tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10572625848964771892024-03-08T12:17:00.904-08:00Poway BlogChris Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06489810250555135219noreply@blogger.comBlogger82125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1057262584896477189.post-515686338346885162018-11-25T20:40:00.001-08:002018-11-25T22:53:30.857-08:00Are those Carols by Candlelight Hero Tickets Tax Deductible or Not?Who wouldn't want to help sick children and veterans at the same time?<br />
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Steve Vaus invites you to do just that by buying "hero tickets" to be distributed to veterans/ first responders for a performance of his annual shindig called "Carols by Candlelight". According to the Carols by Candlelight <a href="https://www.carolsbycandlelight.com/">website</a>, the proceeds from the 2-day event go to Rady Children's Hospital.<br />
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That sounds lovely and warm and heart melting, but Steve Vaus is the one who decides how much he and his production company and the other performers are paid before he cuts a check to Rady's. Does he pocket $250,000? More? Less? Nobody knows. Steve Vaus Productions is a for-profit sole proprietorship, so there is no way to find out just what percent of donations for hero tickets or any other donations actually end up benefitting sick kids.<br />
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It is also impossible to find out how many "hero tickets" are sold and/or distributed. Steve Vaus could give away the tickets himself without asking for a $25 ea donation, but that would be $25 less in his pockets. Although Steve Vaus has prominently posted the 501c3 tax ID number of a nonprofit on his website, stating that the nonprofit, 4 Community Solutions, is doing business as Carols by Candlelight, it turns out that 4CS doesn't handle ALL of the business of Carols by Candlelight, just selected business of CbC. Exactly what part of the 4CS business the nonprofit handles is a bit squishy. <br />
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Recently I received a copy of an email from someone who bought a "hero ticket" to be donated to a veteran. His receipt stated that his donation was not received by 4CS or a Carols by Candlelight account, but by Steve Vaus Productions. Steve Vaus Productions is a sole proprietorship, which means the money ended up in Steve Vaus' pocket. The man sent an email to Steve Vaus, asking for a tax deductible receipt:<br />
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<b class="">From:</b> name deleted<br />
<b class="">Date:</b> November 9, 2018 at 3:56:34 PM PST<br />
<b class="">To:</b> "<a class="" href="mailto:stevevaus@cox.net" style="color: #954f72;">stevevaus@cox.net</a>" <<a class="" href="mailto:stevevaus@cox.net" style="color: #954f72;">stevevaus@cox.net></a>;<br />
<b class="">Subject:</b> <b class="">Receipt</b><o:p class=""></o:p></div>
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Mr. Vaus,<o:p class=""></o:p></div>
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Today I donated to Carrols by Candlelight for the military. I noticed that the money went to Steve Vaus Productions. I didn’t get a tax deductible receipt from Candles by Candlelight. For tax purposes, would you please provide the (tax-deductible) receipt from Candles by Candlelight either via email or by regular mail. I would appreciate it. To make it easier to find my donation, here is my purchase number 226562691837576.<o:p class=""></o:p></div>
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Thank You,<o:p class=""></o:p></div>
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name deleted</div>
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Steve Vaus quickly responded:<br />
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<b class="">From:</b> Steve Vaus <<a class="" href="mailto:stevevaus@cox.net" style="color: #954f72;">stevevaus@cox.net</a>>;<br />
<b class="">Date:</b> November 10, 2018 at 12:02:59 PM PST<br />
<b class="">To:</b> name deleted<br />
<b class="">Subject:</b> <b class="">Re: Receipt</b><o:p class=""></o:p></div>
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Our office is closed however I saw your email. <o:p class=""></o:p></div>
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I apologize for any confusion that led you to believe gift tickets are a deductible donation. They are not and there is nothing on our website that indicates otherwise. <o:p class=""></o:p></div>
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I have issued you a refund. If you have further questions I will be back in the office next Thursday. <o:p class=""></o:p></div>
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SV<o:p class=""></o:p></div>
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(PS - blame Siri or Spellcheck for any mistakes in this email.)</div>
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I checked the Carols by Candlelight website, and sure enough, this little notice is still posted:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #00021a; font-family: "lato" , sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Our fiscal agent, 4Community Solutions is a qualified 501(c)(3)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #00021a; font-family: "lato" , sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Taxpayer ID# 26-1722021</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #00021a; font-family: "lato" , sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">4Community Solutions – dba Carols by Candlelight</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #00021a; font-family: "lato" , sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">18402 W. Bernardo Drive, San Diego, CA 92127</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #00021a; font-family: "lato" , sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><br /></span>
Don't bother checking 4CS's website for information. Most of the website has been removed since I called them and asked for some information about their sponsorship of Carols by Candlelight. None of my questions have been answered.<br />
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Yesterday, someone forwarded another email to me that came from Carols by Candlelight/Steve Vaus. Vaus clarified (OK, maybe muddied is a more apt description) the tax exempt status of hero ticket purchases:<br />
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<b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">From:</span></b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> Carols by Candlelight [<a href="mailto:stevevaus@cox.net" style="color: purple;">mailto:stevevaus@cox.net</a>] </span><br />
<b style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Sent:</b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Friday, November 23, 2018 2:31 PM</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyx4yo9LRhmKeBnOlVNrKwfgoQI4Tj-NnT0BUhW-wqimBi-0She3ElIVE0xlE1rdibWQc8wfSrQTUbtpD_bm1XTSDMuWDZAcGhukeOGGGhK-AfCYltOOqf0f6HStT-9aK12zcHiWqvRBI/s1600/hero+tickets.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="619" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyx4yo9LRhmKeBnOlVNrKwfgoQI4Tj-NnT0BUhW-wqimBi-0She3ElIVE0xlE1rdibWQc8wfSrQTUbtpD_bm1XTSDMuWDZAcGhukeOGGGhK-AfCYltOOqf0f6HStT-9aK12zcHiWqvRBI/s640/hero+tickets.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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I am wondering how 4CS "doing business as" Carols by Candlelight works. Because it seems like Steve Vaus Productions is also doing business as Carols by Candlelight. Can there be two entities doing business as an event at the same time? Does Vaus Productions need to file a fictitious business name for Carols by Candlelight the way 4 Community Solutions did? Is this a normal business practice to have some donations for the same item go into a nonprofit and others go into a sole proprietorship? Is this a common business model? <br />
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If you do plan to buy hero tickets, please note that they are not tax deductible unless you make arrangements with Steve Vaus.<br />
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<br />Chris Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06489810250555135219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1057262584896477189.post-84225099096988621222018-10-18T10:57:00.001-07:002018-10-18T11:02:29.133-07:00What's Not to be Happy About Poway's Budget SurplusAt last night's city council meeting, the staff presented a <a href="http://docs.poway.org/WebLink/0/doc/124149/Page1.aspx">report</a> on the closing of the fiscal year, and lo and behold, they have an almost $5 million surplus. Normally, that would be an occasion for giving a lot of high fives and chest thumping, but I want to take a closer look at a few items before going into celebratory mode.<br />
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1. The City got about $1.5 million more from the RPTTF fund than they had expected. The RPTTF fund is the Redevelopment Property Tax Trust Fund. When the redevelopment program ended, the property taxes from parcels in the redevelopment area didn't immediately revert back to the normal distribution pattern. The County still collects those property taxes, but they are put into a special pot called the RPTTF fund. The county assessor first has to pay out a certain amount of money to pay off old redevelopment bonds and other contractual obligations of the old redevelopment agencies, and then, after those are paid, the property taxes are distributed in the same proportion and to the same entities as regular property taxes. </div>
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The proceeds from the sale of redevelopment properties goes into the RPTTF, but mostly it is property taxes. And property taxes are for keeping the City running, for paying for safety services, and salaries of the administrative and legislative department and the city employees who maintain our streets and parks, etc. Almost all of the money that the City has "set aside" for the Cafagna center has come from RPTTF funds. In other words, the city is setting property taxes that normal go to fund the general operation of the city and using it for a major building fund. Remember, the city is charging a big chunk of the departmental operating expenses on to our water and sewer bills as cost allocations. See what is happening? Our water and sewer bills are taxed to pay for the running of the city, which frees up some of our property taxes to be "set aside" to pay to build the Cafagna Center.</div>
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2. Because the swimming pool was closed, the City had lower operating costs. I'm sure the City saved on their water bill too. Oh, I forgot, we are paying a part of that bill too. The city has (as of one year ago) begun to pay the raw water costs of water used at city facilities, but water rate payers pay the costs of treating and delivering that water to city facilities. Do we get a bit of that surplus for our share of already paying for treating the water that didn't go into the pool this year?</div>
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3. About $820,000 of the surplus was for selling the Big Stone Lodge property to the Poway Housing Authority. There are several things wrong with this transaction. One, the City bought the Big Stone Lodge property for a park. They told the state they bought it for a park when they submitted their Long-range Property Management Plan. And the State let the City keep the property when redevelopment was dissolved because they bought it for a park. The City could have also kept the property as a site for affordable housing if they had wanted. If they had done that, the City wouldn't have been able to take $820,000 from the housing fund and transfer it to their general fund and use it for the Cafagna Center or to buy down their unfunded pension obligation. Their are three losers on this- south Poway loses a great location for a much needed passive park, the housing fund lost almost a million dollars, and south Poway our riparian corridors are endangered by development. </div>
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I suspect the City wants to find a place for veterans housing, after they bungled the proposal on Twin Peaks. So, now they plan to take a much needed park site from south Poway to compensate. Of course, we will have the opportunity to have some say about this, but really, we don't. The decisions are made without our input. </div>
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From Poway's Long-range Property Management Plan that was submitted to and approved by the state:</div>
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It is going to be difficult to find spots for parks in the future. And there will never be another opportunity to preserve this part of our heritage if the parcel is used for housing. So, I am not celebrating the almost $5 million surplus. I'm mourning the loss of a great location to build a park and preserve part of our heritage.</div>
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Chris Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06489810250555135219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1057262584896477189.post-6631716878806832522018-10-12T00:02:00.001-07:002018-10-12T10:19:09.050-07:00The Best California Voter’s Guide Ever<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmEizf9Dxwls6XFEmKD4GP5dSETVyvOi__1y5tFYUxse2_uvKwdGXMvHz2yRvlAb0pBxVVdMVq8aartNsvqvxHmrUs-Ix69TtvsYlTTtK97pMTavVylAhDSZtuc0OiBsP3KjpoviYy08c/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-10-11+at+11.54.04+PM.png" imageanchor="1"></a>Voter's Edge is the most awesome, fantastic, California voter's guide ever.<br />
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<h1 class="ContentPage_page-title_1RL" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #224e77; font-family: clear_sansbold, "Segoe UI", HelveticaNeue-Light, sans-serif; font-size: 1.6rem; font-weight: 500; line-height: 1.6rem; margin: 30px 15px 15px; padding: 0px;">
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<div class="ContentPage_content_2Yj col-md-12" style="box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(46, 62, 90); color: #2e3e5a; float: left; font-family: clear_sansregular, "Segoe UI", HelveticaNeue-Light, sans-serif; font-size: 1.02em; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px; min-height: 1px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px; position: relative; width: 720px;">
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Welcome to Voter’s Edge California</h2>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
Voter’s Edge California (VEC) is a joint project of MapLight and the League of Women Voters of<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
With Voter’s Edge California, voters can:<br />
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*<em style="box-sizing: inherit;">The LWVCEF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization and never advocates. </em><em style="box-sizing: inherit;">The League of Women Voters of California does operate a separate nonprofit </em><em style="box-sizing: inherit;">501(c)(4) organization that advocates on issues and sometimes makes recommendations </em><em style="box-sizing: inherit;">on ballot measures.</em></blockquote>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
Voter's Edge has this awesome tool that you can use to figure out who to vote for on your entire<br />
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<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
First, start on <a href="https://votersedge.org/en/ca">this page</a> and type in your address and zip code, and hit the<br />
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<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT1GWyaRNwodeWAn-peHf5HP9K_3KXqGdykmKfL60Swsq3I1IaoW83mydvsyEV42lvHijOV1pn55ItKNsra69Nl_Je89CkjQnrMn5UOXghQEvx9r-HQBnfs2BVlzWOQztDvKGMSa7d5fk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-10-11+at+8.38.18+PM.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="552" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT1GWyaRNwodeWAn-peHf5HP9K_3KXqGdykmKfL60Swsq3I1IaoW83mydvsyEV42lvHijOV1pn55ItKNsra69Nl_Je89CkjQnrMn5UOXghQEvx9r-HQBnfs2BVlzWOQztDvKGMSa7d5fk/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-10-11+at+8.38.18+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Voila! Your whole ballot appears. You can start at the top with the first 2 candidates for Senate<br />
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I am going to continue with the candidates. Click on "compare candidates".</div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7hSYCi3OWIsOc-dR87EDUaSpvN9WPyYzREUumh_iEBOY4VHIKvha2BZVeuYHd7jxth3jFX1TY905rbguvtC_d14IE36AVUSVkR4hUTV0OxsDBtU7fuM__XnHJP2QtojypwKJXi_2WOLc/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-10-11+at+11.08.55+PM.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7hSYCi3OWIsOc-dR87EDUaSpvN9WPyYzREUumh_iEBOY4VHIKvha2BZVeuYHd7jxth3jFX1TY905rbguvtC_d14IE36AVUSVkR4hUTV0OxsDBtU7fuM__XnHJP2QtojypwKJXi_2WOLc/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-10-11+at+11.08.55+PM.png" width="632" /></a></div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
You've got links with lots of information: "About this Office", "News", "Videos", same candidates<br />
even have questionnaires in a link. If you decide who to vote for you can click on "my choice" and<br />
your choice will be saved. The candidates chosen in this demonstration are not necessarily<br />
MY candidates, I picked a random candidate.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyS8g_zKNjyZl5DIHo0n_mFi3NYurfpM6A2CQLpTFCXtZ7zgTQcQqOjlQbiTBAL9-vj3PZSnP-NWl7uygpmXmcz-i4Jo4rqOw_s-QhIeTVqQjKF-u26uxQsgYX0fqKYs2rKg0-MTinjvw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-10-11+at+8.40.14+PM.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyS8g_zKNjyZl5DIHo0n_mFi3NYurfpM6A2CQLpTFCXtZ7zgTQcQqOjlQbiTBAL9-vj3PZSnP-NWl7uygpmXmcz-i4Jo4rqOw_s-QhIeTVqQjKF-u26uxQsgYX0fqKYs2rKg0-MTinjvw/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-10-11+at+8.40.14+PM.png" width="582" /></a></div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
I had to use the back arrow to go back to the ballot selections after I compared candidates.<br />
There might be a better way, but that seemed to work for me.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
Here are two judges who are running for San Diego County Superior Court. The red arrow is<br />
pointing to a very useful resource that I always use to pick judges for SD Superior Court.<br />
I am thrilled that it is on the VotersEdge site and all I have to do is click on<br />
"Judicial Candidate Evaluations" to find out how the San Diego Bar rated these two candidates. <br />
This is not a political rating, it is about their qualifications to be a judge.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCcP2-iW11u7PBiRvKvIgWjKcMa6u9BJeq17QGFGTj7SrkwwMLRObArMxWjZzsCS0YNdKIT74leG-9sbmdGdRoRDRcEAAc-6aCLOHtmYCU3_jfXSr9lsGFP5ec9I0ZNQ70CbLcPiQRUYY/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-10-11+at+8.42.10+PM.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCcP2-iW11u7PBiRvKvIgWjKcMa6u9BJeq17QGFGTj7SrkwwMLRObArMxWjZzsCS0YNdKIT74leG-9sbmdGdRoRDRcEAAc-6aCLOHtmYCU3_jfXSr9lsGFP5ec9I0ZNQ70CbLcPiQRUYY/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-10-11+at+8.42.10+PM.png" width="512" /></a> </div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
When you finish the candidates, you will get to the Propositions. This is where VotersEdge<br />
really shines. Seriously, you can throw out all of the campaign mailers. The information on<br />
VotersEdge is far more complete and informative. So click on a proposition and take a look.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif8vLgXk7cbJIUNyd1ch1_AWDqYO8X9XDcB12g85GqIj3_pitncZjUayWSbTn7XZA-_BWQeESiHFBjTNfYJU6Y7PCe1iB9X5qFNqQ8Il6jYvZVnQIQIAhQdww1ceOZcKGcK44wifmt39Y/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-10-11+at+8.43.33+PM.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif8vLgXk7cbJIUNyd1ch1_AWDqYO8X9XDcB12g85GqIj3_pitncZjUayWSbTn7XZA-_BWQeESiHFBjTNfYJU6Y7PCe1iB9X5qFNqQ8Il6jYvZVnQIQIAhQdww1ceOZcKGcK44wifmt39Y/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-10-11+at+8.43.33+PM.png" width="484" /></a></div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
Here is the information to Proposition 8, Kidney Dialysis Clinics. I'm clueless about this one. </div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
So I am going to look at the "Easy Voter Guide " first. This measure would regulating<br />
how much clinics can charge for dialysis treatments. Next I am going to look at the Pro and Cons.<br />
And then I will look through the Measure and Details. </div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ3bleyEEnqOwp-o2Algzd0pEMdvqL_X6pRZyau8FYD8v4GQg3c8AqBHYIydB8YExxEegyjrQk-oaKcLAeNTEAHSwHm1Zflfq6XhhXz3Cjne6_XiK805b8T6o-7HmUKVykvGbLj4SR8vA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-10-11+at+8.45.31+PM.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ3bleyEEnqOwp-o2Algzd0pEMdvqL_X6pRZyau8FYD8v4GQg3c8AqBHYIydB8YExxEegyjrQk-oaKcLAeNTEAHSwHm1Zflfq6XhhXz3Cjne6_XiK805b8T6o-7HmUKVykvGbLj4SR8vA/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-10-11+at+8.45.31+PM.png" width="512" /></a></div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
The pro and cons. </div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjko-nuU8UgpinboByuwsTXyXf19-4wl-6gQwsF4r6QJeBpPmEw4sa3vtS5AYFGrRaWOADvZEZz25zilYgcCOYEnKZiFBTQJe2j1Ekqvmk_Qe7IXjDrT20UphwnfcbaHU84HNfsBtyLp8/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-10-11+at+8.45.51+PM.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjko-nuU8UgpinboByuwsTXyXf19-4wl-6gQwsF4r6QJeBpPmEw4sa3vtS5AYFGrRaWOADvZEZz25zilYgcCOYEnKZiFBTQJe2j1Ekqvmk_Qe7IXjDrT20UphwnfcbaHU84HNfsBtyLp8/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-10-11+at+8.45.51+PM.png" width="566" /></a></div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihgXykkWN8temKKgWioJlZgiqvFmOceuw7YuiRYAnT7NZQ3NmMxZnE4mcy6wqpOAAnDfUmfdmVJE5jOujPPvfrVe-Ug4p2O45v7cPgJur3NEUuCj-zfsy3x6C95J_zH8a6E8nXfcEwdes/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-10-11+at+8.46.26+PM.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihgXykkWN8temKKgWioJlZgiqvFmOceuw7YuiRYAnT7NZQ3NmMxZnE4mcy6wqpOAAnDfUmfdmVJE5jOujPPvfrVe-Ug4p2O45v7cPgJur3NEUuCj-zfsy3x6C95J_zH8a6E8nXfcEwdes/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-10-11+at+8.46.26+PM.png" width="480" /></a></div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
And more arguments for or against.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_lSsfOY3cLdZbr4tSIBCh0eW9nlTEX3qmauDHTsUA_B8ViPBEgk_gZUrOeu_VF_gc1O1gbcv5Eh98wczGxTA7xiLAveo9eXmf-2cinuMnPfdFQ7IAdTe346Z2ijaMykfOdf37Qg8rElI/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-10-11+at+11.43.06+PM.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_lSsfOY3cLdZbr4tSIBCh0eW9nlTEX3qmauDHTsUA_B8ViPBEgk_gZUrOeu_VF_gc1O1gbcv5Eh98wczGxTA7xiLAveo9eXmf-2cinuMnPfdFQ7IAdTe346Z2ijaMykfOdf37Qg8rElI/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-10-11+at+11.43.06+PM.png" width="446" /></a></div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
If I really want to, I can read the proposed legislation, but I rarely want to do that.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
Now comes the really good part. Who supports the measure and who opposes it and<br />
who gave money. When I first look at propositions, I actually start with who supports it<br />
and who gave money. That is like the Cliff Notes for me. I usually can tell if I align<br />
with or against various groups. This measure is supported by unions and the<br />
California Democratic Party. It is opposed by Healthcare companies<br />
that won't be able to charge as much for kidney dialysis treatment. </div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivmRpa-yuvtOhv9u6CDKVSFQ1zZchfFtG1E838-OtgHVkokGmbjrYia82kosaFycgVlTP-9m-IbqQfZdRE0w-TFZhSdAthU0XhWLAx1DwhfSanNV0-XtVdNwUTqTGIImowPkhSd_KhapU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-10-11+at+11.44.22+PM.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="566" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivmRpa-yuvtOhv9u6CDKVSFQ1zZchfFtG1E838-OtgHVkokGmbjrYia82kosaFycgVlTP-9m-IbqQfZdRE0w-TFZhSdAthU0XhWLAx1DwhfSanNV0-XtVdNwUTqTGIImowPkhSd_KhapU/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-10-11+at+11.44.22+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
I can look at more information about where the money came from </div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVEhqo97dnBdvGGWGGrwPLbcRHfYxigCLbKZGSV0MsPgC27FiebJsqO1aGQrOcHgm3kXwZgoP1ybZDckP3yVZtHg5BYzyR22BxFXqdOzXOtsNykD_2JGXUli1ouSgAdclQjp299BPsCw8/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-10-11+at+11.48.43+PM.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVEhqo97dnBdvGGWGGrwPLbcRHfYxigCLbKZGSV0MsPgC27FiebJsqO1aGQrOcHgm3kXwZgoP1ybZDckP3yVZtHg5BYzyR22BxFXqdOzXOtsNykD_2JGXUli1ouSgAdclQjp299BPsCw8/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-10-11+at+11.48.43+PM.png" width="480" /></a></div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
and I can read various opinion pieces (pro and con) on the proposition. </div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipydqWDAYKN-SGnWdS6u_OSkjk2wAmbqui23s2PNgkJNJgGeLQm6e7Hmv1XzqMKw2qEH061tGHLd_TrcwzPYFYZoptIHfFYiDdpoLa2xW-PFD8Y2D3U2esObWqGTbFXgUTFd0WyNBM_lo/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-10-11+at+11.48.48+PM.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipydqWDAYKN-SGnWdS6u_OSkjk2wAmbqui23s2PNgkJNJgGeLQm6e7Hmv1XzqMKw2qEH061tGHLd_TrcwzPYFYZoptIHfFYiDdpoLa2xW-PFD8Y2D3U2esObWqGTbFXgUTFd0WyNBM_lo/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-10-11+at+11.48.48+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
This is a very complete look at Prop 8. I think I have more than enough good<br />
information to decide if I am for or against this measure. </div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
When you have finished selecting all of the candidates and ballot measures.<br />
You can click on the "MY Choices" tab, and print or email a summary.<br />
Or you can mark your mail in ballot from the list. </div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9WGpIhXNb-uN5Vp_z5wt2TastkPrubAWE9d38FUboHtHNEFRHVaYrs8K-91tOFy0n5hkqpnOPjNCH5cNS_l-dgzj2apOP0UCkG4xS4EJSf5xMLj8MNrvAG-vMG125onrLzUYidi8MN2E/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-10-11+at+11.54.04+PM.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="622" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9WGpIhXNb-uN5Vp_z5wt2TastkPrubAWE9d38FUboHtHNEFRHVaYrs8K-91tOFy0n5hkqpnOPjNCH5cNS_l-dgzj2apOP0UCkG4xS4EJSf5xMLj8MNrvAG-vMG125onrLzUYidi8MN2E/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-10-11+at+11.54.04+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
This is such an awesome tool, because everything you need to mark your ballot is right<br />
here on the Voter's Edge site.<br />
The only thing you might want to do is check out the South Poway Votes<br />
resources for Poway mayor and council candidates.<br />
We have<a href="https://powayblog.blogspot.com/2018/10/election-2018-poway-council-and-mayor.html"> links </a>to both SPV and GVCA questionnaires, forum videos,<br />
John Riley project videos, and the candidates own webpages. </div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
You can also join the discussion on<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/SouthPowayVotes/"> SPV</a> if that interests you. <br />
We would love to see you there.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16.979328155517578px; line-height: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 720px;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<br />Chris Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06489810250555135219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1057262584896477189.post-60356427742354166902018-10-08T13:31:00.003-07:002018-10-08T14:13:07.623-07:00SPV Q & A District 3 Council <div class="Section1" style="page: Section1;">
