The City of Ukiah “Favors Demolition and Relocating” of Alex Thomas Plaza? Says who?
by Andrew Lutsky
A version of this article was published in the Anderson Valley Advertiser on 5/23/25.
On April 27 I noticed a news story by Mike Geniella in three local papers about construction beginning on the new courthouse. Halfway through the story Mr. Geniella pivots to the future of the existing courthouse and relates comments made by City of Ukiah’s Deputy City Manager Shannon Riley.
Regarding the soon-to-be vacant courthouse, two sentences leapt out:
One possibility is that the county might deed the site to the City of Ukiah, which favors demolition and relocating the Alex R. Thomas Plaza to the block bounded by State, Perkins, School, and Standley streets.
Deputy City Manager Riley said, “There are a lot of pieces to put together, but it is a serious possibility.” [emphasis mine]
I did a double-take. I had not heard that the City of Ukiah ever adopted a policy of investigating or moving forward on plans for the sale and demolition of Alex Thomas Plaza. As someone who has spent hundreds of hours at the plaza over the past thirteen years, I’m pretty sure I would have remembered hearing that.
I thought I was misreading, or that this was a piece of satire or maybe some kind of hoax. I looked closer and saw it was not a joke.
That day I started a petition to protect the plaza. To date over one hundred and eighty people have signed it.
The same day I also promoted the petition in a comment I added below Mr. Geniella’s story on the local news website Mendofever. In response to my comment Mr. Geniella replied, “Riley and other relocation proponents believe [Alex Thomas Plaza] offers a higher potential for commercial development, perhaps a hotel, according to the theory. If so, a sale could substantially diminish the city’s costs to move the plaza.”
Two days later when the Anderson Valley Advertiser published a short piece I submitted about my petition, Mr. Geniella typed a comment in the style of the forty-seventh president: “A CLARIFICATION IS NEEDED.” In his “clarification” he provided little bits of added context— including his questionable claim that “Relocating Thomas Plaza is not a new idea. Two years ago, a group promoted demolishing the current courthouse and turning the site into a new Thomas Plaza”— and he did not say a word about his most incendiary claim in the piece, that the city “favors demolition and relocating the Alex R. Thomas Plaza.”
Ten days later I wrote a letter to all five city council members, the city manager and the deputy city manager. Five of the seven cited Geniella’s “clarification” in their response, as though its existence meant no further questions needed or ought to be posed. None of the seven responded directly to any of my twelve questions in a meaningful way.
While they uniformly ignored all of my questions, the council members’ responses did have a common theme: We never gave any indication that the city “favors” the sale and demolition of the plaza.
Mayor Doug Crane: “I have no recollection of any council deliberation about doing away with the Plaza.”
Mari Rodin: “We have not discussed the future of Alex Thomas Plaza as a council.”
Susan Sher: “[T]here is no policy nor anything before the Council regarding demolition of Alex Thomas Plaza.”
Juan Orozco: “None of the rumors concerning the Alex Thomas Plaza and what could happen to it are to be taken serious.”
Ms. Criss and Ms. Rodin both suggested I ask the Deputy City Manager herself about her statements and Geniella’s claim. Since I had sent a similar letter to Ms. Riley, I too was hopeful she would respond to my questions with some substance, but our hopes were in vain.
Ms. Riley— who coincidentally owns a shop directly across the street from the soon-to-be-vacant courthouse which she hopes will be demolished using the funds from the sale of Alex Thomas Plaza and a smaller “replacement” plaza will be built on that lot— refused to answer any of my questions, referred me to Geniella’s clarification, and said “I have nothing more to add.”
City Manager Sage Sangiacomo similarly deflected my questions and he too referred me to Geniella’s non-clarifying “clarification.” As to whether the city council has directed city staff to consider the sale and demolition of Alex Thomas Plaza, he stated: “At this time, no such direction has been given by the Council or any subgroup thereof, such as an ad hoc committee. Furthermore, City staff have not sought any such direction.”
I began to wonder ... Was Mr. Geniella’s claim, that the city “favors demolition and relocation of Alex R. Thomas Plaza,” a fabrication?
So I contacted Mr. Geniella.
I started by asking him about the claim he makes in his “clarification” that selling and demolishing Alex Thomas Plaza was “not a new idea.”
