SOLANO COUNTY, Calif. — California officials are now meeting with the man who says he’s the CEO of Flannery Associates LLC, the company buying land throughout Solano County and around Travis Air Force Base.
Two California representatives who serve the area had individual meetings with Flannery Associates’ CEO Jan Sramek and the company’s political consultant Andrew Acosta.
Flannery Associates LLC purchased more than 50,000 acres of land throughout the county and spent over $800 million to do so over the last five years.
Representative Mike Thompson from California's Fourth Congressional District met with them Monday and Senator Bill Dodd met with them Tuesday.
“Simply put, (the meeting) entailed an apology about not being transparent,” said Dodd. “I think they wish they had done things differently. But we are where we are, and they've got a long way to go.”
Both officials say they’re still highly concerned with national security around the air force base and the agricultural risk of developing on that land.
“Airports and agriculture are two of the things, where intruding on those type of lands, is some of the worst land use decisions that could possibly be made,” said Dodd.
He doesn’t think this mega-city will actually see the light of day, but Sramek seemed confident.
“They certainly believe that this is something that they'll be able to do and be able to do legally,” he said. “This is going to be probably one of the most interesting land use developments that we've seen in the Bay Area in quite some time.”
Thompson says he doesn’t know if there’s structure to their idea yet.
“As we talked and as I asked questions, they stated that it may be one city, that may be two, it may be three, all depending upon what they find as they move forward in the process,” he said. “I think it's safe to say they don't have a plan. They have an idea. They have a dream and maybe a vision, but they don't have a plan.”
ABC10 reached out to both Sramek and Acosta multiple times for comment but never heard back.
Brian Brokaw, a Sacramento-based public relations consultant who represents Flannery Associates LLC, gave ABC10 a statement on behalf of the company.
“We're pleased to be engaged in productive discussions with local leaders about our vision to deliver good-paying jobs, affordable housing, walkable communities and open space to Solano County. Our team is working closely with the community and local leaders to craft a shared vision for Solano County’s future.”
As for why they were hiding while buying land? Thompson says he was told the company “felt that they needed to do that, needed to operate under that veil of secrecy, in order to accomplish the land purchases that they were looking to accomplish.”
Additional meetings are in the process of being scheduled between Flannery Associates and Solano County lawmakers.
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