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">South Poway Votes<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">Questions and Answers –District 3<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">1. District Elections<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">A. Do you think the district elections are a positive or negative thing for Poway voters? Please explain your thinking.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">B. Would you support a 4 district citizen’s commission to redraw/rebalance the district boundaries after the 2020 census or would you prefer that the council members do it? Again, please explain your thinking.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Joe Calabrese- </span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">declined to participate<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">John Mullin </span></b><span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Question 1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">My perspective on district elections is already on record, but I’m happy to expand on it here. I do not think district elections are a positive for Poway.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">The CVRA – and by extension, district elections – is based on the premise that the needs, beliefs, opinions and values of Hispanic or black voters are inherently different from voters at large. That is racist on its face. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">I reject the concept that your ethnicity or race is an inherent determinant of your values and what you expect from government at any level. I consequently submit that the CVRA is based on a false premise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Applying its consequences to Poway, district elections diminish a Council Member’s responsibility to set policy and make decisions for the betterment of our City as a whole. I very much dislike that under district elections you or I can vote for only one Council Member while 3 others for whom we cannot vote for or against can make decisions that affect us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">If you or I disagree with the decisions or conduct of a Council Member, present company included, you should be able to express that dissatisfaction at the polls. With district elections, you cannot and that is not good for Poway or good for anybody.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Question 2.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">If the next census shows our districts to be out of balance, subject of course to what is allowed in the Government Code, I would prefer to make adjustments to balance the districts without starting from scratch. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">Neither John Mullin or Joe Calabrese answered any more questions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Chris Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06489810250555135219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1057262584896477189.post-83291207508376410542018-10-08T13:30:00.000-07:002018-10-08T14:13:49.291-07:00SPV Q & A Mayor<div class="Section1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -webkit-standard; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; page: Section1; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">South Poway Votes<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">Questions and Answers -Mayor<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">1. District Elections<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">A. Do you think the district elections are a positive or negative thing for Poway voters? Please explain your thinking.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">B. Would you support a 4 district citizen’s commission to redraw/rebalance the district boundaries after the 2020 census or would you prefer that the council members do it? Again, please explain your thinking.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: green; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">Steve Vaus</span></b><span style="color: green; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">- </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">declined to participate<span style="color: green;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">Yuri Bohlen- </span></b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">A. I believe the district elections are very positive for Poway voters it gives the voters more choices of candidates to fill the different districts if there where no districts and just four members of the city council it would be like many things in life a click. The city council should serve the people that they represent not themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">B. I believe the people should form a citizens commission to redraw or rebalance the district boundaries after the 2020 census and to take it a step further and to avoid any persons or group or organization feeling slighted in the design of the district map have two versions and put it on a special ballot and let democracy work majority decision becomes law. Thank you Chris for the questions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #660066; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">Emily Johnson</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">- no response<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">Brian Edmonston-</span></b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">A. At first I was skeptical about the need to create voting districts for Poway. I thought the districts would divide our community and make it more difficult to get things done. However, after meeting with many people I see the districts have brought a new level of energy and involvement to many Poway communities, and I think that is a good thing. Also, I see no evidence of the division I thought might occur. If anything, I think the districts have brought Poway closer together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">So, based on what I have seen so far the districts have been good for Poway.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">B. If the districts were going to be redrawn then I would want citizens to be involved. However, I would also like some involvement from city government as the process could get very complicated. I don’t think a citizen only panel could get the job done. Also, I would want to explore some totally different district maps including the use of “bands” running north-to-south so that each district would have portions of each of the major roads (Poway, Twin Peaks, and Espola) and each district would have communities with different densities in them (including commercial and industrial facilities.) This is similar to the way Encinitas districted, which was using east-to-west band so that each district has beach, rail, highway and rural sections, and therefore would all share the same concerns.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">That said, if the current district maps seem to be working after the 2020 election, I would see no reason for radical changes at that time. A simple adjustment for the population changes would be enough.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">_________________________________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">2. Park Needs Assessment<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">During last Tuesday’s City Council Meeting, City Manager Tina White mentioned that the last time Poway did a park needs assessment was in 2008. </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">In the 10 years since that last assessment, Poway has added many residents, and the council has approved the Poway Rd Corridor Study, which will add thousands more residents, all without assessing if there are sufficient parks to serve their needs.</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">A. In your opinion, whose job is it to initiate a park needs assessment?</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">The council? The city manager? Both? Neither?</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">B. What kind of maps, data, metrics and other information would you find useful in a park needs assessment ? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">C. When discussing park needs, what is of particular concern to you?</span></b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: green; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">Steve Vaus- </span></b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">declined to participate<span style="color: green;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">Yuri Bohlen- </span></b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">A. My answer is neither let me elaborate we are two months away from the most important election in Poway history. Why now a park needs assessment I will tell you why this is just one of the dominos in place to fall for the real game piece of the Poway road corridor project to have in place extra parks to justify the new apartments condos and luxury homes that the current powers that be are trying to force at the expense of small business owners and community church thrift shops in the carriage center strip mall and other areas that they deem not worthy of there vision of Poway. Also if you go on Poway city hall website they list 22 parks in there list some like the swim center and the sports complex are more competitive athletic venues but minus those two its still 20 parks in my opinion we don't need anymore at this time perhaps in the future after 2020 census we could evaluate this again<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">B. When the appropriate time comes to even consider park assessment we should use some data or other information that shows demographics for example if it is a children oriented park with a large playground area it would not make sense to be located in a heavily populated senior area as an example. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">C What concerns me is WHO WHAT WHERE and WHY. Who is spearheading a certain project. What type of park is being proposed. Where is this park being discussed open space or existing space . Why is this a priority at this time does it comingle with other projects etc.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #660066; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">Emily Johnson-</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"></span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">A. I believe both the council and city manager need to be on the same page regarding the parks and that the assessment should be done on a schedule, such as every 5 years, so that it is regularly updated without need for discussion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">B. Honestly, I'm not sure, but I feel that it would be important that what is measured is also seen as important information to the citizens of Poway and I would love to have discussion on this should people have thoughts on what they would like measured! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">C. I think maintenance of parks has been neglected. Bathrooms of most public parks are dirty and often missing supplies. I also feel like we too often allow items like benches and signs deteriorat too much before they are replaced. It is important that we keep our parks beautiful, considering how large our community is and how many people enjoy them regularly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">Brian Edmonston-</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"></span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">A.</span><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"></span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">This task should fall primarily on city council, whose job it is to direct the city manager. Certainly, a proactive and competent city manager would bring this to the attention of city council as part of his or her regular management responsibilities, but the ultimate responsibility should for making sure that Poway has sufficient parks and other recreational opportunities should be on city council.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">B. Certainly population maps as well as planned future development. Also, I would want to know how much visitors each park receives and what particular features or areas are use the most. For example, perhaps we need more soccer fields. Or perhaps we need more walkable space or space for dogs to roam free. We need to know how people are using are recreational facilities (including the privately owned facilities) to best determine how and where our park dollars should be spent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">C. I want parks to be used. I want to provide the greatest number of recreational opportunities as possible for Poway residents. I also want parks to bring people together. Finally, I want a park & recreation system that allows Poway to continue to attract great people to come and live here, because in the end it is the people that make Poway special.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">3. Poway Road Specific Plan<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">The recently approved Poway Road Corridor Specific Plan allows for 1399 new residential units on Poway Road, between Oak Knoll and Garden Road. </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">That amounts to adding 3456 new residents and 360 new employees to the area, most densely concentrated between Community and Carriage Rd. </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">Which of the following statements best reflects your feelings about the new Poway Road Specific Plan (PRSP)?</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">a. Poway Rd looks run down and trashy. Bringing new businesses and new residential units to this area will spark a badly needed economic revival in Poway.</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">b. Poway Road may look funky, but I like it the way it is. I don’t want to see these familiar places torn down and replaced with upscale, chain stores. I want to see Poway’s hills, not 3 story apartment buildings. </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">c. I thought Poway was all built out. I resent the state making Poway build more residential units. But if we have to build them, I would rather build on Poway Rd instead of opening up east Poway for development. </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">d. Growth is inevitable. We should look to the future and forget about the past. </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">Please add anything else you would like to say about the PRSP.</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: green; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">Steve Vaus</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">- </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">declined to participate<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">Yuri Bohlen-</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"></span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">I am vigorously opposed to the Poway road corridor specific plan, this is what first inspired me to run for public office. First let me explain I have been going to the carriage center strip mall for the last 27 years as a customer to the various thrift shops. I personally know many of the seniors who volunteer at the different thrift shops many of whom are customers where I work these are friendships not to mention good people who want to stay active in the community. Also a lot of people who might not be able to afford things in new stores can buy nice things at affordable prices. Then there are the church thrift shops who use the money from donations to provide food, clothing and shelter to families in need. One good thing leads to many good things, now how about small business owners who are going the way of the dinosaur it seems as if the powers that be only want corporate franchises the ones you can find in any town. Poway is a family oriented community where generations past, present, and hopefully future can have the same fond memories that I have and I am just one person imagine all who share my sentiment over the years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">Now let me explain with less personal feelings but more logistics the possibility of depending on who you here it from is 1300+ units of either apartments, condos, luxury town homes and probably mix use businesses. Some say affordable housing others don't mention this either way this is not the area to do this there are other empty buildings and land on other areas of Poway road for example the restaurant on the hill that went out of business behind Jack in the box would be a great place for housing including housing for veterans nobody at city council ever really talks about this that can be used for housing. What will happen to Poway road more congestion and long traffic waits during and after completion of this project. Poway road will turn into just another Friars road, Mira Mesa boulevard, Claremont mesa boulevard ETC. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">Now my answer is a adamant B Poway Road may look funky but I believe it to look like a place with personality and charm and old school traditions and I like it the way it is I don't want to see these familiar places torn down and replaced with upscale chain stores, I want to see Poway's hills, not 3 story apartment buildings <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">In closing I have talked to hundreds of people on this subject and all of them share my sentiments thank you<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #660066; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">Emily Johnson-</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">I'm going to say statement b ( Poway Road may look funky, but I like it the way it is. I don’t want to see these familiar places torn down and replaced with upscale, chain stores. I want to see Poway’s hills, not 3 story apartment buildings) but adding on that I think the city's construction should be focused more on cleaning up/beautifying what is already there. Freshening up the shopping centers would be nice and would help those smaller businesses bring in new customers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">Brian Edmonston</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">-</span></b><i><span style="color: #7f7f7f; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">a. Poway Rd looks run down and trashy. Bringing new businesses and new residential units to this area will spark a badly needed economic revival in Poway.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">This is true up to a point, but the PRSP crosses that point. The number of units is too high and the PRSP is too developer friendly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #7f7f7f; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">b. Poway Road may look funky, but I like it the way it is. I don’t want to see these familiar places torn down and replaced with upscale, chain stores. I want to see Poway’s hills, not 3 story apartment buildings. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">Decreasing the total number of units that can be constructed will help preserve at least some of the familiar business we know and love in Poway. It will also help preserve the mountain views. I would certainly consider returning building height maximums back down to 35 or 30 feet in some areas if there was sufficient demand. Additionally, by increasing the percentage of commercial space required for each development the opportunity for these or similar businesses to reopen will be increased. The city could also more strongly encourage and/or motivate developers to put in commercial activities such as a modern bowling alley, which seems to have strong support in this community. The city can exercise more influence on the design of these projects if it wants to. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #7f7f7f; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">c. I thought Poway was all built out. I resent the state making Poway build more residential units. But if we have to build them, I would rather build on Poway Rd instead of opening up east Poway for development. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">The further away from the I-15 you go the more risky this type of development is, so Poway Road is the best place IF you are going to do it at all. If you are talking about more typical single family home development, adding new homes to east Poway could be investigated, but I would expect the hilly nature this land to make it difficult. This is the hard truth about Poway - although you would think there is still a lot of land to develop by looking at a map, most of the undeveloped land is very hilly and not well suited for a large number of homes. Also, these are the area most venerable to fires. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #7f7f7f; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">d. Growth is inevitable. We should look to the future and forget about the past. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">Some growth is inevitable, but that growth should be slow and steady and well planned. The additional demands created by those communities much be measured and plans made to accommodate those needs. For example, Del Sur is a huge development. But it was well planned and people seem happy with the development because there are so many amenities mixed in. While the Poway Road Corridor is not Del Sur, the same principals apply. If the development well planed and combined with lots of limitations, protections and enhancements, it might turn out to be something people like. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #7f7f7f; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">Please add anything else you would like to say about the PRSP.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">The updated Poway Road Specific Plan has some good ideas, but it also has flaws and it is incomplete as an urban planning document. These defects pose a huge threat to South Poway. The flaws include: a) parking requirements that are too lenient and which will cause overflow parking into the local neighborhoods.b) insufficient commercial space requirements (no minimum percentage). The only commercial space requirement in the PRSP is percentage of store frontage on Poway Road. This leads to proposals with only 10% retail/commercial space. which will negate many of the benefits of a mixed use development such as putting residents within walking distance of commercial areas and activities. c) too many units overall - 1148 or 1399 is too many new units for this area. The update PRSP also exposes the lack of overall urban planning for this area. Its particular, the update PRSP does not add any parks or amenities to accommodate the thousands of new residents this development will introduce. This is completely irresponsible in this modern era of urban planning. I have proposed, at a minimum, increasing the size of Poway Community Park with some of the adjacent city owned parcels, but there is no question even more small parks must be added if anything close to the full number of units is developed. Finally, in order to fund these additional amenities higher builder fees must be charged for each unit. This is a common practice and it is strange that the city is not doing this. If $5000 was charged for each unit this would raise $5 million that could go towards new amenities. That seems like a very reasonable price to pay for all the developer friendly accommodations made by the updated PRSP. A Poway corridor melo-roos for new units could also be considered/encouraged.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">4. General Fund <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">(short version) Do you think the city is transferring too many general fund expenses to our water, sewer, trash, LMD bills?</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">(long version) It seems as if the current trend is to transfer expenses that used to be paid by the general fund to residents. For example, when the City voted to extend a contract to an exclusive trash hauler, the contract included the provision that the City would get free trash service. That wiped hundreds of thousands of dollars off the general fund expenditures and added those costs to our trash bills. The City charges a “cost allocation” to our water and sewer debts, and to the landscape maintenance districts too. The cost allocation is a share of all of the costs of running various city departments. Our water and sewer bills get dinged for half the cost to run the legislative and administrative department in the City (city clerk, city manager, asst city manager, city councilmembers) as well as a portion of the costs to run the human resources department, some planning expenses and to pay the city attorney. This is in addition to paying for the city employees who work in the Public Works department. The City has also been charging the water and sewer ratepayers for all of the water that is used at city facilities including the parks and the pool. Last year, the City started paying a portion of those costs, but not the full costs. Why aren’t those costs paid by the general fund? Payments for a portion of the bonds to pay off the city hall building are charged to our water and sewer bills. But when the City sold the old water building on Poway Rd, a building paid for by water and sewer ratepayers, the proceeds of the sale were put into the general fund, not in the water and sewer fund. Revenue from using the water reservoirs as cell towers amounted to $610,194. All of it went into the general fund, none of it was used to reduce our water bills. The City took $5.2 million from the sewer fund and $2.6 million from the water fund and loaned it to the redevelopment agency. Some of those loans are over 25 years old. The City could pay it back with the proceeds from the sale of redevelopment property, but instead they are squirreling away over $9 million of that money to build a new community center. The general fund used to pay for all street landscaping. Then new developments had to form LMDs to pay for new landscaping Recently, the City tried to add more of us into the old LMDs. Now, they are talking about a city-wide LMD where they can transfer another general expense on to property owners. It seems as if assets go in the general fund, and debts are billed to us. Do you find this trend disturbing? What do you think should be done about it?</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: green; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Steve Vaus-</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">declined to participate<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Yuri Bohlen-</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;"></span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Hello my answer to the short question is a definite yes I have been questioning where the appropriate funds are being allocated to other funds like water LMDs sewer trash ETC.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">In response to the longer version if elected mayor I will hire an independent auditing firm to investigate all of the funds with a fine tooth comb to see if any improprieties have been done in an illegal matter or is this just the city council playing monopoly with our tax dollars and it might not be illegal just morally wrong. What ever the case might be we will have things done in a more ethical manner if I am elected there will be full transparency to all the voters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #660066; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Emily Johnson- </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">(submitted 9/16/2018)Short Answer: It may be possible but I do not know enough about that to say for sure. I feel as though it would require much more research as well as conversation with city officials <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Long Answer: Should I be elected mayor, I feel like a longer investigation would be needed to know anything for sure. There would still be conversation and time would be needed to have any definitive information but, should this prove to be true, I would work to allocate costs back to the general fund over time. Unfortunately, this would have to be done slowly as to prevent a deficit from being formed, which may be frustrating for taxpayers but I would be unsure how to handle it any faster without causing more harm than good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Brian Edmonston-</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;"></span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">(short version)I think this is possible. I would conduct a review of water, sewer and LMD fees and expenses to determine if the costs are truly originated from the service provided. If not, I will work to slowly transfer the allocation of those costs from the service budget to the general fund. Looking at the Water and Sewer bills I will say that it does like their are some misallocated costs including human resources and development costs. But I would have to get a more in depth look at the books.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">(long version)I think there is a reasonable case to be made that, in some cases, the city is using specific funds to cover general expenses. I make this determination without access to detailed information, however.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">I would be willing to review all LMDs to see if they are truly provide a specific benefit to the community that pays them. If there is substantial general benefit I would seek to have the city either take over the responsibility for these functions or somehow match these funds to provide even more enhanced services, depending on the desires of that community. If there was a true specific benefit however, then I would hope the LMD would continue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">With regard to water and sewer, there is also some evidence to suggest general costs are being funded with water fee revenue, although a closer inspection might reveal this is not the case.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Assuming, however, that it is the case I would seek to reduce the water expenses slowly over a four year period by the amount I determine is being over payed and then phase out that additional payment over the four year period. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">For example, if I determined the improper allocation was $1 million dollars then each year I would reduce the expenses associated with this improper allocation by around $250,000 each year. Each years budget would have to account for that decrease by curbing any additional expedatures for that particular year. Over the course of the four years the total improper expense would be eliminated and a more fair allocation achieved without causing too much disruption to the budget.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">As to sewer fees, I would consider skewing the reduction in costs towards the sewer fee and making those fees more proportional. (currently there is a volume discount for sewer fees). This would skew the benefit of any cost reduction towards lower volume users.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">5. Housing<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">There are 2 mandates requiring Poway to plan for and/or build certain kinds of housing, one from the state and the other from the redevelopment program. The state requires every jurisdiction to plan for a “fair share” of the housing needs for the future. Sandag is the local agency where the overall number of low, very low, moderate and above moderate housing numbers are divided up for San Diego county jurisdictions for each housing cycle (a period of about 5- 10 yrs). Poway and the other cities must then zone enough land at a density high enough to meet their allocation of houses in each category. These will be market rate homes, not deed restricted “affordable” housing.</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">The redevelopment program required that each agency spend a certain percentage of incoming redevelopment dollars on affordable housing. Affordable housing is deed restricted housing for low and moderate income people. People have to qualify by income level for such housing. Because affordable housing brings in less rent money than market rate properties, the financing for affordable units is more complex and difficult. The redevelopment agencies have been disbanded, but some existing affordable housing projects and programs still exist in Poway and are administered by the Poway Housing Authority. </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">A. If it were up to you, where would you rezone land in Poway to accommodate Poway’s “fair share” allotment from the next housing cycle?</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">B. Do you think Poway needs more affordable (deed restricted for low and moderate income) housing? Why or why not. </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: green; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Steve Vaus-</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;"></span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">declined to participate<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Yuri Bohlen- </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Question A There are many unused open spaces that have been abandoned without active businesses in some cases for many years on Poway road no less the lot across from McDonalds that use to be a bank would be a good place for Housing. There are other empty lots as well for example the restaurant on the hill that went out of business behind Jack in the box its a bad location for any business but would be a great place for homes. Also on Poway road and the corner of carriage the old auto zone has been empty for a very long time and there is the old karate MMA studio next to discount tire that has been empty for a long time as well. Instead of destroying current businesses that are assets to the community why don't we utilize unused properties that can benefit people with affordable housing. These empty properties if developed into affordable housing would also stimulate the active businesses around them and everyone benefits.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Question B Yes with using non occupied land that I have mentioned in question 1 would be good for deed restricted and moderate income housing that would be affordable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #660066; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Emily Johnson</span></b><span style="color: #660066; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">- </span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">A) I feel that, as of right now, there isn't enough open property in Poway to accommodate the fair share allotment and that a conversation of which buildings could be repurposed for this reason would be needed. Unfortunately, the current density of homes and businesses in Poway makes me believe that we don't really have the room to add any more. It would be worth having a discussion about in order to learn how to benefit the largest number of taxpayers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">B) Yes. I believe the current cost of living in Poway is, across the board, unacceptable but especially for those who are disadvantaged by having low incomes. I have friends who have been homeless since high school because their familys could not afford to live here anymore (after living in Poway for generations). Something has to be done about the number of people in Poway who are homeless or on the edge of being homeless because of the cost of most houses here and I believe that low income housing would be the answer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Brian Edmonston</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">- no response<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">6. Staff Residency<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">The city council members must live in Poway since their decisions affect the quality of life in the city in which they live. Senior management on the city staff make some administrative decisions concerning land use, zoning, and developments without taking them to the city council for approval. Should senior city staff management be required to live in Poway since their decisions affect the residents of Poway?</span></b><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: green; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Steve Vaus-</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;"></span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">declined to participate<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Yuri Bohlen</span></b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">-</span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">I believe senior management on the city staff should live in Poway because not only do they make suggestions that can be future laws. They also make decisions that affect all of us like land use, zoning and developments and they would have a vested interest in the community. In the future it should be a prerequisite for high ranking senior city officials, but to play devils advocate and to also be fair and balanced the current high ranking officials should not be forced to alter there personal lives by way of moving to Poway. So they should be exempt by way of the grandfather rule for the current staff but future employees should be Poway residents because it would be more than just a 9 to 5 job for them they would be a true part of the community. The past city manager not only lives in Poway but has lived here for over 20 years but in regards to Mrs. White she does have a history with Poway since 2001 and was the assistant city manager since 2010 becoming the city manager in 2016 so she has paid her dues so to speak not like a certain city council member who just happens to be the daughter of a former mayor of Encinitas. So in closing it is something we should formally announce so there will not be any controversy for future city officials it will be common knowledge and no surprises and people that are applying will move here if they really want the job.