Here is our exchange:
Me: I am quite perplexed by what you meant when you said in that comment, "Relocating Thomas Plaza is not a new idea. Two years ago, a group promoted demolishing the current courthouse and turning the site into a new Thomas Plaza." I have done some searching and do not see any reference to Alex Thomas Plaza in the articles you or anyone else have written about the courthouse plans over the past few years.
Mr. Geniella: The earlier reference was made by Tom Liden, who has long been involved in civic matters. We were speaking about the Palace Hotel when the notion of relocating the plaza, and using the old limestone courthouse addition facing School Street for a county museum annex was discussed. I will try to find that story. In the meantime, I suggest you contact Mr. Liden directly. There is no skullduggery here. It’s an idea that has been kicked around in some circles. Ms. Riley was not dropping anything new.
Me: Ms. Riley is a member of city staff, her statements represent the city government, and it sounds like she stated a city policy, which I have never ever heard or seen before. Can you refer me to a mention of this idea made by city staff or a council member?
Mr. Geniella: Ms. Riley was not stating an official anything. It was a discussion in general, and she shared her thoughts about the notion of relocating the plaza that had been openly discussed in some quarters for at least two years before I printed her comments.
Me: Mr. Geniella, you wrote that the city "favors demolition and relocating the Alex R. Thomas Plaza." Are you saying that Shannon Riley is not the source of that claim?
Mr. Geniella: Andrew, You seem bent on distorting how and what was said. I have no axe to grind in this, but the simple truth is that Ms. Riley and I were engaged in a conversation largely focused on the new courthouse, and its impact on the downtown area. The subject of the old courthouse's fate came up. [He followed this comment with a direct quote from his story.] Perhaps you were caught off guard by the notion, but it is not a new one, and it has not been discussed secretly at City Hall or on the street corner.
Me: What have I distorted, Mike? Please tell me. I'm seeking clarification. If a member of city staff or representative from the City of Ukiah did not say that the city "favors demolition and relocating the Alex R. Thomas Plaza," I strongly believe you should issue an immediate correction/retraction. You made a point of "clarifying" this issue, but your claim about the city "favoring" the demolition of the plaza doesn't appear to have any evidence to support it. At least I haven't seen or heard any yet.
Mr. Geniella: I'm sorry, Andrew, but you have an agenda here. You want to turn remarks made by Ms. Riley during an on-the-record conversation about a larger issue into something that suggests a secret city policy to do away with Thomas Plaza has been exposed. Riley's quote speaks for itself: "Riley said she envisions a new Thomas Plaza occupying the historic heart of downtown where the courthouse now stands, with the current city-owned plaza site being developed for commercial purposes, adding an anchor at the southern end of the downtown core."
Me: Yes I do have an agenda, Mike ... the truth. How does that quote speak for itself? It's absolutely not clear, for example, whether Ms. Riley is sharing this vision on behalf of herself or on behalf of the City of Ukiah, which was one of my seven questions, and I posed it directly to all city staff and council members including Ms. Riley, who refused to answer any of my questions.
With due respect Mike, I must ask you again: If a member of city staff or representative from the City of Ukiah did not tell you that the city "favors demolition and relocating the Alex R. Thomas Plaza," will you issue an immediate correction to the local media? Can you provide any evidence to support your claim that the city "favors" the demolition of the plaza?
Mr. Geniella: I accurately quoted Ms. Riley. I'm done with this discussion, Andrew. Make of things what you will. I stand with my personal and professional credibility.
I concluded from this dialogue that Mr. Geniella has no evidence to support his claim that the city “favors demolition and relocating of Alex R. Thomas Plaza.” That claim is entirely his invention.
Does that mean that no one wants to see Alex Thomas Plaza sold and demolished?
No, unfortunately it doesn’t. Clearly some do, including Deputy City Manager Shannon Riley and, perhaps, Mr. Geniella himself. But the City of Ukiah does not “favor” that outcome, and Mr. Geniella ought to publicly retract his claim asserting that it does.
I asked City Manager Sangiacomo, “Do you think the city has a responsibility to correct the record when a reporter has made a false claim-- and has not in any way clarified that claim-- in a news story published in multiple media outlets about the position the city is taking regarding the sale and demolition of Alex Thomas Plaza?”
As expected Mr. Sangiacomo refused to answer that question, too. His sole reply: “In my opinion, I believe Mr. Geniella provided timely clarification.”