El Cajon council approves social‑services lease for Chaldean Community Council and grants incubator a three‑year runway

The El Cajon City Council on April 23 approved long-term occupancy for the organization operating social services at 405 East Lexington Avenue and agreed to lease terms for a small-business incubator after extensive public comment and council debate about early-termination language.

Deputy Mayor Phil Ortiz presided over item 13 after Mayor Bill Wells recused himself for campaign contribution rules. City staff described two proposed $1-per-year leases: an approximately 4,100-square-foot lease for social services and roughly 3,000 square feet for a business incubator. Staff said tenants would pay defined shares of utilities, maintain insurance and a $25,000 security deposit; the draft included a mutual six-month termination-for-convenience clause that staff said provided necessary flexibility if future councils faced appropriation changes.

Volunteers and leaders of the Chaldean Community Council told the council they signed a five-year lease and raised private and grant funding (a board member testified a $500,000 grant was expected from Supervisor Joel Anderson) to establish the incubator and social services. "We recently learned after signing... that the city now hopes to be able to terminate after just a 6 month period of time," said Jahan Maloney, who identified himself as a deputy district attorney and volunteer secretary for the organization, calling that change "disingenuous" and harmful to the nonprofit's ability to invest in staff and programs.

Kaye Turpin, a consultant for the community council, said the late insertion of the clause "blindsided us" and urged the council not to tie social services to short-term fiscal contingencies that could force providers to vacate while demand rose.

Deputy Mayor Ortiz moved to approve the social‑services lease and to omit the six‑month convenience termination for that portion. The motion passed by recorded announcement as a 3–1 vote with Councilmember Mitchell voting no and Mayor Wells disqualified from the vote.

Council then debated how to protect public interest while giving the incubator a reasonable runway to start. Options discussed included a firm three‑year guaranteed period for the incubator followed by a six‑month exit by either party, or putting performance metrics into the incubator agreement and allowing earlier termination only for failure to meet those metrics.

Council adopted a compromise: the incubator portion will have a guaranteed initial three‑year term, with a six‑month period for either party to exit after that guarantee; staff was directed to return with specific performance metrics, reporting requirements and milestones. The council recorded the final incubator motion as carrying (reported as a 4–0 vote with Mayor Wells disqualified).

City staff said the building was acquired with federal ARPA funds and emphasized that some contractual flexibility is standard for public entities, while counsel explained termination-for-convenience and appropriation clauses are common to protect against future budget constraints. Councilmembers asked staff to prepare clear metrics and quarterly reporting so the incubator's performance can be monitored without relying on a six‑month, no‑cause eviction as the primary enforcement tool.

The council voted to adopt the social-services lease without the six‑month clause and to approve the incubator arrangement with a three‑year guaranteed term and follow-up metrics and a six‑month exit option after year three.