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #660066; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Emily Johnson</span></b><span style="color: #660066; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">-</span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Yes, I believe that they should live in Poway. I feel like decisions in Poway have to be made by our residents so, that way, they are made with the city's best interest at heart. Many decisions being made in Poway are negativity affecting our residents (mainly in South Poway) so, if Poway citizens were the ones making the decisions, they would also be thinking about their friends, family, and neighbors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Brian Edmonston</span></b><span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">- </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">no response<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">_________________________________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">&. Water and Sewer Rates<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Which of these would you support? </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">A. Cost allocations- only allow the city to charge for costs that are directly related to water and sewer. For example, currently half of all of the costs for the legislative and administrative department (city council, city manager, assistant city manager, city clerk, etc) are charged to the water and sewer bills. A change in cost allocations would require that employees keep a record and only charge for the time spent directly on water and sewer issues.</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">B. Change to a uniform sewer rate. Currently, the lowest water users pay the highest sewer rates. Converting to a uniform rate would relieve an unfair burden on smaller volume users.</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">C. Disallow legal fees and cost of judgments to be billed to the water and sewer fund. Bill them to the general fund. </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">D. When assets paid for by water and sewer ratepayers are sold, put the money into the water and sewer fund instead of the general fund.</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">E. Insist that any rents or leases collected on water and sewer property or infrastructure be put into the water and sewer fund.</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">F. Pay back the $8 million borrowed from the water and sewer funds at an interest rate equal to the amount that Poway”s investment fund earned each year since the money was borrowed. Accelerate the repayments so that they money will be paid back within the next 4 years. </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Please share any other ideas you have to reduce water and sewer rates.</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="4yxo"><span style="color: green; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Steve Vaus-</span></span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">declined to participate<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="4yxo"><span style="color: #660066; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Yuri Bohlen</span></span><span class="4yxo"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">-</span></span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">A. cost allocations should only allow the city to charge for costs that are directly related to water and sewer. 50% of all costs that are of the legislative and administrative departments are charged to water bills. They should keep records and only charge for the actual work related to water and sewer issues. This is what I call bilking the taxpayer for other issues and profiting from work not related to the actual job in relation to water and sewer which is morally wrong in my opinion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Honorable mention <span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: #365899; font-family: inherit;">#D</span></span>When assets are paid for by water and sewer ratepayers are sold they should be put back in the water and sewer fund not the general fund.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Common sense ideas for reducing water costs. Don't take 1 hour showers, don't water your lawn at noon on a hot day wait till after 6pm. When drying the dishes turn off the water ETC.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="4yxo"><span style="color: #660066; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Emily Johnson</span></span><span class="4yxo"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;"></span></span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">I support all of these bullets. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="4yxo"><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Brian Edmonston</span></span><span class="4yxo"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">- no response</span></span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Chris Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06489810250555135219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1057262584896477189.post-19929439291926885632018-10-08T13:25:00.002-07:002018-10-08T14:12:46.621-07:00SPV Q&A - At Large Council <div class="Section1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -webkit-standard; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; page: Section1; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">South Poway Votes<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">Questions and Answers –At Large<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">1. District Elections<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">A. Do you think the district elections are a positive or negative thing for Poway voters? Please explain your thinking.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">B. Would you support a 4 district citizen’s commission to redraw/rebalance the district boundaries after the 2020 census or would you prefer that the council members do it? Again, please explain your thinking.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: green; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Caylin Frank</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">- </span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">declined to participate</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Torrey Powers </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">A. I believe district elections are a positive change for Poway because they provide better representation for diverse neighborhoods and ensure that all of the city’s residents have a voice in local government. For example, South Poway has been grossly underrepresented on the city council for years, and district elections will guarantee that these communities will now have a seat at the table. District elections also make elected officials more accountable to the residents they represent, fostering civic participation and strengthening our democracy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">B. I absolutely support a 4 district citizen’s commission to redraw the district boundaries after the 2020 census so they are fair and truly reflective of the communities, free from political influence and gerrymandering.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">In 2017 the council redrew the districts for political gain. Council members voted to adopt an arbitrary map proposed by the Mayor, Steve Vaus, designed to protect their seats. They didn’t stop there. Even though the city has moved to district elections, they voted to make District 4, which represents South Poway, a city-wide election for 2018 to dilute the voting power of residents in the south part of the city. To add insult to injury, the entire City Council, led by Mayor Vaus, voted to appoint current council member CaylinFrank to an open seat three months after she moved to Poway, giving her the benefit of the incumbency and effectively rigging the elections in their favor. Powegians will not stand for these political shenanigans that undermine our democracy. Our city leaders have abused their power. That’s why we need to have citizens help make those decisions based on data and free from political influence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Tony Russo</span></b><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">– </span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">no response</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">___________________________________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">2. Park Needs Assessment<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">During last Tuesday’s City Council Meeting, City Manager Tina White mentioned that the last time Poway did a park needs assessment was in 2008. </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">In the 10 years since that last assessment, Poway has added many residents, and the council has approved the Poway Rd Corridor Study, which will add thousands more residents, all without assessing if there are sufficient parks to serve their needs.</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">A. In your opinion, whose job is it to initiate a park needs assessment?</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">The council? The city manager? Both? Neither?</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">B. What kind of maps, data, metrics and other information would you find useful in a park needs assessment ? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">C. When discussing park needs, what is of particular concern to you?</span></b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: green; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Caylin Frank-</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"></span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">declined to participate</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Torrey Powers- </span></b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">A. Our city has a general plan which includes a Parks and Recreation needs assessment. I think we need to create a plan where the assessment is scheduled to be performed every ten years. If significant growth were to occur, that should trigger a needs assessment to be carried out sooner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">The Community Services Department, with the assistance of the Parks and Recreation Committee, would have the true pulse on this issue. If a need were to arise, they should report the need to City Manager who would in turn alert the council and advise them to plan for an earlier assessment. The Council is also free to, and encouraged to, initiate a Parks needs assessment as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">B. Maps of the locations of all current parks would be compared to population density of each area. Parking availability would also be examined. A clear timeline would be established for completing this assessment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">I would include all neighborhood, community and pocket parks in the study areas. I would also included all available school recreational facilities, along with the skate park, swimming pools, and recreational parks and trails. Golf courses would not be included in this assessment as they are not intended to serve the general population of the community. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">C. Parks provide a huge community benefit that enhance our quality of life and should always be a part of any new development or city planning. One of my greatest concerns is having sufficient surface space to meet the needs of our residents and guests in addition to sufficient services and amenities. A good plan would provide for example: green space, shade, sports fields, playgrounds, in addition to providing rental space, educational programs and community events. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Tony Russo- </span></b><span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">A. I believe that the council and the city’s manager can work together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">B. The can put together a special commission to oversee and report back to them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Ther are many ways by seeing the amount of traffic that flows through the area, schooling that would possibly be opened and the number of actual families.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Let’s not try to reinvent the wheel common sense prevails.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">C. First and foremost safety!!!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">The need to be have sufficient lighting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Second I truely believe the parks need some activities for the kids and grown up to utilize.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Third making it our cities park with the input of our people !!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">3. Poway Road Specific Plan<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">The recently approved Poway Road Corridor Specific Plan allows for 1399 new residential units on Poway Road, between Oak Knoll and Garden Road. </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">That amounts to adding 3456 new residents and 360 new employees to the area, most densely concentrated between Community and Carriage Rd. </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">Which of the following statements best reflects your feelings about the new Poway Road Specific Plan (PRSP)?</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">a. Poway Rd looks run down and trashy. Bringing new businesses and new residential units to this area will spark a badly needed economic revival in Poway.</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">b. Poway Road may look funky, but I like it the way it is. I don’t want to see these familiar places torn down and replaced with upscale, chain stores. I want to see Poway’s hills, not 3 story apartment buildings. </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">c. I thought Poway was all built out. I resent the state making Poway build more residential units. But if we have to build them, I would rather build on Poway Rd instead of opening up east Poway for development. </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">d. Growth is inevitable. We should look to the future and forget about the past. </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">Please add anything else you would like to say about the PRSP.</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: green; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Caylin Frank-</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"></span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">declined to participate</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Torrey Powers-</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">-</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">This question is at the heart of my concerns for the future of Poway. As I am concerned about many different aspects of the Poway Road Corridor Study, with that said I agree with a piece of each one of these statements regarding different sections of Poway Road. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">The committee was originally formed to get input from our community members. There was never any authority in the group that city staff had to follow when writing the specific plan. In fact, when the city finally started to follow the Brown Act that is when the developers really showed up and pushed the narrative that the only way to get anything done on Poway Rd was high density. Within a matter of time the citizens lost their voice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">After that shift in focus, the developers were in charge and they negotiated for the setbacks to go away, greater height to buildings to allow higher density and less parking for residents, shoppers and visitors to increase their profits. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">None of these were in the best interest of tax paying residents, but were intended to max out the developer's profit. As a result, we are now at risk of losing our view of the hillsides and the ability to widen Poway Road. The developers also negotiated a way to avoid building 15% affordable housing by paying a fine of $500 per unit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">This process has defunded our Affordable Housing fund which then makes us, the taxpayers, liable for the shortfall. The bottom line is that now the developer don’t have to pay their fair share and we are stuck with covering this expense. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Simply unacceptable!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">If the current Council is allowed to continue in the direction they are going, then the developers will over develop Poway Road making it unaffordable for local small business. This will force us into having to accept more large box stores, greater traffic congestion due to higher density, and a severe shortage of available parking. None of this is in line with the quality of life we have grown accustomed to and demand in Poway.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Let’s not forget - where is the housing promised to our Veterans? Their are 44 affordable housing units zoned on city owner property on Poway Rd that are in current negotiations, will they be for Veterans?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Growth is inevitable and healthy if done correctly. Unfortunately we are not on that path with this specific plan or council. We need to course-correct immediately by voting in new like minded representatives. I believe it is possible to create a smarter, more responsible plan, with more citizen input, for Poway Road. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Tony Russo-</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"></span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">We can not keep looking at the past we only have the power to change the future. I my self as council would like to see if we can adjust the plan to make it a win win for everyone involved. Growth will happen . When one tree dies we need to plant another for us to have fruit for the future. Right now Poway needs to attract the right people in the right area. If this is done we need to work as a team on or infrastructure and traffic control so we all can prosper .</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">___________________________________________________________</span><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">4. General Fund <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">(short version) Do you think the city is transferring too many general fund expenses to our water, sewer, trash, LMD bills?</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">(long version) It seems as if the current trend is to transfer expenses that used to be paid by the general fund to residents. For example, when the City voted to extend a contract to an exclusive trash hauler, the contract included the provision that the City would get free trash service. That wiped hundreds of thousands of dollars off the general fund expenditures and added those costs to our trash bills. The City charges a “cost allocation” to our water and sewer debts, and to the landscape maintenance districts too. The cost allocation is a share of all of the costs of running various city departments. Our water and sewer bills get dinged for half the cost to run the legislative and administrative department in the City (city clerk, city manager, asst city manager, city councilmembers) as well as a portion of the costs to run the human resources department, some planning expenses and to pay the city attorney. This is in addition to paying for the city employees who work in the Public Works department. The City has also been charging the water and sewer ratepayers for all of the water that is used at city facilities including the parks and the pool. Last year, the City started paying a portion of those costs, but not the full costs. Why aren’t those costs paid by the general fund? Payments for a portion of the bonds to pay off the city hall building are charged to our water and sewer bills. But when the City sold the old water building on Poway Rd, a building paid for by water and sewer ratepayers, the proceeds of the sale were put into the general fund, not in the water and sewer fund. Revenue from using the water reservoirs as cell towers amounted to $610,194. All of it went into the general fund, none of it was used to reduce our water bills. The City took $5.2 million from the sewer fund and $2.6 million from the water fund and loaned it to the redevelopment agency. Some of those loans are over 25 years old. The City could pay it back with the proceeds from the sale of redevelopment property, but instead they are squirreling away over $9 million of that money to build a new community center. The general fund used to pay for all street landscaping. Then new developments had to form LMDs to pay for new landscaping Recently, the City tried to add more of us into the old LMDs. Now, they are talking about a city-wide LMD where they can transfer another general expense on to property owners. It seems as if assets go in the general fund, and debts are billed to us. Do you find this trend disturbing? What do you think should be done about it?</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: green; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Caylin Frank-</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"></span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">declined to participate</span><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #000090; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Torrey Powers</span></b><b><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">-</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Yes, I find this particular instance disturbing, the borrowing money to the tune of 9 million dollars from the water and sewer fund to redevelopment as a loan and then refusing to pay it back, is unethical.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">We need to keep utility revenue and expenses separate from the service revenues and expenses. The city should be able to repay that 9 million dollar loan, in way of an impactful and needed water CIP (capital improvement plan) that benefits the many and not just an individual $1.12 savings for everyone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">For example, we could carry the purple pipes down from the business park along Community rd. all the way down to Twin peaks hitting the LMD’s, Hillary Park, Aubrey Park, </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">and</span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">so on. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Tony Russo-</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">It all comes down to one thing and that is the the power that the council believes it has without the input of the People of Poway.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">The water fund is to be used accordingly, instead the council believes it can move money around from general fund to the water fund and pay it back. This I believe is a tactic used to do it doesn’t need voter approval.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">The easy way. Forget the voters,we will make all the decisions right? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">This unfortunately is going to continue unless we stop the gross over spending,stay within our budget and quit giving contracts that cost us a lot more than anticipated. We need to clean our city and the people whom run this circus of back and forth . Let’s start to use the money for things that are needed but let’s catch up first. No more rate increases, taxes or excuses<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">______________________________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">5. Housing<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">There are 2 mandates requiring Poway to plan for and/or build certain kinds of housing, one from the state and the other from the redevelopment program. The state requires every jurisdiction to plan for a “fair share” of the housing needs for the future. Sandag is the local agency where the overall number of low, very low, moderate and above moderate housing numbers are divided up for San Diego county jurisdictions for each housing cycle (a period of about 5- 10 yrs). Poway and the other cities must then zone enough land at a density high enough to meet their allocation of houses in each category. These will be market rate homes, not deed restricted “affordable” housing.</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">The redevelopment program required that each agency spend a certain percentage of incoming redevelopment dollars on affordable housing. Affordable housing is deed restricted housing for low and moderate income people. People have to qualify by income level for such housing. Because affordable housing brings in less rent money than market rate properties, the financing for affordable units is more complex and difficult. The redevelopment agencies have been disbanded, but some existing affordable housing projects and programs still exist in Poway and are administered by the Poway Housing Authority. </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">A. If it were up to you, where would you rezone land in Poway to accommodate Poway’s “fair share” allotment from the next housing cycle?</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">B. Do you think Poway needs more affordable (deed restricted for low and moderate income) housing? Why or why not. </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: green; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Caylin Frank</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">- </span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">declined to participate</span><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Torrey Powers- </span></b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">no response<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Tony Russo- </span></b><span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Part A <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">The fair share housing could be rezoned where stoneride country club was. Not only will that clean up a mess that was made and possibly resolve two issues with one solution.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Part B<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">I thought about this long and hard. Low income housing is a requirement by the city .So where do we put them . One possibility there is property on Poway rd where jiffy lube and the Big brown old medical building are. This could be in conjunction of cleaning and upgrading the apartments that are in the back of that area .<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">I believe this could one resolution.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">_________________________________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">6. Staff Residency<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">The city council members must live in Poway since their decisions affect the quality of life in the city in which they live. Senior management on the city staff make some administrative decisions concerning land use, zoning, and developments without taking them to the city council for approval. Should senior city staff management be required to live in Poway since their decisions affect the residents of Poway?</span></b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: green; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Caylin Frank</span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: green; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">- </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">declined to participate</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Torrey Powers </span></b><b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">no response</span></b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Tony Russo</span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">-I believe this should be a must, The city manager is perhaps one of the top positions in a city. How can you manage a city that you don’t live in and see on daily basis? The issues and concerns the people have are seen 90% of the time when not at your desk. When interacting with the people of Poway.</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">______________________________________________________ 7. Water & Sewer Rates<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Which of these would you support?</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11.5pt;">A.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Cost allocations- only allow the city to charge for costs that are directly related to water and sewer. For example, currently half of all of the costs for the legislative and administrative department (city council, city manager, assistant city manager, city clerk, etc) are charged to the water and sewer bills. A change in cost allocations would require that employees keep a record and only charge for the time spent directly on water and sewer issues.</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-top: 0.1pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Change to a uniform sewer rate. Currently, the lowest water users pay the highest sewer rates. Converting to a uniform rate would relieve an unfair burden on smaller volume users.</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-top: 0.1pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Disallow legal fees and cost of judgments to be billed to the water and sewer fund. Bill them to the general fund. </span></b><b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-top: 0.1pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13.5pt;">When assets paid for by water and sewer ratepayers are sold, put the money into the water and sewer fund instead of the general fund.</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-top: 0.1pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Insist that any rents or leases collected on water and sewer property or infrastructure be put into the water and sewer fund.</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-top: 0.1pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Pay back the $8 million borrowed from the water and sewer funds at an interest rate equal to the amount that Poway”s investment fund earned each year since the money was borrowed. Accelerate the repayments so that they money will be paid back within the next 4 years. </span></b><b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></li>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Please share any other ideas you have to reduce water and sewer rates. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: green; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Caylin Frank</span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: green; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">- </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">declined to participate</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Torrey Powers </span></b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">no response</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Tony Russo</span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">-</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11.5pt;">First I think whom ever is elected the whole council in general needs to work on a plan on advising the tax payers the on the true usage of the water funds are being used for on other projects , <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11.5pt;">The city at this time is using the water fund to be basically there revolving checking account.