An effort to recall Mayor Bob Taylor and city councilmen Chris Becnel and Bob Brockman hit its second snag last week when legal paperwork was found to contain too few valid signatures.

Resident Kathy Fredenberg originally served papers to the trio of councilmen during the public comment period before the Oct. 13 council meeting. Her notice of intent accused them of “ruinous leadership,” “incompetent management” and “proceeding in direct violation of a grant deed regarding the use of park land” among other complaints. During the development of the civic center project, Fredenberg maintained that a portion of City Park would be paved over in violation of a deed granted the city in 1888, which said it was to remain a park forever.

Planners have maintained that although some of the park will be used for buildings, relocating the library – built on park land decades ago – plus a plaza square and a covered History Walk will mean there will be more room for park activities upon the project’s completion than there is now.

In serving the papers, however, Brockman was given Taylor’s documents and vice versa. Saying “follow-up paperwork” had gone awry, Fredenberg served all three again during public comments at the Oct. 27 council meeting.

The second set of papers, however, did not contain enough valid signatures, according to the Contra Costa County Clerk Recorder’s office. Of the 29 signatures on Taylor’s papers, only 18 were valid. For Becnel, 24 signatures yielded only 16 that were valid; for Brockman, it was 17 valid signatures out of 26. Each petition needed a minimum of 20 valid signatures for the effort to move forward.

Fredenberg could not be reached for comment on whether a third attempt would be made.