From the Email InBox: BMSV and CFBH

Dear Gramps:


Why should the taxpayers pay for the E.I.R. for the Senior Housing. The Corporation for Better Housing is going to have control of the property and buildings for the next 60 years. They will pay one dollar a year on the property and land with the lease Schwab gave them. Let the Corporation for Better Housing pay the $42,000 for the E.I.R. that should have been done in the first place before the City approved anything.

The Corporation for Better Housing calls themselves a non-profit but are listed as a charity with the Attorney Generals office and have not even filed their 2005 tax returns with the A.G.s office as of last month. Their 2004's show a "Consulting fee" in the multi hundred of thousands of dollars to Lynx Reality in Sherman Oaks the Corporation for Better Housing just happens to share the same address and phone number with. If you remember Ms. Silverstein stated no one at the Corp. makes more than $50,000 a year but their tax returns shows hundreds of thousands in "fee's and Commissions". Ms. Silverstein stated at the Community meeting that the Corporation for Better Housing would take $500,000 off the top of the $9,000,000 the City puts in and I would guess that they will take as much from the U.S. Government funds that puts in the Corp.'s part of the project. These Government funds require that the Senior Housing be section 8 housing. The Seniors should make sure and get it in writing from the Corp. that they will be eligible for the apartments. All other Corporation for Better Housing locations are for low to low, low incomes, known as section 8 or Government subsidized housing. You cannot have assets to quailfy and the waiting list for this type housing is now almost two years long.

I would think a list of employees from Lynx Reality should be compared with a list of employees from the Corp. This is a no open bid contract on the Senior Housing and Federal Law enforcement needs to look at them and the Cities Managers dealing with them and them with him. Why would there be no open bids when State law requires it. Especially on a nearly $20,000,000 that's (TWENTY MILLION DOLLARS) project. It just looks unseemly. It has the appearance of "fee's and commissions" being paid to people that don't work for the Corporation for Better Housing but might work a little closer to here.

If the Corporation can donate to Grand Terrace Days, which is a violation of the State charity laws, they should be able to "donate" to their own E.I.R. Also being listed as a "charity" would you not suspect that gives them a tax break. That appears to be the whole reason that the Corp. went into their construction business. The California State Assessors Assoc. has held meeting trying to figure a way to stop construction companies from connecting with churches to use them as a front to avoid paying taxes.

Mr. Schwab should place the new plans on the City website to confirm that the changes that the Corp. said they will make have actually been made. If they haven't it would not be the first time or the second or the third or fourth (infinite) that we have been lied to by the City. Twice Shy.

Schwab will still not confirm or deny that the Senior Housing is section 8 and that our Seniors will not qualify even when Councilman Miller said he wanted a report before anything further goes along on the project.

Gramps Answers:

I think you are right, and I don't know why none of this is questionable for others reviewing the same information fragments.