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11.5pt;">Second the city needs to stop using the funds to pay all the admin cost unless it truely relates to hours spent on projects that requires thier input.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11.5pt;">Last if the city does receive any funds from leases and general usage it then should automatically be put back into the water fund.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11.5pt;">So if needed, it can be used accordingly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11.5pt;">The water issue will be a never ending battle. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11.5pt;">It’s needed, it’s free but like buying the gimmicks on tv we pay thru the roof for shipping and handling as a figure of speech.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11.5pt;">This allows the city to raise rates and continue to pass the charge to the people of Poway.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11.5pt;">If elected the process goo to be working together to stop wasteful spending,providing,educational excellence,and finally putting the people’s interest first.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Chris Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06489810250555135219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1057262584896477189.post-91370708571907583822018-10-08T13:21:00.003-07:002018-10-08T15:07:12.869-07:00SPV Q&A District 1<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">South Poway Votes<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">Questions and Answers –District 1<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">1. District Elections<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">A. Do you think the district elections are a positive or negative thing for Poway voters? Please explain your thinking.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">B. Would you support a 4 district citizen’s commission to redraw/rebalance the district boundaries after the 2020 census or would you prefer that the council members do it? Again, please explain your thinking.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: green; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Dave Grosch-</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;"></span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">declined to participate<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Jon Ryan</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">- </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><b><span style="color: #365899; font-family: inherit;">https://ryan4poway.com</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">A. Yes, as a Heritage Hills resident I believe districts are a positive for Poway as they allow local representation and specifically to Poway, allow better representation for those in the southern part of Poway that is typically smaller houses and increased density with lower incomes than the northern part of Poway, which is typically larger houses, less dense neighborhoods and has higher overall income. Due to geography and roadways, those in North Poway might tend to only drive on Espola/Racho Bernardo and shop/spend time more in Rancho Bernardo and might not even spend much time in South Poway at all so traffic, parking and density on Poway Rd might not concern a N Poway resident much, while they are huge issues for South Poway. Likewise South Poway might mostly drive Poway Road with the traffic and parking issues in the neighborhoods that do not have enough parking spaces for apartments overflowing into the the neighborhoods or the problems with putting thousands of new homes onto an already extremely busy road. South Poway residents might not care much about the issues with Stoneridge, but for North Poway, it is an eyesore and the lack of something like tennis courts and other facilities is a big issue. While district representatives will ultimately make decisions for all Poway, it is good to have people who actually live in the neighborhoods and can feel the pain of a new apartment building with too little parking (as was just approved by the new Poway Corridor Plan) that then have the extra cars parked in front of their homes and that should not be there, but in the apartment complexes as part of the building and planning process. One of the main reasons I am running is because I believe that historically South Poway has not been represented as well as the North, and as a result, we are moving away from the “City in the Country”, not preserving it and planning for more developments. more density and less “Country”. We all </span><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Need more restaurants</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">, but we </span><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">don’t want More Traffic! </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">We need to plan to keep Poway the City in the Country, not the City.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">B. Because we are using the mayor’s map for the district and with recent events including the council voting unanimously for a 3 month resident to be made Councilmember over several other long term Poway residents, everything that has been done is suspect. If nothing else, an independent commission with residents from all of the Poway areas, should at least take a look at what was done and decide if they agree with it. I would recommend more than just 4 district reps though as this is a case where more eyes are probably better. There is a problem going forward in that if there is a change to the districts, it has knock on effects for future elections and even for voters in this election, so as with so many things in government, undoing what could be a bad or preferential decision may take much more effort and time to retract and fix, then if it had been done differently the first time around. Again, the council used the Mayor’s map, and then the lawsuit is based on the Mayor’s map and the council chose to keep the replacement of member Cunningham at large because in my opinion it works more for their agenda. I would have supported an in district election for District 4, instead of keeping the seat at large, and as a result of that decision by council, it could continue to remain unrepresented by a resident until at least 202o.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">For more information on my stance on the issues, please see my website which has issues, a District Map and locator and a blog of my experiences while running to be your District 1 representative. <b><span style="color: #365899; font-family: inherit;">https://ryan4poway.com</span></b></span><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">or call me at 858-668-3399</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #660066; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">John Carson-</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">A. First and foremost, I think Poway deserves representation. From South Poway to the Stone Ridge area. Poway is blessed with a diverse and dynamic population and economic community. All the citizens of Poway make OUR city as wonderful as it is today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">I think the districts are a step in the right direction. I think we may need to look further into the dynamics of citywide leadership and see what we can do to ensure everyone is heard and has the right representation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">B. Whenever given the chance to let the people make decisions that affect them personally I will support those chances as much as possible. However, I am not in support of "commissions" that don't get anything done. To achieve progress and end up with thoughtful, meaningful boundaries in which neighborhoods aren't gerrymandered; I would suggest that time deadlines and goals are provided by council or staff for each meeting of the commission. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Peter Neild</span></b><span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">-</span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">A. POSITIVE Strongly POSITIVE. This is just one of the reasons I decided to finally run, and in my case District 1, with memories of District 4. This method of establishing representative government is a huge step forward and should have been incorporated at the very start of the City in the Country. One of the first issues that faced our young city was the legacy of our history. We have to live with what we were dealt prior to 1980. In my opinion the Districts as they are now drawn partially address that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Poway Road and Pomerado Road tie us to the surrounding influences of San Diego, Rancho Bernardo, Ramona, and Lakeside. Even though Hwy 67 and Espola Road were also envisioned to be “pass-through” routes, remember Espola is a contraction of Escondido, Poway, and Lakeside; as is Pomerado a contraction of Poway, Merton, and Bernardo. And now Community Road and Twin Peaks have taken on the role of pass-through routes for our South Poway Business Park. We are forced into dealing with these “routes”; sharing their utility and convenience with our neighbor communities, while we also have to live in/with them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">A second reason I am running for District 1, is that not only does it share a border with District 4 (Poway Road), it partially encompasses part of Pomerado, and it also shares some with District 3 along withTwin Peaks and finally it shares part of Community with District 2. I feel that District representation on the City Council will allow for two people sitting on the City Council to be able to address the issues created by the formative history of our City, to say nothing of the fact that in the case of Poway RoadALL FOUR Districts should have a say (with an emphasis on 1, 3 and of course 4).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">When I lived in District 4 at the beginning of my time in Poway (1980-1996), I distinctly remember when the common “feel” amongst my neighbors was that our fate was being handed to us by “Northern Poway” dominance of our City Government. District representation if implemented properly shouldaddress that lingering “feel”. Now that I am “in” District 1 (1996-Present); I think the District 1-4, District 1-2, and District 1-3 relationships can work, at least that would be my focus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">That brings me to part B of the question: B. CITIZEN’S COMMISSION<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">As you have just read, I feel the Districts as they are now laid out; is a START, which I am in favor of. However, they do need some refinement. Those of you familiar with the application Nextdoor, should be aware that it has divided District 1 into 14 (perhaps 15) neighborhoods. With that in mind, should District 1 be represented by 15 City Council representatives – no. That would be overwhelming for the City Staff (who actually run the city) to deal with, especially if ALL the districts were to be divided similarly. Never-the-less as I have driven through District 1 over the last several weeks, talking to people I came across by happen-chance; there are commonalities of concern. The next 2 to 4 years of this NEWDistricting should allow the people within those Districts to refine their “home” districts. Let me expand upon this graphically:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11.5pt;"><img height="26" v:shapes="u_2y_3" width="26" /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<img align="left" height="397" hspace="9" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_2" width="297" /><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">I live in “Palisades” (the star above), does that mean I have the same perspective as those in Country View – absolutely not. While there is some commonality, there are also differences. Similarly Poway Portal residents look at things differently from those who live in Lower Windmill.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">My location physically at “Ground Zero” of District 1 (as it is at Christmas Time – “Candy Cane Lanes”)should allow easy access to all of my constituents within District 1, to get this rolling. BTW If you see me driving by (picture inset in the map) and I don’t see you; flag me down – I’d love to talk to you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">_________________________________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">2. Park Needs Assessment<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">During last Tuesday’s City Council Meeting, City Manager Tina White mentioned that the last time Poway did a park needs assessment was in 2008. </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">In the 10 years since that last assessment, Poway has added many residents, and the council has approved the Poway Rd Corridor Study, which will add thousands more residents, all without assessing if there are sufficient parks to serve their needs.</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">A. In your opinion, whose job is it to initiate a park needs assessment?</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">The council? The city manager? Both? Neither?</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">B. What kind of maps, data, metrics and other information would you find useful in a park needs assessment ? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">C. When discussing park needs, what is of particular concern to you?</span></b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: green; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Dave Grosch</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">- </span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">declined to participate</span><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Jon Ryan- </span></b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">A. A parks needs assessment should be on the standard plan for the city of Poway. We are falling short on all kinds of maintenance issues and responsibility lies with the City Council and the City Manager. If you do not have needs like this on a calendar with reconsideration planned out, stuff will fall thru the cracks. The city of Poway should have a formalized plan and part of managements job is to work that plan. From taking care of the bathrooms at the city parks, to when to inspect and repair the city piping, its all standard management, part of ongoing maintenance and needs assessment. In this case, if it is on the plan, it has been missed, and if it is not on the plan, then the plan needs to be looked at, have the important items like parks needs assessment scheduled on a routine basis and then the councilmembers need to make sure the city manager and employees are following that plan and take administrative action if they are not. This is their job and their responsibility and why we "hire them" every 4 years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">B. Again, this is not reinventing the wheel. Pretty much every city needs to look toward the future, recognize issues from the past and plan to prevent those issues in the future. It's good management and it saves way more money than waiting till things fall apart and then spending extra money to repair something that would have only cost a third as much to maintain vs. either need volunteer help to fix, or significant capital outlay to repair. We have a plan for parks based on growth in the city plan, why has that not been followed? Why do the citizens have to bring it up to council? Why is that not on the managers calendar? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">C. It's no secret that are parks have slid very obviously in the last 4 years. In my 20 years of going to the parks and trails of Poway, even before I was a resident, I have not seen the basic maintenance fall like it has in the last 4 years. What once were jewels are now weed infested dry lands. Trees are dying at several parks and the trash is not emptied till its overflowing. People loved our parks and pictures from a few years ago show how they should look. If nothing else, by complaining about the issue, we might be getting something done, but I don't want the parks to look good just during election season, I want them to look good and be safe all the time!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #660066; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">John Carson- </span></b><span style="color: #660066; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">A. In my estimation, the entirety of the City Council and Staff should be proactively looking for parks assessments. From stormwater collection and reducing urban heat areas, parks benefit almost every department of the City. I agree with many others that park assessments should be a part of the Cities general plan. As a Council member I would work with the other members of the Council to start a biennial park needs assessment added to the General Plan. This every other year assessment would be baselined on the release of the most recent census data (i.e., Census data release in 2010 should have triggered a parks assessment). The census year assessments should review the size and status of the cities parks assets. The off census year assessments should review the status (maint, equip and landscaping) of the cities park assets. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">B. If the City does not have a relevant survey of the current park assets, I would encourage staff to start a baseline, “current park assets” survey so that the City can prove and show the people of Poway that we are doing the things they ask us to do. This “survey” would include the city engineer/public works/parks dept. and perhaps a surveying contractor to ensure certain efficiencies while conducting these surveys and not taking away from other city engineer or public works/parks dept. business. The guidelines for how much park Poway needs for every 1000 residents is already set for us in the general plan. I would lean towards not using the current POWGIS maps due to their complexity and non-user friendliness. Whatever maps provided by survey contractors could be loaded via PDF or Visio very easily onto the <u><span style="color: #365899; font-family: inherit;">Poway.org</span></u>website. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">From a good baseline, the data accumulated by the biennial parks assessments will allow the City of Poway to provide appropriate levels of parks that meet or exceed the city residents needs. Great parks benefit us all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">C. I have a nine year old son, we go to the parks here in Poway a lot! From the Community Park across Poway Road from our house to Old Poway Park and Lake Poway. The one thing I constantly notice are how busy they are. The picnic tables in Old Poway Park are usually spoken for on the weekends by 8 a.m. and the ones in the Community Park are very much the same. (I know you can reserve tables in Old Poway Park.) With how frequently my family goes to the Community Park and Old Poway Park, I can honestly say that they are really busy and perhaps too busy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Lake Poway on the other hand is a separate animal altogether. The level of congestion at peak times at Lake Poway is unreal. Even paying, non-Poway residents frequent Lake Poway en mass on the weekends. While I appreciate the ability of everyone to enjoy Lake Poway, the congestion makes it hard to enjoy the Lake for all it has to offer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Maintenance and upkeep of our current parks are of great concern to me too. Currently we have picnic table throughout the Poway parks system that will tear your clothes due to failing concrete construction. We have picnic tables with boards rotted out and taken over by bug infestations. We have equipment at our parks that have not been serviced in many years and if they have, it doesn’t seem like proper maintenance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">We have parks in Poway that cannot be used on HOT summer nights by families due to the park rangers locking the gates to the parks at dusk. Many of those same parks have baseball and softball fields that could also be used at night, allowing for our children to not have to play in the heat of the day. Not having a later time for parks closing is unreasonable and should be changed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">The City of Poway is in dire need of more parks and Parks that fit the needs of the evolving communities around them. If I am elected come November, improving these types of community services will be of utmost importance to me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Peter Neild -</span></b><span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">A and B. Tracking of City Park utilization (need) is a normal function of the City Government organization; that is under constant analysis and appraisal. I have no clue why Tina doesn’t know this. But since the question was asked, I will add that if elected, this will of course be yet another approach as a function of the District Representation. I will work towards encouraging people within the various Districts to stay in touch with their LOCAL Representative of their concerns.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Now note that normal questions and concerns about existing issues within the City should be directed to the appropriate department in the City Government. Certainly the District Representative (Council Person) should be informed. And most definitely brought to their attention IF the answer or position taken by the City management is not to their satisfaction. IF the corrective action is something new or a large change to the City – then the City Council person works with the other District Representation to propose a solution.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">As to the “maps, data and metrics” – all that is needed, exists. In my case being a scientist; I analyze the living daylights out of just about anything brought to my attention. When I “publish” my Campaign Facebook Page, I will put a “note” there that will use this question about population impact on Parks as an example.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">So the answer to A and B is – BOTH. But of course only escalated to the City Manager’s level; if satisfaction by the particular department’s staff can’t handle the issue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">C. Within District 1, if I am elected I will inherit Adobe Ridge Neighborhood Park, Arbolitos Sports Fields, with its noise and lighting issues, Arbolitos Mini Park, Starridge Neighborhood Park, and Hilleary Park. Obviously I will also have some mutual shared interest in Silverset Neighborhood Park, Aubrey Park and Old Poway Park. The latter of course are District 3, where I will work with that representative as I will work with the District 4 representative for Poway Community Park and Kumayay Ipai Interpretive Center.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Now then if you analyze that listing carefully, you will note that the areas called Poway Pomerado, Poway Estates, and Poway Portals in the App Nextdoor, they are logistically and geographically separated from easy access to the above listed parks. BUT they do have access to Meadowbrook and Pomerado Elementary. Heck even my kids played Little League at Pomerado Elementary when I lived on Hill Country Drive. So – I’m open to listening, if there is a need; I will do my best to address it. I do have some ideas – but it depends on the need.</span><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">3. Poway Road Specific Plan<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">The recently approved Poway Road Corridor Specific Plan allows for 1399 new residential units on Poway Road, between Oak Knoll and Garden Road. </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">That amounts to adding 3456 new residents and 360 new employees to the area, most densely concentrated between Community and Carriage Rd. </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">Which of the following statements best reflects your feelings about the new Poway Road Specific Plan (PRSP)?</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">a. Poway Rd looks run down and trashy. Bringing new businesses and new residential units to this area will spark a badly needed economic revival in Poway.</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">b. Poway Road may look funky, but I like it the way it is. I don’t want to see these familiar places torn down and replaced with upscale, chain stores. I want to see Poway’s hills, not 3 story apartment buildings. </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">c. I thought Poway was all built out. I resent the state making Poway build more residential units. But if we have to build them, I would rather build on Poway Rd instead of opening up east Poway for development. </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">d. Growth is inevitable. We should look to the future and forget about the past. </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">Please add anything else you would like to say about the PRSP.</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: green; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Dave Grosch-</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"></span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">declined to participate<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Jon Ryan-</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">This is one of the main issues I cover in more detail on my website <u><span style="color: #365899; font-family: inherit;">https://ryan4poway.com</span></u><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">As someone who lives in south Poway, I understand the many issues with Poway Road. I want a revitalized Poway Road with minimal impact to traffic and design that enhances the feel of our community.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">A specialized team spent over a year working on the PRCP and we thank those residents for working hard on the plan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">I know some committee members were not happy with the final product because of the increases in density and potential decreases in parking. Being in the real estate industry, I do not agree with the current council that the only way to get development done on Poway Road is to increase the density beyond our current requirements. There are developers looking for good land to develop and part of the city’s job is looking to the future to make the road maintain the character, but bring us more restaurants and facilities we can all use.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">By allowing the option to reduce parking by as much as 20% over the current standard, the plan sets up a situation where the new residents do not have enough space to park, so they end up parking in the surrounding neighborhoods and causing more traffic and struggles for the homeowners that have been here for years to find places to park their cars.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">You only have to drive or walk down Robison or Oak Knoll Roads to see how not having enough parking is a huge problem.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Because I live in Heritage Hills, I often drive down one and when I go to the park, I walk down the other one and see the parking problems. Carriage Street south also has major issues.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">These are planning decisions made in the past that affect us today. Limiting parking for new development in the hopes that more people will take the bus or bike just does not work out in reality and we end up with lots of cars parked around several apartments or condos because we have not enough parking in those developments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">If I am elected to represent District 1, there is time to change this increased density and limited parking and I strongly feel that is what we should do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #660066; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">John Carson</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">- </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">2.7 miles. Roughly the distance between Oak Knoll Road and Garden Rd. I live a little over 900 feet from Poway Rd. making me the candidate closest to the development area considered in the Poway Road Corridor Specific Plan. From my house, you can hear the buzz of noises coming from Poway Road. With all of that information in mind, I have specific interests with what development the City of Poway allows on Poway Road. I really believe the PRSP is the start of a rejuvenation of Poway Road. The Poway city staff and City Council have the obligation to ensure thoughtful developments that represent Poway. (I don’t think the OutPost designs fit Poway, ie. Poway Library or new medical building. It looks much more like 4S Ranch than Poway.) As much as more density along will be an inconvenience, this same density will bring an economic revival to our beloved city. Traffic will be a tradeoff. Our city staff will need to be on top of traffic light timing and Poway Road maintenance. As tenured residents, we all know alternative routes to get to and from just about anywhere in San Diego County.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Finally, I contend that I am neither for or against making any of the above statements; a, b, c, or d. I am for listening to the people of Poway when new developments are brought before the council. I differ from our current Council in that they believe their job is to "educate" the public. When I am elected, my job will be to listen to the public.</span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Peter Neild-</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;"></span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">When I read question 3; my immediate thought was “welcome to the matrix”. I had a difficult time separating out the 4 parts, to reflect my feelings about the Poway Road Specific Plan. Then in my attempt to simplify them, by breaking them into their distinct parts, A=2, B=6, C=5 and D=2; I became even more confused.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Then I thought of one of my favorite T-shirts. Perhaps you have seen me in it. Across the chest it says:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">1N76LL1G3NC3 15 7H3 4B1L17Y 7O 4D4P7 7O CH4NG3. By Stephan Hawking, or in this case 573PH3N H4WK1NG. Perhaps, in this case it does seem appropriate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">What these 4 parts of question 3 are really asking me, about “change” is; am I intelligent? Well in this case perhaps not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">I guess, I’m going to have to mix, match and perhaps even ignore some of the 15 different segments of the four parts (A, B, C and D) and come up with my own mix. So here goes:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">I thought (and believe) that Poway is built out. I resent the state making Poway build more. I want to see Poway’s hills, instead of feeling claustrophobic driving down Poway road feeling enclosed by 3 story structures.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Yes, perhaps Poway Road does look kind of funky, even to the point of run-down and trashy, in some people’s opinions. But that represents our history; a living context of the way things used to be. And lease we forget, we did move here, we must have liked it at some point. At least I did. So the question about “change” is valid. Do we want “change”? I think so – but perhaps more slowly and carefully.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">As I am traveling around District 1 and asking people their feelings, I have so far heard that while the plan was worked on by a committee (planning group) and received the approval of the existing City Council, perhaps they were a little hasty. Perhaps the plan is a little too definitive and perhaps being implemented too quickly. So perhaps we should look at (as I am) the Poway Road Corridor Specific Plan, and remove the words “Specific Plan” and insert the word “Guide”. Perhaps we should use the “Guide” as a plan, but not live up to its upper limits. And, we should proceed carefully and slowly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Now then, to the initial premise of question 3, at the very beginning of the question, it says; “The recently approved Poway Road Corridor Specific Plan allows for 1399 new residential units on Poway Road, between Oak Knoll and Garden Road. That amounts to adding 3456 new residents and 360 new employees to the area, most densely concentrated between Community and Carriage Rd.