News Is Getting Around: Comments and emails

Answer For all the new readers:

Thank you for your posted comments. I have reposted them in bulk so that visitors find them. I am glad you are telling your friends about the blog. Answers to the questions included in the email and comments are:

I email all the local press, and persons on the council, and any email addresses I could find that listed their location as being in Grand Terrace. If you would like to be added to my email list as a group or list that will not be sent a cc to the City Council I will maintain a separate list. In addition, any citizen of GT may ask for a nick name and pass word to post to this blog. The only thing I require is that you may post your own name and phone number or that of a public official, or company contracted with the city. This is a "G" rated site and if the post has curse words in it I will replace them. We should not stoop to foul language regardless of the stench waffting out of the city council. Let's be a bit more eloquently about that.

Email: Name Redacted Guess Who

I am one of the gadflys. I go into the podium at almost every meeting of the Council. I was given your website today and have been passing it on to people all day. The reason I go after the council is that we have a small group of concerned folks that meet the third Monday of every month at the Lions Club, at 7:oo p.m. Our goal,like yours is to inform. We have documented the Schawb house deal. The city bought the house from the redevelopment agency and sold it to Schawb,not only that, they carried the loan of $138,000 for awhile. Michelle Boustead, the agency secretary also has a redevelopment agency house plus a silent second of $44,000. A silent second does not have any interest payments or principal payments until the house is sold, if it ever is. I belive the Inspector General should be called in to investigate the agency. The things we bring before the community we document and will share our documentation with anyone interested. Also the Boustead house had an over $40,000 rehab done to it. If you look at the city records you cannot find the general fund, where it begins or where it ends. The city runs the redevelopment agency money and general fund all together.I belive the city is actually bankrupt and is doing everything with redevelopment money.If you try to follow the money its like the old shell game, (Name Redacted) and I went into the podium twice each asking where this surplus of money is that Garcia and Schawb said we have. Finally Schawb said we have a $13,000,000 portfolio. Well the truth is that the redevelopment agency, the only arm of goverment that can do this without voter approval, last nov. issued $13,000,000 in tax allocation bonds. I went before the council and stated "we don,t have a $13,000,000 portfoilo, the people that bought the bonds have the portfolio we have a $13,000,000 debt. This money is our taxes that should go for streets,schools,parks and all the services the city should provide is going to the redevelopment agency and the special interest the council prefers over the citizens.Are you aware that the council spent over $2,000,000 on property acquisition and $580,000 on"consultants" a year before they told the citizens about the OAC. That the EIR shows hundreds of pounds to thousands of pounds of pollutants would be generated daily by the OAC and the city wrote themselves an exception. Before the OAC came before the planning commission Rep. Lewis secured a $500,000 grant to study the feasibilty of moving the north bound Barton rd. off ramp one tenth of a mile back so as to direct traffic into the OAC. Well where is that money? Anyone know? We have worked long and hard to document what this city is doing,I don't care what people say about me. Even if I'm the last dog in this fight I won't give up. In my opinon there appears to be corruption going on here. As a retired police officer and someone who is sick and tired of dishonestly in goverment I will keep pounding away at what I perceive to be a goverment that cares only for the"clique", or F.O.C. friends of the council.I'll keep asking why they call Mr.Rollings " our valued park volunteer" but pay him$1200 a month.I don't care that the pay him but why lie about it.If your are interested in any of our documention on what this city has and is doing that we feel needs to be investigated address me in your website as "my brother" and tell me what you would like me to scan and forward to you or email me . I'm not afraid to sign my name either. (Name Removed),Thanks for your good work. Keep it up.

Comments:

Did you know that the City already signed the Jacobson development agreement?
By law it must be made available to the public for copy charges at city hall.
Let's see what went on behind closed doors! No doubt the City will be closed on Friday!

THE NEXT CRA/CITY COUNCIL MEETING WILL BE HELD ON THURSDAY, May 12, 2005 AT 4:00 P.M.AGENDA ITEM REQUESTS FOR THE 05-12-2005 MEETING MUST BE SUBMITTED IN WRITING TO THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE BY NOON 05-05-2005.

Do you have any contacts with the print media to help get citizens involved?
do you want to talk about grass roots frustration with the CRA?
(phone number redacted)

Comments:

Did you know we citizen tax payers will be paying for the land GIVEN to the developer of the center? You can downloan or print the educational booklet about eminent domain government ABUSE here: http://www.redevelopment.com/norby/index.html

Comments:
You can read the friend of the court brief filed by the Institute for Justice here: http://www.claremont.org/static/KeloBriefFinal.pdf the Supreme Court ruling is expected to be released before the court adjourns on 6-30-2005 so perhaps help is on the way! Hang in there Grand Terrace!!


1 Comments:
Anonymous said...
"For example, the redevelopment agency in (San Bernardino County) underfunded its L&M Fund (low & moderate housing fund) by $1.2 million, plus interest. Grand Terrace officials used their L&M funds to construct and rehabilitate city offices, and to pay for the entire payroll and equipment costs of the City’s code enforcement office."http://www.www.sen.ca.gov/locgov/REDEVELOPMENTPAPER.DOC/ No wonder they work behind closed doors!!

State records show that "For example, the redevelopment agency in (San Bernardino County) underfunded its L&M Fund (low & moderate housing fund) by $1.2 million, plus interest. Grand Terrace officials used their L&M funds to construct and rehabilitate city offices, and to pay for the entire payroll and equipment costs of the City’s code enforcement office."


All behind closed doors!

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The library should definately be near the school, not in a retail shopping center near the freeway!

Comment

I have found in watching this city council that they obviously do not read anything. They take the city staff recommendations. What does council woman Cortez do but act like a third string cheerleader trying to make first string. Her comment in the press last week about holding a mayors gala ball at a hotel to be built in GT shows that she looks at her position as a social one not one of service. If you check her record she worked for Joe Bacca, Nell Soto and Assemblywoman McLoude,all liberal democrats and she was fired by all of them. She switched parties, like Garcia did from democrat to republican because she felt she could not be elected as a democrat here. She is a fine exsample the decite this council and staff practice.

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Has anyone noticed that no matter how many times the plans are changed or downsized for the OAC Schawb keeps going up in his revenue and job estimates.The fiscal impact statment says less than two million in revenues.Where did he get these new figures. We tried to look at the feasibilty study and were refused at city hall.Anyone at city hall hear of Prop 59 The Open Records Act passed by the voters of this state last Nov.Naa this city goverment is in bussiness for there friends on the chamber and the people you see on channel three. Its alway the Petta, the Rollins,its always the same crowd that socialize with the council and Schawb and Berry

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A copy of the City/Developer Development agreement MUST BE AVAILABLE BY LAW, and the city has already SIGNED it!! Now available for copy charges at city hall. Find out what went on behind closed doors with your tax money! Read, weep, get involved!