CAMBRIDGE — Although a notice went out Monday, May 21, that Cambridge Mayor Stephen Rideout would be signing or further amending a proposed amended version of Cambridge Waterfront Development Inc.’s Articles of Incorporation on May 23, an agreement between the city and CWDI to enter into mediation has postponed it.
On May 22, the day before he was supposed to sign or further amend the articles, Rideout released a statement saying the meeting had been postponed.
“Earlier today the city entered into an agreement with CWDI to mediate before a retired judge the city’s ongoing concerns with the operations of CWDI,” Rideout said in the statement.
The meeting to amend the Articles of Incorporation will be postponed “depending on the outcome of the mediation,” Rideout said.
On April 16, Rideout held a meeting where he proposed amendments to CWDI’s Articles of Incorporation in an effort to get the relationship between Cambridge Waterfront Development Inc. — the group that is spearheading the Cambridge Harbor project — and the City of Cambridge “back on track.”
Essentially, the amendments Rideout proposed would give the city more oversight of CWDI and ensure the power that the city has stays that way.
Although Rideout planned to sign the amended articles in the 10 days following the April 16 meeting, he announced April 22 that he would wait until after the CWDI Board of Directors has had it’s next meeting on May 22. He said this decision was made to give the CWDI board time for comment.
According to CWDI’s Articles of Incorporation, the mayor of Cambridge is CWDI’s sole member. Similar to the a shareholder of a company, under Maryland law, a non-profit can have a member or members that represent the group which founded the nonprofit, Rideout said in an interview. As sole member of CWDI, Rideout has the authority to make amendments to the Articles of Incorporation.
The April 16 meeting was one in a slew of events this spring that has highlighted the tense relationship between the city and CWDI.
In mid-March, former Cambridge City Manager Tom Carroll submitted his resignation and said he was resigning over concerns with CWDI’s Cambridge Harbor project, a project to develop the space along the Cambridge waterfront.
On April 23, Del. Tom Hutchinson (R-Dorchester, Talbot, Wicomico) held a meeting with Rideout, Cambridge Commissioner Laurel Atkiss, CWDI board President Angie Hengst and CWDI Board Secretary-Treasurer Frank Narr to discuss the challenges with collaboration on the Cambridge Harbor project. About a week after that meeting, the Commissioners of Cambridge filed a lawsuit against CWDI, CWDI Holdings and Yacht Maintenance Company regarding a 2021 property transfer agreement between CWDI and the city.
On May 14, CWDI and CWDI Holdings responded to the lawsuit, filing a motion for summary judgment.
MOVING FORWARD
At a CWDI Board of Directors meeting on May 22, the same day Rideout made his statement, Hengst read a statement on the mediation agreement.
“CWDI remains committed to negotiating with the city to resolve our differences quickly and serve the community’s 30-year vision for the waterfront that includes the expansion of Yacht Maintenance and a boutique hotel,” she said.
Hengst said CWDI is optimistic that through mediation, the two parties with reach an agreement “that will allow both deals to move forward.”
In his statement, Rideout said the mediation is a “voluntary process.” He said it will include discussions between the city, CWDI and other stakeholders. The city and CWDI will seek to stay the pending litigation “pending the outcome of the mediation,” he said.
“The city’s goal remains the same,” he said. “We seek a transparent and accountable process toward reaching the ultimate goal, the successful development of the Cambridge waterfront. We approach this mediation with that goal and the hope that the mediation will be successful.”
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