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">So hopefully, I can regain some of what I thought was my intelligence. The premise states that our population will increase by 3456 new residents. Really!?! Do we want that? Is that the trend? I have been actively working on a “Note” for my campaign Facebook page titled “Population”. When I get it done; more of this and perhaps a glimmer of hope for my <span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">intelligence will be there. Why the delay you might ask. Well I’m still collecting information and “feelings” for the people I’m going to be representing, and that’s not just District 1 – I’m hearing this from many different sources, thank you South Poway Votes – you (collectively) are a great resource.</span></span><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">4. General Fund <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">(short version) Do you think the city is transferring too many general fund expenses to our water, sewer, trash, LMD bills?</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">(long version) It seems as if the current trend is to transfer expenses that used to be paid by the general fund to residents. For example, when the City voted to extend a contract to an exclusive trash hauler, the contract included the provision that the City would get free trash service. That wiped hundreds of thousands of dollars off the general fund expenditures and added those costs to our trash bills. The City charges a “cost allocation” to our water and sewer debts, and to the landscape maintenance districts too. The cost allocation is a share of all of the costs of running various city departments. Our water and sewer bills get dinged for half the cost to run the legislative and administrative department in the City (city clerk, city manager, asst city manager, city councilmembers) as well as a portion of the costs to run the human resources department, some planning expenses and to pay the city attorney. This is in addition to paying for the city employees who work in the Public Works department. The City has also been charging the water and sewer ratepayers for all of the water that is used at city facilities including the parks and the pool. Last year, the City started paying a portion of those costs, but not the full costs. Why aren’t those costs paid by the general fund? Payments for a portion of the bonds to pay off the city hall building are charged to our water and sewer bills. But when the City sold the old water building on Poway Rd, a building paid for by water and sewer ratepayers, the proceeds of the sale were put into the general fund, not in the water and sewer fund. Revenue from using the water reservoirs as cell towers amounted to $610,194. All of it went into the general fund, none of it was used to reduce our water bills. The City took $5.2 million from the sewer fund and $2.6 million from the water fund and loaned it to the redevelopment agency. Some of those loans are over 25 years old. The City could pay it back with the proceeds from the sale of redevelopment property, but instead they are squirreling away over $9 million of that money to build a new community center. The general fund used to pay for all street landscaping. Then new developments had to form LMDs to pay for new landscaping Recently, the City tried to add more of us into the old LMDs. Now, they are talking about a city-wide LMD where they can transfer another general expense on to property owners. It seems as if assets go in the general fund, and debts are billed to us. Do you find this trend disturbing? What do you think should be done about it?</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: green; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Dave Grosch-</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"></span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">declined to participate<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Jon Ryan-</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;"></span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">I discuss water billing, LMDs and several others issues on my website at <u><span style="color: #365899; font-family: inherit;">https://ryan4poway.com</span></u>:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Accounting shenanigans aside, generally, we should be paying less. Whichever way the city accounts for revenue or increased fees/taxes, I do not feel like the current representation are good stewards of our money. We often see them moving money around to cover shortfalls and just this year we have had millions of dollars in errors and overruns. I do not like to get bogged down in what they are doing wrong, more in the general scope that we are not getting the best value for our money. To have us overpay for water to fund other projects is wrong, just as it is to use proceeds from other projects to pay for water. The council and management do not work on being efficient and definitely do not work on preventing massive errors that cost the residents and bill payers money. In 4 or so years we have had several quite frankly ridiculous errors that never result in the city having more money, but in loss to the city. The shell game of what goes in what bucket and what comes across from another bucket needs to end and an easily understandable budget needs to be put forth. Just eliminating management errors would have saved us millions of dollars over the last few years. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">LMDs should be paid for by those who benefit and going forward we should not approve these types of projects in the future because the regulations are not in favor of the city or the taxpayers. HOAs are generally used to pay for landscaping and that is a much better way to handle these types of situations going on in the future instead of LMDs that do not benefit those who are not in the impact zone of the LMDs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">We certainly already have city wide maintenance for landscaping so we do not need to allocate the cost of those who live in say Arbolitos with the taxes and fees of those who live in Garden Road who see no benefit from the Twin Peaks road increased landscape and no property value increase. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">How much money have we already wasted trying to adjust LMDs this year alone? I will research it, but the costs we have done for surveys and polling and all that might well be over what additional costs the city was facing. Said another way, does it make much sense to spend $350,000 to fix a $200,000 problem? Because you have taken a 200K problem and turned it into a 550K problem. That is not sound financial management.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">We need a complete rework of our accounting and to hold management responsible for losses. In private industry you almost never see a project that overruns it's initial budget by almost 100% as Espola Road has done and if you do, the person or people responsible do not get significant raises and increases to pension. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">According to transparent California, our city managers total pay plus benefits in 2016 was approximately 322K and in 2017 it was 379K. Her salary and benefits this year will be even higher. We are paying significantly more for a manager who has been there and part of all of these errors, going back to the water billing errors, the contract billing errors, the pool closure and additional cost fiasco and the Espola road planning. By her pay, it seems we are rewarding screw-ups and I think that needs to change now!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #660066; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">John Carson-</span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Revenues should be held in funds as directed and costs applied as needed from utilization under each fund. If we need to "borrow" or transfer fund expenses from the general fund as we do today, each case should be handled on a case by case basis. </span><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Peter Neild</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">-</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Short Answer = YES.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Long Answer (and it is brief).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">I have not heard any mention about controlling expenses, other than very brief one-liners, by those controlling the organization, saying it is un-reasonable. Every organization that I have ever worked for has been confronted with times when there are more expenses than income. In this instance, the source of income is in question. The primary driving force with regards to expense control; is that the organization gets used to NOT concentrating on cost control when the income is good. When the income is not good very hard decisions get made. I have been the victim of “cost cut-backs” three times in my professional life. I also conducted two such evolutions as a manager. On either side it is not pleasant, but I have always understood the need. The second factor that comes into the delicate balance of expense and income are the un-intended consequences of both – that has to be examined as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">If elected as the District 1 representative the first long term project upon which I will embark is the close examination of the Expenses – PERIOD. My mission, if elected, is NOT growth, it will be a period of examination and cost mitigation. My inclination will be towards not taking on new projects, but managing more closely those that are already in place, or committed to. Now then with regards to the “committed to”; those issues are the ones that are critical to the people of Poway. So again I ask, bring me up to speed with what is important to you; post if you don’t care about privacy @pete4d1poway on FB; and/or in private send me an email: pete4d1poway@gmail.com.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Wow – I can’t believe I kept this to half a page.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">5. Housing<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">There are 2 mandates requiring Poway to plan for and/or build certain kinds of housing, one from the state and the other from the redevelopment program. The state requires every jurisdiction to plan for a “fair share” of the housing needs for the future. Sandag is the local agency where the overall number of low, very low, moderate and above moderate housing numbers are divided up for San Diego county jurisdictions for each housing cycle (a period of about 5- 10 yrs). Poway and the other cities must then zone enough land at a density high enough to meet their allocation of houses in each category. These will be market rate homes, not deed restricted “affordable” housing.</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">The redevelopment program required that each agency spend a certain percentage of incoming redevelopment dollars on affordable housing. Affordable housing is deed restricted housing for low and moderate income people. People have to qualify by income level for such housing. Because affordable housing brings in less rent money than market rate properties, the financing for affordable units is more complex and difficult. The redevelopment agencies have been disbanded, but some existing affordable housing projects and programs still exist in Poway and are administered by the Poway Housing Authority. </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">A. If it were up to you, where would you rezone land in Poway to accommodate Poway’s “fair share” allotment from the next housing cycle?</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">B. Do you think Poway needs more affordable (deed restricted for low and moderate income) housing? Why or why not. </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: green; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Dave Grosch-</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;"></span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">declined to participate<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Jon Ryan-</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;"></span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">This and other issues are discussed in more detail under the issues tab on my website at <u><span style="color: #365899; font-family: inherit;">https://ryan4poway.com</span></u><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">The description of the question is mixing multiple types of housing units and ownership vs. rental properties when there are options for low income ownership available too. I am a real estate broker handling both commercial, residential and income producing properties, so naturally, this is a very complex issue as the politics could be changing dramatically due to the ballot measure on the November Ballot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">The ballot measure is a possible repeal of the Costa Hawkings Rental act and if passed, the measure would give city leaders new options when establishing or updating rent control policies. Longstanding rules limiting rent control to properties built before February 1995—or earlier, in many cases—would be struck from the books, giving local governments the power to place newer buildings under rent control regulations. They would also be able to add additional rent control measures to single family homes and condos and current homes that are under rent control would be subject to these controls even after current tenants move out (I do not think we have any of these units in Poway currently).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">As you can imagine, there are positive and negative effects to this ballot measure, which may drive development away and could significantly affect current plans for deed restricted affordable housing, rental housing and future building. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">For example, if I am a developer that is going to build deed restricted units or rent controlled apartments in Poway, but I can develop and build and rent similar homes in say Mesa, Arizona, without the deed restrictions and rent control, which will limit my profit on both the building, sale and future rents on the homes, where should I chose to develop? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Assuming building and regulatory costs are similar other than the rent controls or deed restrictions, I can make significantly more money building in Mesa Arizona because I could charge market rents if I build and own the homes, or full market price if I build the homes and sell them, while in Poway, I might have to set aside a certain number of homes of my lot development to be deed restricted moderate income homes (say 1 out of 8 to 1 out of 12 homes) so when I build my subdivision of say 10 homes that all would be market value of 1 million dollars, I have to have one home that would be a low or mid level affordable home with deed restrictions that might only be able to be sold for $500K.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Same thing might happen with rent controlled apartments, I can charge market rents for my homes built in Mesa of $2000/month but the exact same homes in Poway might have a future rent control measure that might only let me charge $1000/month for the rent. These effects can be very dynamic and because of that, it is hard to say where or how future development might occur.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">We currently have overlays that are already designated for the different housing types but in reality, if that bill passes most cities in the state and possibly our state congress will likely have to change laws to deal with the problems that it will create from a building standpoint. Rent control can result in even less housing availability as you can see from my case above, and it also can cause higher home prices due to inventory.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">It is quite obvious that most of Coastal California needs more homes and are prices are currently into the stratosphere for too many reasons to list, but the economy and politics can change that all. I would say that a significant part of our homeowners in Poway could not buy the homes they live in at today's prices without their accrued equity, so it is not just low or moderate income that has a problem with housing pricing, it's most of the state. We need more homes of every type but we need to manage the development with care to keep our City in the Country feel and not increase the density of Poway as with what the current council members are doing which will turn it into San Diego or Carmel Mountain, where they have chosen to build even more dense housing than we are doing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; color: #660066; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">John Carson-</span></b><span style="color: #660066; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Peter Neild</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">- </span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Part 1 = “If it were up to you” (me). OK if it were up to me the answer is, not in the way that it is currently required. The County and State of California require specific action with regards to low income housing. This is something that I don’t like, so if it were up to me – with no county or state mandates, NO I would not “rezone”, the way it is now. But that, doesn’t allow for what I would do, and I will try to do if I am elected. I have an idea, that will need to go through the legal gauntlet, and unfortunately that is a path that has to be done by the City of Poway, not by an individual. Yes, I know that doesn’t directly answer part 1. My answer to part 1 is my idea, which I will get to after Part 2.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Part 2 = And, yes I have to dissect this one as well. Let me pull out the part in parens, for a moment. “Do you think Poway needs more affordable housing.” YES, I do feel that Poway needs more affordable housing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">BUT – this is where the stuff inside the parens comes into play. I feel that deed restrictions, in their current form create issues. Entire developments have long lasting repercussions, when you have to wrestle with “deed restrictions”. Over the long term they form a trap to individual progress.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Now this is where my idea comes into play, and mind you it may not pass the legal gauntlet that it will have to go through. It’s just wild speculation on my part at the moment, I’m not a real-estate guy, or a developer and I’m not beholding to any. However, I am hopeful that the people of Poway will want to be on the cutting edge of this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Our country has some great and creative people in it. They are generally hard working and working towards a successful life. Most generally do not want to live on hand-outs or be classified as those who need hand-outs. They want to work hard on what-ever they invest in and want a good return on their investment. They want to climb the ladder of success. But they have a real tough time if the first rung on that ladder is out of their reach. And with regards to housing in Poway, that first step is out-of-reach for a goodly number of people that would LOVE to live here, but can’t because that first rung is beyond their current means.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">So this is where my idea comes in. It starts with the concept of “sweat equity”. Those people that are trying to work to be successful are the same people that generally are willing to invest in “sweat equity” with their own free time labor. They have the time, but even the property that they could invest in with their labor is out of their reach because homes are priced on the basis of “comps”. If there is one house in a neighborhood that for what-ever reason has not been maintained on a par with those around it, and it comes up for sale; its price is of course only slightly lower, based on the average of the “comps”. That property displeases the neighbors no end because it lowers statistically the possible value of their house. They want every house in the neighborhood to be a “nice house” so their neighborhood will be a “nice neighborhood”. In the current way of doing things, that house will most likely be bought by a “flipper”. “Flipper “ to me are people or companies with investment money and the resources to go in and rapidly fix up a house – getting it back up to the surrounding “comps” and sell it for a profit. They are delighted and so are the neighbors. But the “flippers” come and go; and the family that wants to live there and are willing to work for it, are still left out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">So here is my idea. What if the City of Poway was to look more closely at the zoning rules and the “redevelopment” actions to give those people who want to live in Poway, want to invest their sweat equity to improve the value of the home they buy, and live in, raise a family in – a break.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">What if we could set up a system within the City of Poway that would put property that would qualify as a candidate property; a piece of property that could NOT be considered in the “comps” calculations? It would have to be sold at a price NOT boosted by the values of the surrounding property. It would have to be priced on its own. Finally it would have to be a system that would require occupancy. Would that put it within the reach for that first step on the ladder? What I do know is that an entire area of the city would not have to be rezoned. We could have those willing to put sweat equity into accommodating properties all over the city, for a net improvement by property owners who live there. So I have now come around and answered Part 1 – This is what I will try to do, if given the chance; and allowed to “do it my way”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Would that meet the requirements of the county and the state? – Well, that needs investigating!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Would the neighbors of such a piece of property – be OK with a neighbor that wants to make it “nice”?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Would neighborhoods be more neighborly with people living there who want to be there?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Would that put some pressure on Land-Lords to keep their rental property “nice”?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Note that this is just an “idea”. I don’t know if it will work. I don’t know if it’s legal. But what I do know that for the most part, “sweat equity” is what I invested in when that first rung (mine was the house on Golden Way) was just within my reach, before property appreciation in Poway turned into a sky-rocket.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">6. Staff Residency<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">The city council members must live in Poway since their decisions affect the quality of life in the city in which they live. Senior management on the city staff make some administrative decisions concerning land use, zoning, and developments without taking them to the city council for approval. Should senior city staff management be required to live in Poway since their decisions affect the residents of Poway?</span></b><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: green; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Dave Grosch-</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;"></span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">declined to participate<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Jon Ryan</span></b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">-</span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Sorry answered the first one in the open because it is confusing, but I believe it's illegal to require someone to love anywhere as a condition of their job except military so while the goal might be too have them live here, it's not a real enforcable goal. What do you think?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #660066; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">John Carson-</span></b><span style="color: #660066; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Peter Neild-</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;"></span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Since the City Staff works at the direction of the Mayor with input from the City Council and therefore not under the influence of direct input from the citizens of Poway (other than responding to the action or inaction of their or their subordinates assigned duties and work product).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">Their residence does not NEED to be within Poway City limits.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">However, "skin in the game" does help.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14pt;">7. Water & Sewer Rates<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Which of these would you support?</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11.5pt;">A.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Cost allocations- only allow the city to charge for costs that are directly related to water and sewer. For example, currently half of all of the costs for the legislative and administrative department (city council, city manager, assistant city manager, city clerk, etc) are charged to the water and sewer bills. A change in cost allocations would require that employees keep a record and only charge for the time spent directly on water and sewer issues.</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-top: 0.1pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Change to a uniform sewer rate. Currently, the lowest water users pay the highest sewer rates. Converting to a uniform rate would relieve an unfair burden on smaller volume users.</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-top: 0.1pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Disallow legal fees and cost of judgments to be billed to the water and sewer fund. Bill them to the general fund. </span></b><b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-top: 0.1pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13.5pt;">When assets paid for by water and sewer ratepayers are sold, put the money into the water and sewer fund instead of the general fund.</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-top: 0.1pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Insist that any rents or leases collected on water and sewer property or infrastructure be put into the water and sewer fund.</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-top: 0.1pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Pay back the $8 million borrowed from the water and sewer funds at an interest rate equal to the amount that Poway”s investment fund earned each year since the money was borrowed. Accelerate the repayments so that they money will be paid back within the next 4 years. </span></b><b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></li>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Please share any other ideas you have to reduce water and sewer rates. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: green; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Dave Grosch-</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;"></span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">declined to participate<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Jon Ryan</span></b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.5pt;">-</span><span class="mceitemhidden"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Several of these hit on the same theme which is accounting for the costs and income of our water accurately. Revenues from the water department should remain in the water department and paying staff from different buckets to spread the costs around does not make much sense either. I am sure we do have personnel that fulfill different roles and need to be applied to different cost centers but costs and income for water needs to remain with water so we can understand the issues better than they are currently accounted for. Based on the projected and Fiscal Year budgets and income for investments, it does not make a whole lot of sense to maintain a loan for a higher rate than what we are earning on our investment accounts. If we are earning under 1% on our general investment portfolio and we are paying more than that in loan obligations for water, then it makes no sense to continue with the loan. This leads to a broader issue in the budget where in several cases we are paying out more interest than we are taking in for our cash reserves. It also makes sense to comb thru the budget with an extremely sharp eye on cost reductions and being that staff is our highest cost, we need to make sure several very highly paid managers are providing at least their value in output that they are costing us. In private industry, whether it be a small business or a Top Ten corporation, the value of the employee to the firm should be in excess of their salary. The city does not exist to employ and pay retirement benefits for the employees, the employees are hired to manage and run the city and based on recent events and my own observations, we are not getting the value back for the staff we have. 1 million saved is just as good as 1 million earned.</span></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="mceitemhidden"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Other suggestions to reduce water and sewer may include technological research to increase efficiency or reduce cost. If we can manage our water system for lower cost and evaluate how we possibly reclaim water that is currently wasted, we can cut our costs and thus drive lower water and sewer rates. I do not feel we are paying enough attention to the biggest item people pay the city for other than property tax. Every employee at city hall should be looking at how we can do a better job and reduce costs.</span></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="mceitemhidden"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">In depth answers to this and many others issues can be found on my website at</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></span><a href="https://ryan4poway.com/"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">https://ryan4poway.com</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></span><span class="mceitemhidden"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">under the issues tab.</span></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #660066; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">John Carson-</span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">A. I would fully support any cost allocation initiatives. Only direct costs of the water and sewer district should be applied to that budget. If council or other non-water and sewer district employees spend time working on matters of the water and sewer district, they SHOULD KEEP a record of time spent for those matters. This is a fair and transparent way of doing business so that the citizens of Poway can easily find information.<b></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">B. Again, I would fully support some type of water and sewer rate change (subject to input). I do not believe what we have today is in the best interest of all the citizens of Poway. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">C. Costs for the entire city budget should be allocated to where the cost was incurred. If a computer in City Hall breaks, that cost should be allocated to whichever department that computer was serving. If the city Manager is spending time on the water and sewer district, that time should be costed and accounted for by the water and sewer disctrict. That time needs to be quantified so that direct cost is easily identified. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">D. Again, and I am starting to sound like a broken record... Costs and revenues should be allocated to the departments that incurr the cost or revenues. