December 16, 1996

INTERIOR DESIGNER FACES CRIMINAL CHARGES

SEATTLE -- King County prosecutors have filed criminal charges against Gary Potter, a prominent Bellevue interior designer and president of Potter Stewart & Associates Inc. Potter admitted in a recent civil action that he knew his company had falsified billings to former Nintendo executive Ron Judy while remodeling Judy's home.

Attorney Richard Skalbania, a partner with Stanislaw Ashbaugh, settled the civil suit with an award of $300,000 on May 1996. Skalbania then turned the case over to King County prosecutors, who indicted Gary Potter on charges of fraud and criminal theft of more than $300,000 on Dec. 7.

Potter's arraignment is scheduled for Dec. 16 at 9:45 a.m. in the King County Courthouse in Seattle. If convicted of all charges against him, Potter could serve a maximum sentence of 10 years and pay a fine of up to $20,000.

The trouble began after Judy hired Potter Stewart to revamp his Seattle home in 1990. According to Skalbania, "The costs for the job began to skyrocket with outrageously large bills. Judy couldn't get straight answers out of Potter, so he started to suspect Potter was cheating him."

Skalbania said Potter's company used forgery to bill Judy twice and sometimes three times for the same subcontractor's invoice.

Marsh & McLennan Building sold

SEATTLE -- The 15-year-old Marsh & McLennan Building at 720 Olive Way was sold Dec. 10 to RREEF, a San Francisco-based institutional investment advisor. The seller, GE Capital Investment Advisors Inc., was represented by The Norman Company, and the ultimate disposition of the property was handled as a joint venture with Unico.

Lisa Stewart of The Norman Company said the 20-story building traded at a value similar to other office towers in the downtown core, supporting the ongoing shift of downtown to the north. "With the ... upcoming redevelopment of the former Frederick & Nelson Garage block, the Marsh & McLennan Building is no longer on the edge of downtown," said Stewart, who developed a seven-year plan to reposition the building for sale.

In 1990, after the building had already changed hands twice, only 48 percent of the space was occupied.

The repositioning plan involved leasing, management and sales services. A $800,000 capital improvement campaign included lobby renovation, HVAC retrofit, restroom and elevator lobby upgrades, and the redevelopment of a second-floor atrium area into multi-tenant space.

The building is now 95 percent occupied.

Lowry seeks help for schools

OLYMPIA (AP) -- Prospects for legislative passage are dim, but that won't stop lame-duck Gov. Mike Lowry from filing a measure intended to make it easier for school districts to raise taxes to build schools.

Lowry said Friday he will file legislation asking the Republican-controlled 1997 Legislature to send voters a proposed constitutional amendment allowing a simple majority of local voters to approve levies to issue building bonds.

The state constitution currently requires 60-percent voter approval to issue such bonds.

In last February's school levy elections, 38 of 207 school district levies failed. Thirty-six of those 38 received yes votes of more than 50 percent, said the governor.

Gas Works Park cleanup moves forward

OLYMPIA -- An agreement reached last week between the state Department of Ecology, City of Seattle and Washington Natural Gas will help determine the best cleanup remedy for petroleum contamination at Seattle's Gas Works Park.

The park's soil and groundwater are contaminated with petroleum compounds and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, most of which are byproducts of the former plant on the site that converted coal and oil into gas. Signs posted at the park advise visitors not to wade, swim or fish in Lake Union or come in contact with the park's dirt.

The city, Ecology and WNG have negotiated a legal agreement called an agreed order which states that the city and WNG will summarize the investigative work done at the park so far, complete soil and groundwater sampling, develop a better understanding of how contamination moves through the site and evaluate the alternatives for cleaning up the site.

The city and Washington Natural Gas will prepare a feasibility study to show the results of their work and indicate a preference for a specific cleanup alternative.

The agreed order and a public participation plan is available for public review and comment through Jan. 31. A public meeting on the park cleanup is scheduled for 7 p.m. Jan. 21 at Saint Benedicts School, 4811 Wallingford Ave. N. For more information, call Chris Hempleman at Ecology at (360) 407-7229.