MONTEREY COUNTY, CA— Supervisors here have endorsed plans to build two Marriott hotels that will serve as the gateway to the Boronda area next to Salinas. The new 90-room Courtyard Inn and a 107-room Residence Inn are now slated for construction early next year. The supervisors approved the project after expressing concern over Marriotts track record on labor issues and receiving assurances that the company operating the Salinas properties, Tharldson Development Co., is affiliated with the hotel firm in name only. Kenneth Scheel, project manager/Tharldson Development, said the company pays prevailing wages and offers benefits to all employees that include stock options paid for by the company. During a public hearing on Dec. 4, several representatives from the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union (HERE) urged the Board of Supervisors to reject the plans because of simmering feuds between the union and Marriott in other locations. However, Tharldson Development promised supervisors that it would also recruit its employees from within Boronda, which is an urban redevelopment area with low-income residents just outside Salinas. The additional property tax revenue earned by the county from the hotel development will help pay for some city-like improvements to the area. SOURCE: The Monterey County Herald