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">E</span></i><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">. I think that rents or leases should be separatley accounted for in their own area of the budget. Easily identifiable and described so that the people of Poway can easily understand where the money is going and coming from. I.E. If a water tower is getting cell phone tower lease revenue, that should be listed in the RENTS AND LEASES section of the budget and the Water and Sewer District and Tower name should be listed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">F. Poway's investments earned a 1.8 to 2.2 percent return on the most recent version of the investment report that I read. I know for a fact that market rate loans earned a significantly great percent return during the same period.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">The water and sewer district should not be a profit center for no more than upgrades and future planning. My understanding of the situation being eluded to is not clear, however costs and revenues in the city budget should be allocated to the areas in which the costs and revenues were incurred. SO, if the city didn't have enough money in a certain dept. to fund something.... Then the city should not have funded that specific something. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">It is very shortsighted to borrow from one pocket to pay the other. Eventually when you really need that money, you will have forgotten to pay yourself back. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Peter Neild-</span></b><b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;"></span></b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Generally, based upon the responses I get when water and sewer is discussed, the 6 steps are in compliance and therefore would get my support. However, with regards to #’s A, B, and F there are some deviations. Those deviations, if I am elected would fit into my suggestions to the Mayor and therefore eventually the staff.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">A. All city employees would be trained on “Job Code” usage. All the individual tasks performed by city staff at all levels salaried and hourly would be assigned a weighted job code. The primary function of the Job Code would be to properly identify the cost of Poway City Government, where salaried would be on a percentage of time basis, and hourly would be direct weighted cost to the cost center. The “Weighted” Job Code usage would also invoke information for performance review. Supervisors would grade the job code with efficiency and benefit achievements. In the context of Question 7.A; the weighted job code would provide the information to address the suggestion (</span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">#A</span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">) with the information, for addressing the “Water and Sewer” cost code structure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">B. In the context of Question 7.B, some additional burden would be placed upon the water and sewer user. But first, the Water District would have to replace the current analog meters with newer digital meters such as those being installed in the Otay Water District. This would be to facilitate not only the progress of digital metering over analog but also provide the training water users would require as described below. Please see the Otay Water District Training Video - </span><u><span style="color: #365899; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">https://youtu.be/Fm6_3pFohoo</span></u><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Water users would have to provide information for water usage in three categories on a quarterly basis; A) general usage (which implies equal sewer usage), B) Pool maintenance (no sewer usage), and C) Irrigation usage (no sewer usage). The type C usage (irrigation) would be factored with lot size and time of day, such that water table contribution could be computed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Also, note that Pool Service and Yard Maintenance contractors would be trained to provide the recording of B and C measurements, in addition to other professional people such as plumbers. Water and Sewer customers who do not provide quarterly usage information will be based on comparable properties plus 10%.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">Finally with regards to Question 7 the water and sewer bills would be determined by the information provided in parts A, B and C above. This actual water and sewer usage on an estimated quarterly basis, would allow for seasonal and building occupation deviations. Obviously more frequent certified readings would be accepted, which would allow for time periods when the building (residences) were not actually occupied, such as vacations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.5pt;">F. The only deviation with regards to Question 7 for this item would be the repayment timing. The four year repayment plan should be spread out to 10 years. In my opinion the loan from Water and Sewer to the City was a method of addressing financial crisis of the downturn of the economy in 2008. Since the “recovery” has been slow, the repayment should be over an equal time frame to that of the recovery.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Chris Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06489810250555135219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1057262584896477189.post-80985526577559764252018-10-08T12:47:00.001-07:002018-10-20T17:03:32.393-07:00Election 2018 Poway Council and Mayor Resources<u><b>Election 2018 Poway Council and Mayor Resources</b></u><br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/SouthPowayVotes">South Poway Votes</a> FB group-<br />
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<u><b>Poway Mayor Resources </b></u><br />
Candidates: <a href="http://www.votevaus.com/Steve_Vaus_for_Poway_Mayor/Steve_Vaus_for_Mayor.html">Steve Vaus,</a> <a href="https://yuri92128.wixsite.com/website">Yuri Bohlen</a>, <a href="https://emily4mayor.wordpress.com/"> Emily Johnson</a>, <a href="https://edmonston2018.com/">Brian Edmonston</a><br />
(names link to their websites)<br />
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<a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54e22116e4b05417978ec06e/t/5baf9cf353450afc165d2a5b/1538235637411/2018+Forum+QA-MAYOR.pdf">GVCA Questionnaire</a>Mayor<br />
<a href="http://powayblog.blogspot.com/2018/10/spv-q-mayor.html">SPV Questionnaire</a>Mayor<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/marianna.benedictbacilla/videos/10156761461663184/">Democratic Club Forum</a> video<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/marianna.benedictbacilla/videos/10156808092008184/">GVCA Forum </a>Video<br />
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<u>John Riley Project Videos -Mayoral Candidates</u><br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fa_H_ljtl10">Yuri Bohlen</a><br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fa_H_ljtl10">Brian Edmonston</a><br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkPLkQKAbJY">Emily Johnson</a><br />
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<b><u>Poway At Large/Short Term Council Resources</u></b><br />
Candidates: <a href="https://www.caylinforpoway.com/">Caylin Frank</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/russo4poway">Tony Russo</a>, <a href="https://www.powers4poway.com/">Torrey Powers</a><br />
(names link to their websites)<br />
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<a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54e22116e4b05417978ec06e/t/5baf9d5df4e1fcc6feaf4c3b/1538235741672/2018+Forum+QA-COUNCIL+AT-LG.pdf">GVCA Questionnaire At Large Council</a><br />
<a href="http://powayblog.blogspot.com/2018/10/spv-q-at-large-council.html">SPV Questionnaire At Large Council </a><br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/marianna.benedictbacilla/videos/10156761461663184/">Democratic Forum Video At Large Council</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/marianna.benedictbacilla/videos/10156808092008184/">GVCA Forum</a> Video At Large Council<br />
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<u>John Riley Project Videos -At Large candidates</u><br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnL8mWlOmuM">Caylin Frank</a><br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ITqJ6jycEI">Tony Russo</a><br />
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<b><u>Poway District 1 Council Resources</u></b><br />
Candidates: <a href="https://www.carson4poway.com/">John Carson</a>, <a href="https://ryan4poway.com/"> Jon Ryan</a>, <a href="https://www.grosch4poway.com/">Dave Grosch</a>, <a href="http://www.peteneild.com/">Peter Neild</a><br />
(names link to their websites)<br />
<br />
<a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54e22116e4b05417978ec06e/t/5bb27afd104c7bcc2117553e/1538423549894/2018+Forum+QA-COUNCIL+DISTR+1-v2.pdf">GVCA Questionnaire District1 Council</a><br />
<a href="http://powayblog.blogspot.com/2018/10/spv-questionaire-district-1.html">SPV Questionnaire District 1 Council</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/marianna.benedictbacilla/videos/10156761461663184/">Democratic Club Forum Video</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/marianna.benedictbacilla/videos/10156808273948184/">GVCA Forum Video District 1</a><br />
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<u>John Riley Project Videos- District 1 Candidates</u><br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JVZyAd0viw">John Carson</a><br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLLe3_-TgC4">Jon Ryan</a><br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_Cuvaiz_9Q&feature=youtu.be">Pete Neild</a><br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNgdTjQeQW4">Dave Grosch</a><br />
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______________________________________________________________________________<br />
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<u><b>Poway District 3 Council Resources</b></u><br />
Candidates: Joe Calabrese, <a href="https://putpowayfirst.com/">John Mullin</a><br />
(names link to their websites)<br />
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<a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54e22116e4b05417978ec06e/t/5baf9d7e15fcc0abaa4b54d9/1538235774778/2018+Forum+QA-COUNCIL+DISTR+3.pdf">GVCA Questionnaire District 3</a><br />
<a href="http://powayblog.blogspot.com/2018/10/spv-q-district-3-council.html">SPV Questionnaire District 3</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/marianna.benedictbacilla/videos/10156761461663184/">Democratic Club Forum Video</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/marianna.benedictbacilla/videos/10156808273948184/">GVCA Forum Video District 3</a><br />
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<u>John Riley Project Videos - District 3 Candidates</u><br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCSUG1XVi-g&t=4s">John Mullin</a>Chris Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06489810250555135219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1057262584896477189.post-80137431647503239442018-10-07T10:52:00.003-07:002018-10-08T12:59:32.377-07:00The Problem Isn't That We Didn't Speak UpI've been re-listening to the forum videos and one of the things that kindof pops out is the incumbents surprise that the candidates are criticizing the Poway Road Specific Plan. I heard John Mullin (and other candidates) state that there were many meetings over several years, and then ask why we didn't speak up back then. Well, Mr Mullin, and Mr Grosch and Mr Vaus, we DID speak up then. We filled out sticky papers with our concerns and posted them along with many others, but when they staff compiled them into a report, our concerns weren't addressed. By the time the final PRSP meetings were held, the developers were attending the meetings and those were the voices that were listened to, not ours. The plan was changed to accommodate them, not us.<br />
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The problem is not that we don't speak up. The problem is that we are not listened to. Let me give another example. At the August 21, 2018 council meeting, newly appointed councilmember Caylin Frank proposed that the City buy the Metate parcel from the developer and make it into a park. Four speakers addressed the council in opposition to this plan which they viewed as bailing out the developer. No speakers spoke in favor of the proposal. The council did not listen to the speakers. Without even taking a vote, Mayor Vaus decided to follow through with Caylin Frank's proposal and have the staff look into buying the site from the developer who tried to get it rezoned. <br />
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On September 19, 2018, a closed session was held between the city and the developer for property negotiations. There has been no known purchase agreed upon, but there has been no notice that negotiations are closed either. <br />
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In addition to the speakers who were in opposition, I wrote a letter to the council and submitted it before the August 21, 2018 meeting. My letter was also in opposition to the City's purchase of the Metate parcel from the developer. In my letter I asked the Council to address 4 issues related to the Metate parcel- 1) why wasn't the larger part of the Metate parcel deeded to the city after the lot split 2) why weren't the open space easements properly recorded and what does the City need to do to get them properly recorded on both Metate parcels 3) why doesn't the City's GIS site show that these parcels are part of the South Poway Cornerstone? and 4) how is it that the developer said he talked to the City and that the City told him there were no constraints to development when there is a long written history of constraints? <br />
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It has been almost 8 weeks since I sent that letter. I have heard nothing back from the city manager, any member of the city staff or any council member. It isn't that people do not speak up about issues. Some people do speak up, but they are ignored.<br />
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I've heard the incumbent council members claiming they are the most accessible council ever. They are all up for having a chat over a cup of coffee. I've had chats over coffee with council members. They smile and look concerned and DO NOTHING. One of the reasons I formed the South Poway Votes facebook group is because I hoped our voices might be heard if we were "out there" in a more public way. Maybe we will be heard if together we were a little louder. But, instead of listening to us, or even acknowledging our concerns, they councilmebers responded by becoming more entrenched, combative and defensive. Reports came back to me that councilmembers were warning people to stay away from SPV, and not to associate with me. All of the incumbent candidates were invited to answer SPVs weekly questionnaire. All declined to participate, except John Mullin who answered one question and then dropped out. Yet, every Councilmember candidate answered GVCA's questionnaire. Why do the incumbents want to answer our queries in private, but they are willing to answer GVCA's in public?<br />
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I want to take the moment to thank those candidates who were willing to answer SPV candidate questions. Thank you for acknowledging that our input and concerns are legitimate and that those of us who live in South Poway are an important and valid part of this community. Hopefully, if you are elected, you will not forget this.<br />
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Oh, and to the incumbents who are still boasting about your accessibility and responsiveness, I'm still waiting for a response to my letter. <br />
<br />Chris Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06489810250555135219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1057262584896477189.post-59593924767234164942018-09-30T14:17:00.000-07:002018-10-25T20:44:58.375-07:00Who Caylin Frank RepresentsOn June 19th, Mayor Steve Vaus and Councilmembers Barry Leonard, John Mullin and Dave Grosch appointed Caylin Frank to fill the vacant council seat. There are a couple of reasons why the Council ignored 15 other applicants and chose Mrs Frank, who lived in Poway for less than 3 months on the day she was appointed. One reason is because Mayor Steve Vaus and the other councilmembers really don't want an honest-to-goodness district 4 resident to get on the Poway Council. Caylin Frank's appointment, gives her an incumbency advantage that could help her get elected in the November election and edge out any of the long term activists in south Poway in 2020, when district 4 finally will get to choose their own district representative.<br />
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But there are other reasons the Vaus and his agreeable councilmembers chose Caylin Frank. She has political connections. Caylin's mother is Christy Guerin, former mayor of Encinitas, and later, aide to Brian Bilbray. Kristin Gaspar, who also began as a Encinitas councilmember and after only 2 years in office became a county supervisor has been stumping for Caylin before she was even selected in fill the vacant seat. Another big supporter in Tony Krvaric, who sees Kaylin as a rising star in his party. By rising star, I think he means that with enough money from developers, he might get her to higher office pretty quickly, just like Kristin Gaspar. <br />
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Caylin has other politically connected friends, and they just threw a big fundraiser for her on Wednesday, September 26th at the Waterfront Bistro, on Kettner Blvd., in San Diego. <br />
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The Waterfront Bistro was probably a lot more convenient location to hold the fundraiser than say, a Poway location, because Caylin's friends are not from Poway. Steve Vaus is listed as a member of the host committee, but most of the others are aides to Kristin Gaspar, or political consultants with downtown offices. Many have current or previous experience working for San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer. Some belong to a chamber of commerce group called San Diego Young Leaders and others belong to the Lincoln Cub, a conservative political group that supports increased development. Some names, like Gaspar aide Dustin Steiner have popped up in news articles defending Frank's appointment in Poway. Frank has her supporters, they just are not Poway people.</div>
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Brian Pepin, the event chair (yeah, that is what is says) does live in Poway, although he is a fairly new resident, having moved here shortly before the Metate petition hit the ground. If you don't remember Brian Pepin's name, let me refresh your memory. Brian Pepin was the consultant for the Sacramento developers who wanted to rezone the Metate property so that 50 houses could be built there. Brian was on the scene when an <a href="https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Residents-Fight-Against-Affordable-Housing-Development-Project-479409333.html">NBC news</a> crew covered the Metate neighborhood's reaction to the proposal for rezoning the parcel. He got in his talking points: </div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arimo" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 1.063em;"> "This is part of the beauty of Poway."</span>The developer says the project is a reasonable proposal that would blend with the community.<br />
"This wouldn't affect the hillside at all. It's a modest- sized parcel. We're not talking about 1,000 homes, we're talking about up to 50 on this corner lot,” Brian Pepin said.<br />
Pepin is working with the land's owner on the housing development initiative. He also lives in Poway.<br />
<span style="font-weight: 700;">"</span>Right now, someone could come in here and build a very large project here. We think the proposal that we're bringing to the voters allows people to have a say in what happens here."</blockquote>
Pepin also wrote a letter to the editor that was published in the Chieftain:<br />
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<strong>Better future for Poway</strong>As San Diego County’s housing crisis continues to drive middle class families out of the region into neighboring states, a Poway property owner is proposing to build 50 single-family homes in south Poway at prices starting below the median home price of $734,000.<br />
His proposal is straightforward: The current signature-gathering effort will allow Poway residents to vote on a 7.7-acre privately-owned piece of land in south Poway on the corner of Metate Lane and Montauk Street. The lot could presently be developed with a large home, church or a number of other additional uses.<br />
The owner of the parcel has proposed up to 50 single-family homes that will match the character and zoning of the surrounding neighborhood. Poway law requires that the property owner go to the voters with his request to change the zoning to match the adjacent neighborhood (from “rural residential” to “residential single-family”). The owner, Kraig Clark, is following the city’s rules and gathering signatures in order to give Poway residents a voice in this November’s election. His partner, Todd Lutes, has reached out to nearby residents and community groups and plans to hold a town hall meeting this summer.<br />
Unfortunately, in today’s world of fast-moving social media, there have been a number of rumors and misrepresentations about the proposal that aren’t true: it won’t remove any hiking trails and it sits on a mostly flat lot with no soil problems.<br />
Instead, this proposal will provide an answer for couples hoping to raise a family in Poway and others who want an opportunity to call this wonderful town their home.<br />
A website with more information on the proposal can be found at www.abetterpoway.com.<br />
<em>Brian Pepin</em></blockquote>
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<em>Poway</em><em>(Editor’s note: Pepin is a political consultant working for the landowner.)</em></blockquote>
It was no rumor that the Metate parcel had soil problems. Plenty of city documents identified the problems. Half of the parcel was also part of the South Poway Cornerstone, an area of important protected biological resources that is part of Poway's sub area habitat plan.<br />
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Thankfully, the people of Poway refused to sign the petition to rezone Metate. The developer and Brian Pepin could not get enough signatures to get the measure on the ballot, even with signature gatherers who lied and impersonated city employees. <br />
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The story doesn't end here. The Sacramento investors bought the parcel at about 10 times what the previous owner paid for it. It is unlikely that they can sell it for anywhere near what they paid for it.<br />
But, don't worry, new city council appointee Caylin Frank had a plan to help them out. On August 21st, Caylin Frank proposed that Poway buy the Metate parcel from the developer, and perhaps make a park there. Caylin proposed this solution without talking to anyone who lives near the Metate parcel or anyone who was involved in the No on Metate Rezone effort. At the August 21 council meeting, several members of the public spoke in opposition to buying the parcel and bailing out the developer. At least one other person (me) sent a letter in opposition to buying the parcel. Nevertheless the council decided to meet with the developer and make an offer anyway.<br />
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At the last council meeting on September 18, 2018, the council met in closed session to negotiate a price for the Metate property.<br />
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The council and the negotiating parties (did they come or did they have someone represent them?) did not come to an agreement. We do not know any details. </div>
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What we do know is the Caylin Frank is not representing us, the people of Poway. She is pretty much ignoring that we even exist. The people she is beholden to are people like Brian Pepin and the downtown consultant and the political machine that got Kristin Gaspar elected. If we want to have control of our future, we need to start making OUR voices heard. Choose wisely this November. </div>
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Chris Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06489810250555135219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1057262584896477189.post-12082775146861141092018-09-23T20:21:00.002-07:002018-09-27T08:19:08.284-07:00Is it a Charity or a Scam?I'm on the DO NOT CALL registry but that doesn't stop people from calling me and asking me to donate some money to their police and firefighter charities. Some of these charities are not really charities, they are businesses. They give a small amount of money to some fire department somewhere and keep 90 percent or more of the money they bring in. It's legal, but deceitful to pull on people's heartstrings for profit. It is up to us to check out these businesses and find out just how charitable they really are. We have both federal and state laws that regulate non profits and charity fundraisers and require reporting that reveals how much of the money that is taken in gets donated to the charity.<br />
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<a href="https://www.carolsbycandlelight.com/">Carols by Candlelight</a> is the name of a Christmas concert put on by Steve Vaus. It is heavily promoted as a charity event that benefits Rady's Children's Hospital. Carols by Candlelight is not a nonprofit with a 503(c)(3) with an IRS tax number, that would allow donors to take a deduction for their donation. Nor is Carols by Candlelight (or Steve Vaus Production) registered in the State of California's <a href="http://rct.doj.ca.gov/Verification/Web/Search.aspx?facility=Y">database</a> of charitable organizations or fundraising entities that comply with the State of California's registry and reporting requirements. Some years ago, when Steve Vaus sent emails to me and my friends, asking us to be angels and donate thousands of dollars to his Carols by Candlelight production, the implication was that those donations would be tax deductible. But they were not. And because they are not, I was unable to find out how much of my donation would end up being given to the charity and how much would end up in Steve Vaus' pocket.<br />
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The Carols by Candlelight concerts are held on 2 days in December in Escondido's Center for the Performing Arts. The concert hall has 1500 seats. Ticket prices for this year are $69-$87. You can also buy "hero tickets" for active duty military and first responders for $25 each. Ticket sales could potentially could bring in between $200,000- $250,000 gross.<br />
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Every year, Steve Vaust starts soliciting for donors for Carols by Candlelight. Donors can give $15,000 for Title Sponsorship (previously it was $25,000), $10,000 to underwrite band costs, $5,000 to underwrite travel expenses; 2,500 for hospitality plates; $1500 to underwrite stage decorations and $1,000 to underwrite raffle expenses. It is unknown how much money is donated by these Christmas angels. In addition, there is a raffle or auction, and items are likely donate. Currently, this years Carols by Candlelight already has 8 Sponsors and 3 Media Sponsors listed, although I do not know how much each one contributed. The total amount donated to Carols by Candlelight is not public information because Carols by Candlelight is not a nonprofit charity.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDgRhn0jbWiSOEvudREUSd7zQc8kaiR2pfWpHVBV-VRFUXk5maYClF43JnB6NZeIvQgKsERiWjIILoydz3WSUHvM13afsvct8aGFz5hrM0kRtlpRt0wkqDjTj-WclWvm_QVe1f334FmtE/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-09-19+at+8.07.28+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1100" data-original-width="843" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDgRhn0jbWiSOEvudREUSd7zQc8kaiR2pfWpHVBV-VRFUXk5maYClF43JnB6NZeIvQgKsERiWjIILoydz3WSUHvM13afsvct8aGFz5hrM0kRtlpRt0wkqDjTj-WclWvm_QVe1f334FmtE/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-09-19+at+8.07.28+PM.png" width="489" /></a></div>
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Nevertheless, Vaus is sure to look for any extra bucks he can get.<br />
In 2012, Steve Vaus, who was then a candidate for Poway council, applied for a grant from California Municipal Finance Authority (CMFA). CMFA arranges bond financing for capital projects. They charge a fee for issuing the bonds, and a portion of the fees that they collect are returned to the communities they serve by giving out grants to other non-profits in the community. Steve Vaus applied for $5000 to buy tickets for veterans to attend Carols by Candlelight. Vaus could have given the tickets away for free, but he would rather get CMFA and others to pay for them.<br />
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On Nov 2, 2012 CMFA, sent a letter to Mona Durney, Executive Director of Carols by Candlelight, and enclosed a check. for $5000.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1dGN0KXt_QR7VEE8wsiFSg1gS_i5LHF54C0Ze5NQTMwOeMqhfGO7wHVZ2ceEYpWUPkbzJYl8XoSIbqnRtXZlL4qrGhNyawyR0nf01jgIst5OjDyBr_ea2Gc5_OdlzX9a14wLgf9wISw8/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-09-19+at+8.36.23+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1197" data-original-width="928" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1dGN0KXt_QR7VEE8wsiFSg1gS_i5LHF54C0Ze5NQTMwOeMqhfGO7wHVZ2ceEYpWUPkbzJYl8XoSIbqnRtXZlL4qrGhNyawyR0nf01jgIst5OjDyBr_ea2Gc5_OdlzX9a14wLgf9wISw8/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-09-19+at+8.36.23+PM.png" width="496" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0aCPy6SZ8cZOu9gADX17ISHS5wyZh4PGYFoo65JuT3fGNKy6MV6-5KyjGhNNQy-Za38Cc_cF_sGfJep9K8sZOo045QHgo8tlQsfSDYP-AWIpo5DmG8hybh7O3J70pGUCcPZJ11OrG1N4/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-09-19+at+8.36.38+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="374" data-original-width="923" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0aCPy6SZ8cZOu9gADX17ISHS5wyZh4PGYFoo65JuT3fGNKy6MV6-5KyjGhNNQy-Za38Cc_cF_sGfJep9K8sZOo045QHgo8tlQsfSDYP-AWIpo5DmG8hybh7O3J70pGUCcPZJ11OrG1N4/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-09-19+at+8.36.38+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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The check was made out to Carols by Candlelight. On Dec 12, 2012, Valerie Brown, of RB United, sent a letter to CMFA, confirming the receipt of the $5000 check for Carols by Candlelight. Why was the donation sent to RB United? Perhaps, because RB United was a 501 (c)(3), a real, honest-to-goodness nonprofit, the type that CMFA can legally give money to.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIqf6_Xa9QDZyd-ZB3-sd1XyMROio1FwTGIe0GLJpwyolkxdyy31WshE659QJxpB4GrTPknTs8euX0AFWf_4y7LGvyWRp1mrQF7htLsvV8dx6jVnFcTU_NNis-RB0SfsaXHm7vDhlC-FQ/s1600/06+letter+from+RB+United+to+CMFA+copy+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1246" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIqf6_Xa9QDZyd-ZB3-sd1XyMROio1FwTGIe0GLJpwyolkxdyy31WshE659QJxpB4GrTPknTs8euX0AFWf_4y7LGvyWRp1mrQF7htLsvV8dx6jVnFcTU_NNis-RB0SfsaXHm7vDhlC-FQ/s640/06+letter+from+RB+United+to+CMFA+copy+2.png" width="498" /></a></div>
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So who is RB United? This is from their webpage:<br />
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We began as two separate but related organizations: RB United and ReBuild RB.<br /><br />RB United formed as a non-profit partnership of the RB Community Foundation, the San Diego North Chamber of Commerce, and The San Diego Foundation to assess and handle the community’s needs in the immediate aftermath of the 2007 Witch Creek fires. ReBuild RB was created as a 501(c) (3) public charity to serve the survivors of the 2007 Witch Creek Fires, with 90% of all funds collected by Rebuild RB going directly to individual fire victims.<br /><br />Our two organizations merged in 2009 into a single local non-profit agency capable of applying for grants and seeking underwriting for emergency preparedness and community improvement projects. We maintain the website name ReBuild RB, but operate under the umbrella name RB United.<br />During our first two years, RB United served 527 fire families in the communities of Rancho Bernardo, Poway, Rancho Santa Fe, Escondido, and Ramona; coordinated 274 events with 10,000+ total attendees; collaborated with 130 organizations and businesses; and leveraged almost $1.2 million for fire recovery efforts (against an outlay of approximately $250,000 from The San Diego Foundation’s Disaster Board)</h3>
