2013.
Racer 5 IPA beers, sponges, a He also said Masterson suc-
doormat and an assortment cessfully implemented a new
of other items she loaded into body-worn camera program for
her black Jeep in the strong officers and encouraged the de-
summer heat. partment to embrace social me-
“A lot of people are wor- dia and new ways of interacting
ried about this putting other with the community.
businesses out of business,.” Jenkins said he will be hiring
she said. “I don’t think that’s an interim public safety director
going to happen, because I’m while the city recruits the next
still going to Friedman’s for director.
garden supplies and things like Outside City Hall, Mayor Pam
that, and I’m still going to go to Stafford said she had just seen
the co-op for the organic things Masterson’s email and didn’t
we get there. I’ve always gone have any comment on his lead-
to Costco and places here, and I ership or departure “until I get
plan to keep doing that. more information.”
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