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In 2012, RB United morphed into 4 Community Solutions. In addition to helping fire victims, and a neighborhood emergency response group, they collaborated with the City of Poway to put on the Poway Days Parade. They $5000 donation from CMFA should have been reported on this 2012 tax form, but I could not find it. Nor did I find the words "Carols by Candlelight". I have no idea what happened with that money.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfkud588Yf8om1aM46y13kkb6t76v7Fxpt2l8VIv2cs7Mjuyrz6YI3E4cdor6thTxW2So3TG5J07ktKx2jbPM_DZMkD1puMwJkKbLHB3joNfX5XFVfGuMKZXiT-ksyjMHN4WMoVdBzXV4/s1600/2012+4+community+solutions+services+irs.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="987" data-original-width="1600" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfkud588Yf8om1aM46y13kkb6t76v7Fxpt2l8VIv2cs7Mjuyrz6YI3E4cdor6thTxW2So3TG5J07ktKx2jbPM_DZMkD1puMwJkKbLHB3joNfX5XFVfGuMKZXiT-ksyjMHN4WMoVdBzXV4/s640/2012+4+community+solutions+services+irs.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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It is quite the irony that Steve Vaus was funneling donations to his for profit charity through a nonprofit intended to help fire victims. In 2009, Vaus, a political unknown in Poway politics, spearheaded a recall of Councilwoman Betty Rexford. One of his more vitriolic claims is that Rexford misused a firetruck and had it sent to her neighborhood while other Poway homes burned. A subsequent city report verified that the fire department had acted appropriately when it sent a truck to Rexford's neighborhood to mop up hot spots.<br />
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In 2013, 4Community Solutions 990 tax form mentions a community parade and community concert. I doubt this is Carols by Candlelight, but who knows? I've called Valerie Brown, the person who prepared these tax returns, but she has not yet responded to my questions.<br />
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The first time the words "Carols by Candlelight appears on 4Community Solutions tax forms is in the 2014 tax year. It looks like Carols by Candlelight was given $59,492 that year, the majority of all of 4Community Solution's expenses which totaled $64,472. From this tax form, there is no way to tell how much money was donated to Carols by Candlelight and there is no mention of giving money to the charity, Rady's Hospital. I was hoping the person who filled out these forms would inform me of how much money was actually donated to the charity, but these tax forms do not provide that information.<br />
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In 2015, 4 Community Solutions filed a fictitious business statement in San Diego County. They were "doing business as" Carols by Candlelight and a bunch of other entities. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmfgO4XUOiKkpSz4T5RHoFQQhfB75V6m3sZKR948McH33eHQlaWCDNopGlauOWQ4g57arBppYs7lFGAt1mD2833rqpAhCQoU663B6xkg4EDwzzTFe-mCpqXQUPVtCmRbfPPnKevs9qSa4/s1600/4Community+Solutions+dba+carols+by+candlelight.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="571" data-original-width="580" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmfgO4XUOiKkpSz4T5RHoFQQhfB75V6m3sZKR948McH33eHQlaWCDNopGlauOWQ4g57arBppYs7lFGAt1mD2833rqpAhCQoU663B6xkg4EDwzzTFe-mCpqXQUPVtCmRbfPPnKevs9qSa4/s400/4Community+Solutions+dba+carols+by+candlelight.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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That same year 4 Community Solutions listed $48, 046 given to Carols by Candlelight on their 990 tax form. Note that Carols by Candlelight is described as a "Community wide" concert. It almost sounds like a whole community was the beneficiary instead of ticket holders, doesn't it? By this time 4Community Solutions had changed from being a charity that helped fire victims to a fiscal sponsorship nonprofit. According to 4Community Solutions website, fiscal sponsorship involved some accounting and tax services and insurance and lending their nonprofit status to "unincorporated nonprofits".</div>
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Carols by Candlelight is not an unincorporated nonprofit. It is just the name of an event. It was never a nonprofit. I do not know why 4Community Solutions thought it was appropriate to let Carols by Candlelight use their non profit tax ID number. And 4Community Solutions is not the only entity doing business as Carols by Candlelight. Steve Vaus' sole proprietorship, Steve Vaus Productions is also doing business as Carols by Candlelight. The lines between 4Community Solutions, Carols by Candlelight and Steve Vaus Productions are all very murky. While 4Communityt Solutions nonprofit tax ID number is prominently displayed on the Carols by Candlelight webpage, the donation links go to Steve Vaus Productions. A friend of mine, with a heart for veterans ordered 500 worth of tickets from the Carols by Candlelight in 2017. The bank statement from the credit card showed that the money went to Steve Vaus Productions. My friend was fooled by Carols by Candlelight webpage into thinking that his donation would be tax deductible. It isn't.<br />
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There is also a question about what happened to all of the other incoming assets and expenses from the concert. Ticket sales alone should have brought in several hundred thousand dollars. Steve Vaus wasn't performing for free and neither were the other singers and musicians. His production company was likely also paid. Where is the accounting and tax record of those expenses? How much in donations came in via money given to Steve Vaus Productions, a sole proprietorship owned by Steve Vaus? Which donations and expenses belonged to 4 Community Solutions and which belonged to Steve Vaus Productions? Did Steve Vaus take a tax deduction on his personal income tax for the contribution to Rady's? Where were all of the income and donations reported?<br />
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The 2016 tax return for 4 Community Solutions is not online. The 2017 return has not yet been filed.<br />
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I am waiting for the answers to those questions from Valerie Brown, of 4 Community Solutions. She took down my questions and promised to get back to me today, but she did not call. The 4Community Solutions website has been down since I began inquiring about their sponsorship of Carols by Candlelight. Almost all of the previous online information has been removed. The person who was listed on the tax forms and the IRS forms as the chief board member told me he has not had anything to do with the group for many years. The one question I really want to know is how much did Carols By Candlelight take in, how much were the expenses, how much did Steve Vaus, his family members and his production company get, and how much was the gross profit that was given to Rady's Children Hospital.<br />
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Knowing that many of the donations that came in were given to Steve Vaus Productions, I also have a question about the reporting of those donations on economic interest forms filed with the City of Poway. Every year, each member of the city council (and certain the employees) must file form 700, Statement of Economic Interests. Schedule A-2 of form 700 is titled "Investments, Income, and Assets of Business Entities/Trusts. Every year from 2012-2016, Steve Vaus has listed Steve Vaus Productions as an owned business entity. Vaus has indicated that his sole proprietorship is worth $100,000 to a million dollars, and his gross income is over $100,000. Some of this income is likely from the Carols by Candlelight concert.<br />
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In 2012 and 2014, Vaus reported no gifts. In 2013, 2015 and 2016, Vaus did report gifts, but I did not see any of the donations from Carols by Candlelight donors on the list. If people bought tickets for veterans and paid money to Steve Vaus Productions, that donation should be listed on Steve Vaus' Form 700.<br />
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Where did the Carols by Candlelight donations from Edco, SDG&E, Poway Toyota, Kristin Gaspar's husband and others go? 4Community Solutions or Steve Vaus Productions? Shouldn't Steve Vaus be reporting these donations as gifts on his Form 700? How do we know how much Edco gave to Steve Vaus. How much of that donation ended up at Rady's and how much ended up in Steve Vaus' pocket. Will Vaus recuse himself from discussion and voting on Edco's next contract? Vaus was not on the council when they voted to give Toyota millions of dollars to move across the street, but it can't hurt for Toyota to have a friend at city hall for the next deal. And what might Kristin Gaspar's husband want from Steve Vaus? Maybe a patronage position for a friend of theirs?<br />
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Although Carols by Candlelight is now touting a borrowed nonprofit IRS number on their webpage, unlike true nonprofits, they do not report what percentage of all of the money collected goes to the real charity, Rady Children's Hospital. The do not report how much goes into Steve Vaus' pocket. I do not recommend donating to Carols by Candlelight until they comply with the nonprofit and charity fundraising reporting laws. You can always donate directly to Rady's Children's Hospital and take a tax deduction. <br />
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Update:<br />
I sent an information request to California Municipal Finance Authority. asking for dates and amounts of money they have given to Carols by Candlelight. This is from the response sent to me by John Stoecker of California Municipal Finance Authority.<br />
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<br />Chris Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06489810250555135219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1057262584896477189.post-70405885039301037902018-09-15T22:10:00.000-07:002018-10-24T11:22:10.239-07:00Caylin Frank, Kristin Gaspar, Steve Vaus and Carols by Candlelight<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On June 18th, at a special council meeting, four Poway Councilmen picked Caylin Frank to be the interim city councilmember, filling Jim Cunningham's seat until a replacement could be elected in November. Caylin Frank's appointment was an insult to the people of Poway because Mrs. Frank had moved to Poway less than 3 months before her appointment. She didn't know the people she was chosen to represent, and they had no idea who she was.<br />
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Caylin Frank's appointment was also an insult to the 14 other candidates who filled out applications, and gave presentations before the council that night. None of their efforts mattered, because, by all appearances, the council had chosen Frank long before the evening's charade began. <br />
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I was not surprised Caylin Frank was chosen because I had heard rumors that Mayor Steve Vaus had found someone to appoint to the council. But I wasn't the only one who got a heads up. County Supervisor Kristin Gaspar seemed to know all about it, too.<br />
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On June 10th, Caylin Frank and Steve Vaus attended an event for Kristin Gaspar at Second Chance Beer Company. In a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/secondchancebeercompany/videos/2119144004996386/">video</a> from the event that was posted on County Supervisor Kristin Gaspar's facebook page, Mrs. Gaspar can be heard introducing Steve Vaus, and then introducing Caylin Frank:<br />
"… Caylin's going to be a fantastic councilmember. I want you to get to know her and help support her. This is her baby over here. So you can imagine, I can really relate to her. " <br />
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Maybe Gaspar can relate to Frank because both of them are mothers of young children. Or maybe it is because they are both from Encinitas. Frank's mother, Christy Guerin, was once mayor of Encinitas. Christy Guerin resigned that position to work for Brian Bilbray. Her daughter, Caylin, got an intern job with Bilbray for a while too. Kristin Gaspar also served on the Encinitas council. She was elected in 2014. Two years later, she ran for, and won an election for county supervisor. That is a super fast climb up the ladder for a political newbie. Maybe that is also how she relates to Caylin Frank. With Caylin's appointment to the Poway Council as a steppingstone, she, too, may have plans of moving up to a higher office, especially with the help of political insiders.<br />
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Caylin Frank has one solid Poway connection- Steve Vaus. Vaus and Frank were facebook friends before she was selected to be the interim councilperson, representing Powegians she did not know. Frank worked (and still works) as an aide to county supervisor Bill Horn. So Caylin Frank, Kristin Gaspar and Steve Vaus would have spent time together at Sandag meetings in addition to hobnobbing at campaign events for each other. <br />
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Vaus and Gaspar are also campaign donation buddies. Vaus donated $350 to Gaspar's 2016 supervisorial campaign and Gaspar has already kicked in $100 for Vaus re-election. Vaus started collecting donations in January, long before the nomination period began. Gaspar also spent $2500 of her 2016 campaign dollars on Vaus' so-called "charity fundraiser", Carols by Candlelight. The code on the expenditure form is "MTG" which means "meetings and appearances". By all appearances, it seems as if Gaspar used campaign funds to buy tickets to Vaus' gala production, Carols by Candlelight.<br />
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Carols by Candlelight is billed as a charity production put on by Steve Vaus. The website says that the net proceeds from Carols by Candlelight go to Rady Children's hospital. But how much of Gaspar's $2500 donation ended up in Steve Vaus' pocket, and how much actually went to the charity is not public information.<br />
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Back when Vaus was running for council in 2009, I <a href="http://powayblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/rabble-rousers.html">wrote</a> about his 'for profit" business, Carols by Candlelight. Vaus had sent me emails and hit me up to "be an angel" and donate to the production of Carols by Candlelight. He was asking for thousands of dollars in donations back then, without disclosing how much money from the event went into his pocket, and how much went to the charity. <br />
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So, here we are, 9 years later. Vaus is still asking for thousands of dollars in donations: $15,000 to be a title sponsor; $10,000 to underwrite the band costs; $5,000 to underwrite travel costs of the performers; $2,500 for plates of food for the performers; $,1500 for stage decorations and $1,000 to underwrite raffle expenses. Vaus seems to be really raking in the donations now, compared to the lean years before he was on the Poway council. Some of the 2017 donors, who could benefit from pleasing the mayor, include Edco, Toyota of Poway, and SDG&E. There is also a donation from a company owned by Paul Gaspar, Kristin Gaspar's husband. Those Gaspars sure do like to give money to Steve Vaus.<br />
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There is something else on the Carols by Candlelight page which caught my eye. Vaus now claims he is a nonprofit company with a nonprofit number. In the lower right hand corner of the Carols by Candlelight page, it says "Qualified 501(c)(3) Taxpayer Identification number 26-1722021. 4Community Solutions-dba Carols by Candlelight 18402 W Bernardo Drive San Diego, CA 92127. But that nonprofit number is not for Vaus' company, Steve Vaus Productions, the company he names on his statement of economic interest forms filed with the City of Poway. The nonprofit number Vaus is using belongs to a charity located in Rancho Bernardo called 4 Community Solutions.<br />
4 Community Solutions was formerly called RB United and was set up to help fire victims.<br />
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4 Community Solution's <a href="http://4communitysolutions.org/">website </a>no longer seems to load. But before it went down I took screen shots of some of the pages. I have also downloaded the groups 990 IRS forms. Carols by Candlelight appears to be the biggest chunk of money on those 990 forms. But nowhere on those forms is there information that all nonprofits have to disclose- how much of the money went to the charity and how much went for salaries and expenses and whatever else Vaus spent it on. <br />
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It is also uncertain how much money is collected by sale of tickets and from donations that people do not request a tax deduction for. Note that on Carols by Candlelight's webpage, all of the live donation links are directed to Steve Vaus, not 4 Community Solutions, the non profit, whose number Vaus has displayed and claimed is doing business as Carols by Candlelight.<br />
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Clicking on this donate button<br />
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gets you to this form:<br />
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Notice that the donation goes to Steve Vaus Productions, not 4 Community Solutions.<br />
I looked up Steve Vaus Productions in <a href="https://www.guidestar.org/home.aspx">guidestar</a>. It is not listed as a nonprofit.<br />
Steve Vaus Productions is no longer listed in the state of California corporation <a href="https://businesssearch.sos.ca.gov/">database</a>, although, I do believe it was incorporated in California at one time. So maybe it is incorporated in another state. Or maybe not.<br />
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I have contacted some of the purported officers from 4 Community Solutions, as I am trying to find out more about how this nonprofit has allowed Vaus to conceal how much money goes to the charity and how much money goes into his pocket. They first person I contacted told me he had never heard of 4 Community Solutions or Carols by Candlelight. And yet this man who is an investment advisor was listed as the chief officer on 4 Community Solutions website before it quit loading and on fairly recent tax returns. I am still in the process of contacting other officers whose names are listed on the tax forms. So far, I am not getting any responses. But I will keep you posted when I do hear from them.<br />
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Note: Caylin Frank has claimed that Kristin Gaspar was referring to Caylin's applying to run in November election, not her upcoming appointment in the video, but I'm not buying her story.<br />
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Update (Sept 19, 2018): Apparently Kristin Gaspar spent another $2500 of her campaign donations on Carols by Candlelight tickets on 2 occasions. This form covers expenditures in early 2016. That brings her total spending on Carols by Candlelight to $5000.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3YoziAHoljfky6xWChMmG5cYK5HrpO61y12xM02-1xYY2XXQuoNfxDH3z41T-_4wO-_wkWHv3cl3skwavmoDyXtyXTI2RevMJPX9-ZKJ_0mOeDQ2228W1qfQn-_3NAfxcFp2As8QAR2Y/s1600/CbC+2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1213" data-original-width="1600" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3YoziAHoljfky6xWChMmG5cYK5HrpO61y12xM02-1xYY2XXQuoNfxDH3z41T-_4wO-_wkWHv3cl3skwavmoDyXtyXTI2RevMJPX9-ZKJ_0mOeDQ2228W1qfQn-_3NAfxcFp2As8QAR2Y/s640/CbC+2016.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Update 2 (Sept 19, 2018) The Carols by Candlelight page and the 4 Community Solutions webpages have both been changed since this blog was posted. Carols by Candlelight no longer has the "click to donate" button, instead all donation links open an email addressed to Steve Vaus. The language about 4 Community Solutions has changed slightly on Carols by Candlelight:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3O0Z2z8zo5PKGZu2qYa-TYL1UOwepnYXK9X81wwUjqI195nn6CtpnPujizB6i5NhBr_Mr4zL6HS4E2DsaBnQ-tx5UAOotmJ462lU4dTa8LmA5M0fDRNx85NGQUgTRyFJt9qY8efqe0jo/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-09-19+at+7.27.43+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="153" data-original-width="569" height="86" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3O0Z2z8zo5PKGZu2qYa-TYL1UOwepnYXK9X81wwUjqI195nn6CtpnPujizB6i5NhBr_Mr4zL6HS4E2DsaBnQ-tx5UAOotmJ462lU4dTa8LmA5M0fDRNx85NGQUgTRyFJt9qY8efqe0jo/s320/Screen+Shot+2018-09-19+at+7.27.43+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Vaus is still implying that 4 Community Solutions and Carols by Candlelight are the same thing. In fact, Carols by Candlelight does not have a nonprofit number. It is not a registered nonprofit.<br />
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<br />Chris Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06489810250555135219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1057262584896477189.post-24565362422431887392012-10-31T00:05:00.000-07:002012-10-31T20:26:05.360-07:00What Were They Thinking?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi79-XfOaBgxwk2_g1fhseBDHJbEupgl5cR2Otr2U5iOZmBq7TAwEbBQF0c3P96WLBDVVHxO0TUMDrxIJJH7kqUDzIUNQp0_toyB4R71u8kuSjDV24mriEtvYHsl2Ovlao14rglFMUDggo/s1600/Maienschein_front+with+yellow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi79-XfOaBgxwk2_g1fhseBDHJbEupgl5cR2Otr2U5iOZmBq7TAwEbBQF0c3P96WLBDVVHxO0TUMDrxIJJH7kqUDzIUNQp0_toyB4R71u8kuSjDV24mriEtvYHsl2Ovlao14rglFMUDggo/s640/Maienschein_front+with+yellow.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The election is just a week away. There are 2 seats on PUSD board up for grabs and 2 seats on the Poway Council. I thought the biggest issue this election season, especially for council candidates, would have been, "How will the end of redevelopment affect our budget?" A little less than a year ago, the California Supreme Court decided that Governor Brown and the legislature can dissolve redevelopment agencies and end that state program. The City of Poway had been diverting $40 million in property taxes from local schools, the county and our own general fund, <strike>to subsidize developers</strike> to clean up blight and now they won't be able to do that anymore. Unfortunately, the full $40 million/yr in diverted property taxes won't be available for distribution for many years, as Poway's Redevelopment Agency has a large bonded indebtedness and other obligations that must be paid off first. So, the schools won't be made whole right away. And neither will the county or Poway's own general fund.<br />
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The council candidates haven't talked too much about how they would deal with the budget shortfall. Mostly, they seem to collectively shake their fists at Sacramento and whine. Two council candidates, Steve Vaus and Jeff Mangum were on the City's Citizen Budget Review Committee. That committee didn't even consider the impact the California Supreme Court's decision could have on Poway's budget during their budget review meetings. I guess they were afraid to plan for all possibilities. After the court decision was made public, the Budget Committee returned to make some adjustments and to add a little "We hate you, Sacramento" to their report.<br />
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I've heard very little budget on the campaign trail. This year's buzz is all about the "Billion Dollar" PUSD bonds. That may be due to political opportunism more than anything else. Jim Cunningham will likely be re-elected. Merrilee Boyack is not running again. There are 3 other candidates hoping to grab her seat: Steve Vaus, Jeff Mangum and Gary Vineyard. The school bond has become the "hot" issue between Steve Vaus and former school board member Jeff Mangum. Vaus contends that Mangum is responsible for the bond debacle and Mangum says he isn't because he wasn't on the PUSD board when the last issuance of Prop C bonds were approved.<br />
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Personally, I think Mangum should have stood with his fellow PUSD Board members and owned his role in the bonds. Yeah, yeah, I know...he left the board in 2010 and did not vote to issue the last Prop C bonds, but Mangum was very much a part of the whole sequence of events that led up to the bond issuance in 2011 for $105 million in bonds that would cost taxpayers <a href="http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/education/article_c83343e8-ddd5-11e1-bfca-001a4bcf887a.html?mode=story">a billion dollars to pay back over the next 40 yrs.</a><br />
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For both Prop U and Prop C bonds, the district first issued "bridge loans" and got started right away on the building projects. When the bridge loans came due, the district needed to issue Prop U or Prop C bonds to pay them back. The plan worked well for Prop U. The complication for issuing Prop C bonds was that the taxpayers were still paying off the Prop U bonds when the Prop C bonds would be issued. In order to keep the tax rate below the promised $55/$100,000AV, PUSD decided to use higher risk CAB(capital appreciation bonds) that wouldn't have to be paid off for 20 yrs or so, although they accrued interest during that time period.<br />
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When Prop C's bridge loan came due in 2011, PUSD <i>had</i> to pay them off. PUSD had planned for a best case scenario, with the real estate bubble growing for at least 7 more years. Unfortunately, the housing market collapsed and the bond market tightened up when the loan came due. I don't know what Mangum could have done differently if he had still been on the board when the bridge loans became due. There were not a lot of choices. Bridge loans are a gamble, if conditions are not too good when they come due, the district still must issue bonds to pay them off.<br />
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There is some irony in that Steve Vaus is the most vocal critic of Mangum's role with regard to the bonds. Vaus's supporters have repeatedly said online comments, media interviews and at a school board meeting, that Mangum should sit out the election for his role in the bonds. Yet, several of Vaus's supporters played key roles in getting Prop C passed. <a href="http://www.VoteVaus.com/Steve_Vaus_for_Poway_City_Council/Supporters.html">Sabrina Butler</a>, who endorsed Vaus, ran the "Yes on C" campaign. <a href="http://www.VoteVaus.com/Steve_Vaus_for_Poway_City_Council/Supporters.html">Laura Tyne</a>, was another "core" volunteer. She now says she was <a href="http://www.pomeradonews.com/2012/08/15/letters-to-the-editor-aug-19-2012/">"fooled"</a> by the board and that they withheld "details"about the bond, in particular, how much the bond would cost. In my opinion, that is a pretty lame whine because nobody knows what the interest rates will be for a bond until they are issued. If Laura read Prop C before she tried to get everyone to vote for it, she might have noticed that we voted for bonds that could take up to 40 yrs. to repay <i>after the last bond was issued</i> at up to 12 % interest. PUSD didn't have to issue the bonds for many years, at least not until the bridge loans came due, and even then they could have (and did) stagger the issuance of the bonds for several years. If you repay back a loan over a 50 yr period, it will cost a lot in interest. Those terms were in Prop C and not hidden from the voters. What wasn't revealed was that PUSD planned to use CAB bonds, which accrue interest for many years before payments are made. But without using CAB bonds, there was no way PUSD could have issued the Prop C bonds and still have kept rates below $55/$100,000AV. That is why <a href="http://powayblog.blogspot.com/2008/01/proposition-c-part-i.html">I questioned</a> what the Yes on C committee was telling the voters in 2008. It certainly did not seem mathematically reasonable, and it wasn't.<br />
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PUSD did tell the San Diego Taxpayer's Association that they planned to use CAB bonds. And they told them that they <a href="http://powayblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/wildly-optimistic-projections.html">expected assessed valuation to grow</a> from 5-8% per year from 2008-2015. They gambled on that real estate bubble growing for 7 more years. I would expect that a group that is so devoted to taxpayer concerns would have questioned those "wildly optimistic" assessed valuation projections, but SDCTA didn't. SDCTA seems to frown upon spending taxpayer money on frivoulous things like teacher salaries or pensions, but they are pretty gung- ho about spending tax dollars on school construction projects. SDCTA gave PUSD an award for using that bridge loans scenario with Prop U. They endorsed Prop C, knowing that PUSD was going to use bridge loans and the riskier CAB bonds. What were they thinking? Perhaps of lining their pockets.<br />
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Here is where more irony comes in. Steve Vaus received the endorsement of the Lincoln Club of San Diego County and he got $<a href="http://www.pomeradonews.com/2012/10/29/vaus-maintains-lead-in-city-council-campaign-fundraising/">500 in cash and $300 in video services</a> from them. They are a very <a href="http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/news-ticker/2012/oct/29/the-san-diego-county-prosperity-institute-raises-3/">conservative group, nominally non-partisan, and pro-development.</a> There are several key members who are on both the SDCTA and the Lincoln Club. One name in particular pops out. April Boling. Boling is an accountant who is often the treasurer for Republican campaign candidates and issues. April Boling was Vaus's campaign treasurer for the recall campaign against Betty Rexford. And April Boling was the "contact person" (treasurer?) for the 527 campaign organizations ("citizen groups") who pushed for passage of both Prop U and Prop C.<br />
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So, yeah, Mangum may "lit the fuse" that led to the billion dollar bond deal, but there are quite a few members of Vaus's posse who were instrumental in pushing to get Prop C passed. Prop C was actually the rope to the sticks of billion dollar dynamite. Once that thing was lit, we were stuck.<br />
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There is a silver lining to the bond fiasco. PUSD had plans to get us voters to approve a parcel tax. Prop U and Prop C money can only be used for school buildings and some technology improvements. A parcel tax could be used to pay teacher's salaries. I'm not opposed to paying teachers a salary or pensions. I am opposed to parcel taxes, in particular, to flat parcel taxes that charge each property the same amount. It seems unfairly burdensome that a small house on a tiny lot would pay the same parcel tax as an $8 million estate. <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Parcel_tax_elections_in_California">Wikipedia has a list</a> of parcel tax measures that have been on the ballot in other California cities. They vary considerably, but some are for $300/yr and $400/yr per parcel. They can be for a set number of years or they can continue indefinitely. Some parcel taxes are based on<br />
square footage of the property or lot sizes. That seems much fairer and would be the only parcel tax I would consider voting for.<br />
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The billion dollar bond measure put the kabosh on talk about a PUSD parcel tax. But it may be back after things simmer down. I plan to vote for Prop 30, Governor Brown's sales tax + income tax measure to raise funds for schools. That measure is limited to a set number of years, and it is not an excessive amount of money for the purpose. If it doesn't pass, school funding will be cut, and you can bet that somebody will revive talk of a parcel tax. So, even if you are not inclined to vote for tax measures, you might consider this one a preventive measure and vote Yes on Prop 30.<br />
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Sometimes I really do not understand the thinking of the PUSD Board members. They don't seem too excited about Prop 30 or the end of redevelopment. I guess they figure the state owes them money and they have no concerns as to how the state is supposed to get that money. The board members seem pretty satisfied with saddling PUSD taxpayers with a billion dollars of debt that won't be paid off for generations, and they would have added a parcel tax on top of that, if they could have. So I found it kind of odd when I saw Brian Maienschein's campaign literature and on the front, Linda Vanderveen, PUSD board member, claimed that the entire PUSD board "unanimously endorsed Brian." Do they know that Brian Maienschein <a href="http://stoptaxingus.com/Taxpayer_Promise.html">signed a "no new taxes" pledge</a>? Most of the funding for schools comes from state money. I realize that Maienschein went to PUSD schools, and he is probably a nice guy and all, but, geez, what kind of message does it send when the Board <i>unanimously</i> endorses someone who signed a "no new taxes" pledge.<br />
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The "no new taxes" pledge is part of <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-57327816/the-pledge-grover-norquists-hold-on-the-gop/">Grover Norquist's campaign</a> to shrink government spending to the same level it was around the turn of the century (from 19th to 20th). In the early 1900s, most people did not finish grade school, much less graduate from high school or go to college. Is that what we want for our kids? For our country? For the generation that is going to have to pay off the school bonds? What is the PUSD Board thinking?<br />
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Fortunately, there is a challenger running for the PUSD Board. I am going to vote for <a href="http://www.beatty4powayunified.com/">Kimberley Beatty</a>. I've been impressed by her understanding of the bonds and support for school funding. Paying taxes to support the schools is not the problem. Paying a billion dollars to borrow a little over $100 million is a problem, but in order to avoid that situation, you have to at least ponder different possibilities when a deal is proposed. That takes critical thinking and sound reasoning, not an anti-tax pledge.Chris Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06489810250555135219noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1057262584896477189.post-22111307776922847912012-10-15T23:08:00.001-07:002012-10-16T10:19:46.083-07:00Water Rate Increase on the Agenda in Poway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSqDoPtG6C8sc27gyzbe-1G-GF3YeYUlpJVxA0i6-4Rd53pjX0ZHAA_8fzq6NxE0a5m_U8v16GeJSal0QTbDhR4Y_qhIGzVU_w-BNm2faq2hvBWzWmiNkAkjJwzhHwOINK2PXqJN0sJX8/s1600/IMG_7344.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSqDoPtG6C8sc27gyzbe-1G-GF3YeYUlpJVxA0i6-4Rd53pjX0ZHAA_8fzq6NxE0a5m_U8v16GeJSal0QTbDhR4Y_qhIGzVU_w-BNm2faq2hvBWzWmiNkAkjJwzhHwOINK2PXqJN0sJX8/s400/IMG_7344.JPG" width="310" /></a></div>
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It's that time of the year again. On Tuesday, the Poway City Council is poised to raise both the fixed water fees and water rates. Last year, the council voted to abandon their tiered conservation water for a more uniform rate, thereby increasing rates significantly for lower volume water users. This year's little surprise is that the council intends to relieve the folks in High Valley, Old Coach, the Industrial Park and other high places from having to pay those pesky pumping fees. The City will fold the pumping fees into the regular water fees of ALL the water users.<br />
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The new water rates for single family residential customers will be $3.96/ unit. That is up 13 cents a unit. The fixed water service charge will go up almost a buck, from $28.00 to $28.98 for each 2-month billing period.<br />
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These increases aren't the most severe we've had, but the pattern of dumping any and every possible charge, fee and rate increase disproportionately onto those who use less of something or onto those who don't even use something (e.g. pumping) is onerous.<br />
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In addition to getting stung for somebody else's pumping charges, Poway water customers are also paying for the costs to administer a backflow device inspection service. Only people with wells or on reclaimed water require the yearly inspection, yet the costs to administer this service is dumped on all of us. Is that fair? Remember, this is the City that charges higher sewer rates to people who use less water. This City is all about who is being advantaged.<br />
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If you want to formally protest the increase of rates, and in particular, getting stung with all future pumping fees of the high landers, you need to submit a written notification to the City Clerk containing your address or assessor's parcel number and your signature by 4 pm Tuesday, October 16th. You can also drop it off before the 7pm meeting in the Council chambers. If a majority of Poway water customers sent an official protest, the new water rates won't take effect. That is a very high bar to reach, and not likely to happen even when a lot of people are upset with the rates. If you want to unofficially complain, but don't have time to drop off a letter at City Hall, you can send an email to the council before Tuesday's meeting. If you send an email it won't count in the official protest numbers but it will put the City on notice that you are paying attention, which is the first step toward any change. Chris Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06489810250555135219noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1057262584896477189.post-54894146607372688422012-10-02T23:45:00.002-07:002012-10-03T00:42:44.218-07:00Poway's 47%Dear Poway Homeowners,<br />
You are getting screwed. Bigtime. And no, I am no referring to the PUSD bond fiasco. It's your sewer bills.<br />
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OK, you are not ALL getting screwed. Around 47- 50% of you are are paying substantially higher sewer rates than other Poway sewer users pay. It's been that way for more than 30 years. Maybe 40.<br />
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It is kind of a well kept secret. If you were to search The City of Poway's website, you would find a link to the City's <a href="http://docs.poway.org/weblink8/docview.aspx?id=50452&openfile=true">water/sewer rates and fees</a> , but you won't be able to find the real sewer rates for single family residential listed anywhere on the City's webpage.<br />
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Poway water/sewer customers have 4 line items on their bills: 1) water basic service, 2) water consumption, 3) sewer basic service and 4) sewer consumption. The basic service fees are a fixed fee, based on the size of your water pipe and/or your type of service (residential, commercial, industrial, etc). The water consumption charge is based on how many units of water you consume. The sewer consumption charge is much more complex. And convoluted.<br />
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Most properties in Poway don't have sewer meters. The sewer consumption is calculated a bit differently for each category of user ( residential, multi-family, commercial, etc.) For example, multi-family housing are pegged for sewer flow equal to 85% of their water use for that period. Commercial properties sewer consumption is figured at 90% of their water consumption. Single family residential properties sewer use is calculated at 85% of the average from the lowest use during the 3 previous winter periods.<br />
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In the charts below you can see that the sewer rate is $3.16/unit for apartment houses, churches and schools. It varies from $3.16 to $6.40/ unit for commercial and industrial customers.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY68doyNtze2GqAZrnVDDNkjXaVenN_keTgBi2xg2-82TuSEPUuwJt6KoafFLRMkRwOtl8jZETZIoXrLEDlpxq1OL_9-WbcNwSMAfP0XpVMIdNJQkcunWjZ91DJKBxBXP2ViwPaNff7ic/s1600/sewer+rates+mf%252C+non+res.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY68doyNtze2GqAZrnVDDNkjXaVenN_keTgBi2xg2-82TuSEPUuwJt6KoafFLRMkRwOtl8jZETZIoXrLEDlpxq1OL_9-WbcNwSMAfP0XpVMIdNJQkcunWjZ91DJKBxBXP2ViwPaNff7ic/s640/sewer+rates+mf%252C+non+res.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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For single family residential customers, the City actually uses a tiered charge pricing format instead of a rate. The charges increase as use increases, sortof. Look at Tier 2. The house that uses 6 units, and the house that uses 12 units both are charged $40.98. There was twice as much flushing and showering going on in the house that used 12 units, but they paid the same fee as the house poured half as much water down the drain.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggzu3pU4r_Pkz6qklj9TY_-XIc0vT0xpuRQA-gHIXdMWKshh8BCfmsnpyNQbxeYScxKjJ6zheJe_0soIOTv03gsxXn-0e0CcspvNYqTQ7iGquNxaaIuWT3oiPhNUiJrbzwD5HxbAN169k/s1600/single+family+sewer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggzu3pU4r_Pkz6qklj9TY_-XIc0vT0xpuRQA-gHIXdMWKshh8BCfmsnpyNQbxeYScxKjJ6zheJe_0soIOTv03gsxXn-0e0CcspvNYqTQ7iGquNxaaIuWT3oiPhNUiJrbzwD5HxbAN169k/s640/single+family+sewer.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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For some reason, the city calculates everyone's sewer commodity fee as a rate, except for the single family residential category. The true rates you pay are hidden in the City's chart. I've calculated the actual rates in the chart below. The results are a bit surprising.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3wuocgiKo7ZR9nhJE0uO5-gKtCmPlvyJymBjyRP_e1PFjDNnDL5x5IDN3wwaMhe1VM3A1OHzCO0WbkrUEZkzMFTv6vq4k4C1aFqQL1y1XceGXzMbCa4rMdaYh7zw3KbG8OlvsK5f6Qdg/s1600/sewer+rates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3wuocgiKo7ZR9nhJE0uO5-gKtCmPlvyJymBjyRP_e1PFjDNnDL5x5IDN3wwaMhe1VM3A1OHzCO0WbkrUEZkzMFTv6vq4k4C1aFqQL1y1XceGXzMbCa4rMdaYh7zw3KbG8OlvsK5f6Qdg/s640/sewer+rates.jpg" width="238" /></a></div>
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The rates in the chart vary from $1.76/unit to $23.23/unit. If someone uses more than 57 units, their rates are even lower. If someone uses 0 units of water, they still have to pay a sewer charge of $23.23.<br />
My sewer use is calculated at about 10 units. I pay $40.98, which comes to about $4.00/unit. The person who uses 51 units pays just under $2.00/unit. How can it be fair to charge higher rates to those who use less? What a nice break for those who consume a lot of water!<br />
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How did it happen that almost half of the residential single family homes are subsidizing the other half? Originally, everybody paid the same fixed sewer charge. Then, the fixed sewer charge was tiered to make it more fair. Then, a fixed charge was separated from the tiered charge. So now, we pay a fixed charge (basic service fee) and a tiered charge (consumption fee). As sewer charges increased, people who used very little winter water, got hit with large, disproportionate bills. In 2006, the City paid a consultant to study the sewer rates. The consultant (RFC) found that if the City used a uniform rate, ratepayers in Tiers 1, 2 and 3 would enjoy a savings of 22% to 44%. Those in Tiers 4 through 7 would pay 2% to 51% more. Guess who complained and convinced the council not to charge a uniform rate for the sewer?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ6y6z78xAxJZToW7CApOP63FBojKZjtDvq04vlOYFyg1334eKGtZMRD0jvYe6xhcYIgSEBY0BbS0Ate04_Zs3_j_kQ5K1kqTZRGQRQXbAjOrVZzcjgDqjIBBoNyEjCOGhehH3UutvLk0/s1600/RFC+uniform+unit+rate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ6y6z78xAxJZToW7CApOP63FBojKZjtDvq04vlOYFyg1334eKGtZMRD0jvYe6xhcYIgSEBY0BbS0Ate04_Zs3_j_kQ5K1kqTZRGQRQXbAjOrVZzcjgDqjIBBoNyEjCOGhehH3UutvLk0/s640/RFC+uniform+unit+rate.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Funny thing, those very same folks went apoplectic about 2 years ago when the city imposed a multi-tiered conservation water rate. The difference between that water rate structure and the current sewer charge structure is that with the conservation water rate structure, everyone paid the same rate for their first x number of units of water, and the same rate for their next y units of water, etc. People were only charged higher rates for the water usage beyond each tier. The people who used a lot of water said it was unfair. The council heard them, and changed the water rates back to a uniform rate. Well, almost uniform. Now, everybody pays the same rate for their first 199 units and more for their next z units. I never really got why everyone screamed that it was unfair if we did not all pay the same rate, but then they were OK with charging people more for their 200th unit and beyond. Was it about fairness or advantage? <br />
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Speaking of advantage, at a council meting and at the recent candidate's forum, Councilmember Cunningham proposed that the excess money in the sewer fund be used to lower water rates. Really? First the City overcharges the low water user on their sewer bills and then the City wants to take the extra money to lower the water bills of the big water users who are no longer paying conservation rates. Freaking unbelievable. <br />
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I have been complaining about the unfair sewer rates for years. Every councilmember is aware that the low water users are being screwed. All of the councilmembers are OK with it, including the one who puts a quote from Ghandi on her emails. Not one councilmember has made any effort to change the way Poway charges for the sewer. It certainly says something about the way "they serve the community" to me. I have no respect for those who would charge the low water users more per unit just because they can, and because it pleases their more advantaged friends. The situation will not change until enough of the low water users become more aware and make enough of a ruckus to demand the change. Will you help make a ruckus?<br />
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<br />Chris Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06489810250555135219noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1057262584896477189.post-53277433229949097692012-09-06T01:21:00.000-07:002013-02-24T16:29:16.716-08:00Wildly Optimistic Projections<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw6y9mOKn432N2P6-xoJESSe9Pml_TatmxHKirG9Rv83KKcrYeABtcASmbEC3vDJqAFLhyphenhyphenLMcscu9fFk6C5vsuZV6heb57lqQMeA0C4aF7NMK6jGdX3It4Irn9mDaKTqY6zBLEDtC6hWs/s1600/2002+SFID+w%253Apoway+boundaries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw6y9mOKn432N2P6-xoJESSe9Pml_TatmxHKirG9Rv83KKcrYeABtcASmbEC3vDJqAFLhyphenhyphenLMcscu9fFk6C5vsuZV6heb57lqQMeA0C4aF7NMK6jGdX3It4Irn9mDaKTqY6zBLEDtC6hWs/s640/2002+SFID+w%253Apoway+boundaries.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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2002 SFID : The black areas in the <a href="http://www.californiataxdata.us/docs/SFID%20No.%202002-1,%20GOB%202002,%202011%20Refunding.pdf">map </a>are the areas in PUSD that are not in a Mello Roos district. Poway boundaries and RB and PQ designations have been added to the original map.</div>
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Click on map to enlarge.</div>
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It was the campaign to pass Prop C that <a href="http://powayblog.blogspot.com/2008/01/proposition-c-part-i.html">first</a> got me blogging back in January, 2008.<br />
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It was all so very incredulous. We had passed Prop U just a few years earlier. Prop U was a $198 million measure that was supposed to be sufficient to renovate 24 schools. It wasn't. Five years later, PUSD asked us for $179 million more to finish the job. That's almost twice as much as we were first told would be enough. Then, the district and the Yes on C committee told us that there would be no new taxes to pay off Prop C, it would just extend the tax rate from Prop U for 11 extra years. Wrong again. It is going to cost us almost a billion dollars just to pay off a little over a hundred million of the Prop C bonds.</div>
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In 2008, I did not know PUSD intended to use CAB bonds to pay off the debt. Heck, I had not really heard about CAB bonds until last month. Back in 2008, PUSD said that the expected cost to pay back the entire $179 million of Prop C bonds was expected to be $497 million. They were wrong. It is going to cost about $1.25 billion.</div>
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PUSD said that the tax rate won't rise and that Prop C will only take 11-14 extra years to pay off. Wrong again. The tax rate will rise and Prop C won't be paid off until 2051, 49 years after we first passed Prop U. </div>
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If I were a kind and forgiving, and somewhat gullible soul, I might shrug it off and say, "How were these highly paid district officials and the myriad of highly paid consultants supposed to be not so far off in their projections?" Ok, so maybe, just maybe, they really didn't know that the cost of building materials would skyrocket as China set out on an expansive building frenzy. And who could imagine that the bond market would collapse when the housing bubble burst? </div>
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The one wild-arsed projection I cannot forgive, is that the assessed valuation in the SFID (school facilities improvement district) would grow between 5-8% per year between 2008 and 2015. These are the projections that PUSD gave to <a href="http://www.sdcta.org/Uploads/Documents/PropC.Poway_1.pdf">SDCTA</a>(San Diego County Taxpayer's Assoc) who should have known better than to accept them. </div>
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<img class="CSS_LIGHTBOX_SCALED_IMAGE_IMG" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicnTWQWSreCiemS4FrZmXwlb5mhqF1x2suLyaVosq-VukT-EgNWJjlktgQPNYdlq_JeD-XZJ38vFwuup2Q-Zq3JrihTJO7YowMceG_H5w5SUChlBHcyy-V5R69AjQ3CaY_Ucwt2kSfddM/s1600/SDCTA+assessment+growth.jpg" style="height: 309px; width: 380px;" /></div>
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I was concerned enough about these projections to ask Todd Gutschow about them in 2008. Here is my question and Todd's answer (in blue).</div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">There are some issues I still do not understand. According to the graphs on this document, assessed valuation is expected to grow by 7-8% during the next 3 yrs. That seems to me to be an overly optimestic projection.</span></span><span style="color: navy; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: navy; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">
<span style="color: navy; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: navy; font-size: 12pt;">Actually, 7% – 8% is reasonable based on the increases that we have seen the pass two years. According to the <st1:placetype w:st="on">County</st1:placetype> <st1:placename w:st="on">Assessor</st1:placename>, the 2007-08 assessed value for <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">San Diego</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">County</st1:placetype></st1:place> grew by a little over 9%. I cannot find the growth for PUSD; however, generally, PUSD is a bit higher than the County in general. Even with market values falling, there remains a significant gap between the current assessed value and market value. As homes are sold or remodeled, the assessed value is up dated. I believe this will continue even with the current real estate situation.</span></span><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"> </span></blockquote>
The assessed valuation in the SFID did not grow as expected. In 2008-2009, the assessed valuation in SFID 2002 grew by less than 3%, in 2009-2010, it grew by less than 1%, in 2010-2011, the assessed value dropped almost 1%, in 2011-2012, the assessed valuation increased a bit over 1%, but dropped by almost 1/2 % the following year. The assessed valuation for the SFID for 2012-2013 is $20.4 billion for the 2002 SFID and $20.2 billion for the 2007 SFID. PUSD projected that assessed valuation in the SFID would be $25.7 billion this year. The district's projection was off by over $5 billion.<br />
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(Note: The boundaries of the 2002 SFID and the 2007 SFID are slightly different. The 2002 SFID pays for Prop U and the 2007 SFID pays for Prop C)<br />
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Assessed valuation (AV) will grow under certain conditions. If new construction occurs, the AV will increase to reflect the value of the new buildings or improvements. If a house or business is sold, the AV is based on the purchase price. Homes and businesses that are not sold can increase in value 2% each year, as allowed by Prop 13. Most of the SFID area is in the older parts of RB, PQ and almost all of Poway. How did the district project a 5-8% growth rate in assessed valuation in an area that was pretty much built out? Were the assessed valuations really increasing by 8-9% previous to 2008? I decided to find out. I got the figures from the county.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ8BHzvpJGAtNDZc-tqOblFbYJfX2-zMh3XieKRSdgj5lEuw2daX-Y5J1-wE1Y5kppokFsA4KdrbR4QnkEROiDnN4F7IBPtDvQCvCUyOJTUKjessZrG-ke385hil34e5xY5DIxTPgeE2o/s1600/AV+chart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ8BHzvpJGAtNDZc-tqOblFbYJfX2-zMh3XieKRSdgj5lEuw2daX-Y5J1-wE1Y5kppokFsA4KdrbR4QnkEROiDnN4F7IBPtDvQCvCUyOJTUKjessZrG-ke385hil34e5xY5DIxTPgeE2o/s320/AV+chart.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Indeed, Todd was correct. The 2 previous years, 2007/08 and 2006/07 showed increases in AV of 7.7% and 10.7% respectively. Here is what it looks like in graph form:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBkHDoQiWQ5JUpznWrx86NFY1DYaVG9KXQW_9T4eNmCSUmTgR3j9CrhzFC3nwyX0mVXDvfl07QUA6oK6BEGDM-rmjqRgdAvvfBXjwhaHo0z3MI7YdhdKjyxiTwr8PKjvGx3dL61Owv6A0/s1600/AV+Growth+in+2002+SFID.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="323" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBkHDoQiWQ5JUpznWrx86NFY1DYaVG9KXQW_9T4eNmCSUmTgR3j9CrhzFC3nwyX0mVXDvfl07QUA6oK6BEGDM-rmjqRgdAvvfBXjwhaHo0z3MI7YdhdKjyxiTwr8PKjvGx3dL61Owv6A0/s400/AV+Growth+in+2002+SFID.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The only problem with looking at the growth in AV for a few years preceding the new bond measure is that the small slice of time may not really be indicative of future growth. It is far better to look at a longer period of time and to take into account events that might skew the data. Here is a graph of <a href="http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/auditor/trb1011/docs/historicalav.pdf">assessed valuation from 1991 to 2010 in San Diego County</a>. From the graph we can see that assessed valuation increased from around 1998 until 2008, and then they began to decrease. The rise in assessed valuations in San Diego is similar to the growth in PUSD's SFID. From 2004- 2005, San Diego county's assessed valuation increased 13%. How were we to know the good times would not last forever?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtsmzY3aZFqo4z8ou7gLPE3YFNpfW1wQ52lDTv-2dNE3Q7ZRAwFYR4z54B9Bl_nikGaE9I4BGfgnF4IKuwBtVcptpneBoZYzbSGFUg1oPq152LNIipimsmmoloV9uQuK4H6I4rwhpfMk8/s1600/historicalav.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtsmzY3aZFqo4z8ou7gLPE3YFNpfW1wQ52lDTv-2dNE3Q7ZRAwFYR4z54B9Bl_nikGaE9I4BGfgnF4IKuwBtVcptpneBoZYzbSGFUg1oPq152LNIipimsmmoloV9uQuK4H6I4rwhpfMk8/s640/historicalav.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
People should have known. Look at the graph. From 1991 until 1997, there is very little growth in assessed valuation. In the early 90s, we were in a recession. Housing prices dipped and business growth slowed dramatically. If I remember correctly, Poway was in default on some bonds in the business park. I remember then city manager James Bowersox saying, "Who knew we would have a recession?" Well, maybe we don't knew when we will have a recession, but we know we will have them. We've always had them. For PUSD to plan on that housing bubble to grow for 7 or 8 more years was wildly optimistic.<br />
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When I first saw PUSD's projection for 8% growth in AV for 2008, I knew I had seen that same 8% figure before, in another wild-arsed, overly optimistic projection. It was another Proposition C campaign. Not PUSD's Prop C, but the City of San Diego's 1998 measure to get the voters support for public financing of a new downtown ballpark. Susan Golding, then mayor of San Diego, promised that the ballpark would be <a href="http://www.law.berkeley.edu/sugarman/PETCO_Park_and_the_Padres_____Mark_Hitchcock.pdf">paid for by new TOT</a> (taxes on hotel guests) that were expected to grow by 8% a year. In his report, <a href="http://www.law.berkeley.edu/sugarman/PETCO_Park_and_the_Padres_____Mark_Hitchcock.pdf">"Welcome to PETCO Park: Home of Your Enron-by-the-Sea Padres"</a>, Mark Hitchcock explains why reasonable people should have been disturbed by Mayor Golding's projection:<br />
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The 8% a year projection was based on realized growth in the previous few years, a time when the economy was expanding rapidly. Because a new publicly funded ballpark would tie the City’s hands to the extent that a large portion of the TOT revenue would be committed to paying off the bonds for many years to come, if the TOT did not in fact meet the projected 8% annual increase, cuts would have to be made elsewhere. Apparently, arts and culture representatives failed to consider the fact that tourism and thus TOT revenue drops in recession years, and history shows that recessions are inevitable.</blockquote>
Yes. Recessions are inevitable.<br />
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The 8% annual increase in TOT taxes did not materialize. Despite Mayor Golding's promises, arts and cultural groups that had previously been funded with TOT monies lost their funding. And, there was that huge big mess because San Diego tried to hide their financial straights when the ballpark bonds were sold. Nevertheless, the San Diego County Taxpayer's Association supported this Prop C too. Reasonable people should know better, especially reasonable people who purport to be a <a href="http://www.sdcta.org/">"watchdog organization"</a>.<br />
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From <a href="http://www.law.berkeley.edu/sugarman/PETCO_Park_and_the_Padres_____Mark_Hitchcock.pdf">Welcome to PETCO Park: Home of Your Enron-by-the-Sea Padres"</a>:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Given that San Diego is a Republican town, it may seem surprising that there never was any real pre-Proposition C grass-roots effort to block a ballpark deal that involved such a significant outlay of government funds. The logical leader of any tax-related opposition to the new stadium would have been the San Diego County Taxpayer’s Association (SDCTA), which according to their website is a “non-profit, non-partisan organization, dedicated to promoting accountable, cost-effective and efficient government and opposing unnecessary taxes and fees.”<span style="font: 8.0px 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span>The front page of the SDCTA’s website also notes that the organization “takes a leadership role in fiscal oversight of local government and aggressively resists...ill-advised public expenditures.” In a Republican city like San Diego, a tax group like the SDCTA would have had a receptive audience had it come out strongly in opposition to the use of public funds for a new sports stadium, and it is possible that such a stand could have had a significant effect on the debate. Although the SDCTA disputed claims by the Padres and the City Council that the ballpark plan would be tax-neutral on residents, the SDCTA never seemed to take the position that the cost of the ballpark was a major concern. Before voters went to the ballots to judge the stadium deal, the SDCTA estimated that the deal would cost the City $17.7 million per year even after taking into account expected revenue increases from the TOT tax. Apparently the SDCTA decided that this did not represent the sort of “ill-advised public expenditure”<span style="font: 8.0px 'Times New Roman';"> </span>that should be opposed: the SDCTA actually publicly endorsed Proposition C after a vote by its board. According to at least one newspaper report, the SDCTA’s position was hardly surprising given that “[a] large number of the people who pay heavy dues to the group, and serve on its board, were in a position to benefit from the project, directly or indirectly.”<span style="font: 8.0px 'Times New Roman';"> </span>According to Peter DiRenza, foreman of the civil grand jury that issues the damning reports about the MOU and the conduct of the City Council, “Some pretty wealthy people keep the organization afloat, and a lot of those people were involved with the ballpark... The board voted knowing it was a subsidy to the private sector.”<span style="font: 8.0px 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span>Thus, it seems possible that the organization that advertises itself as the public watchdog for unnecessary government spending never made a thorough assessment of the stadium deal.</span></blockquote>
The next time you find yourself gently jostled by one of the City of San Diego's many potholes, let it serve as a mental reminder, recessions happen. 8% growth just doesn't happen over long periods of time. Don't let someone trying to convince you to vote for a bond measure tell you otherwise.<br />
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Edited to Add: Poway School Board Members have defended their expectations that the AV in the SFID would rise 5-8% from 2008- 2015 based on the data for 2007-2008 in the SFID and the overall data for AV growth in all of PUSD. Their projections fell short, but it wasn't just because the housing bubble burst and the financial meltdown. From 2000-2008, some of the increase in AV was due to new construction in the Poway Industrial Park and Old Coach, and Kentfield Estates. By 2008, those projects were, for the most part, complete. There is only one large parcel still undeveloped in the Industrial Park. There are no new housing developments planned in Poway or RB or PQ that I know of. Looking at past data in the SFID, or in the entire district, when new construction was happening, and applying those growth projections to a period when no new construction was expected was a grievous error on the part of the Board and district officials, who should have known better.</div>
Chris Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06489810250555135219noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1057262584896477189.post-85168366296470589352012-08-25T00:40:00.000-07:002012-10-02T21:02:09.520-07:00Poway's School Bonds By The NumbersWill Carless's revelation in the Voice of San Diego, <a href="http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/education/article_c83343e8-ddd5-11e1-bfca-001a4bcf887a.html">Where Borrowing $105 Million Will Cost 1 Billion: Poway Schools</a> broke on August 6, 2012. Carless wasn't actually the first to write about the Poway bonds. A retired reporter and current blogger from Michigan, Joe Thurtell, wrote about Poway's bonds back in May, 2012 (<a href="http://www.joelontheroad.com/?p=8783">here</a>, <a href="http://www.joelontheroad.com/?p=8833">here</a> and <a href="http://www.joelontheroad.com/?p=8865">here</a>). In a May 12th piece titled "CAB scam in Poway", Thurell had this to say about PUSD's ballot disclosure for Prop C:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The nicest
thing I can write about the language used by Poway schools in San Diego
is that it was shrewdly phrased. But when framed with the ‘no new taxes”
promises flung out by bond supporters, the bond proposal amounts to a
brazen lie. Whether they put down “yes” or “no” on the 2008 ballot proposal,
voters in the Poway school district in San Diego could not have known that
the “legal interest rate” on some of the bonds they approved would amount
to an eye-popping, wallet-ripping 2200 percent. Nowhere in the ballot
language was it spelled out to voters that the majority of the debt that
was approved would be in the form of Capital Appreciation Bonds with interest
rates so usurious that CABs were banned in one state — Michigan — when the
monstrosity was exposed. Neither promised “mandatory audits” nor
“independent citizens’ oversight” captured the reality for citizens — that
these pernicious instruments of debt could only fulfill the promise of “no new
taxes” if property values increase by hundreds of percent. Nor were voters made
aware that there is no escape from this hall of financial horror. A term of the
bond official statement states that they may not be re-financed to better
terms.</span></span></blockquote>
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</span>Last Monday, August 20th, the PUSD Board of Education carved some time out of their regular monthly meeting to respond to the furor over the Prop C school bonds. The district prepared a <a href="http://www.powayusd.com/news/PDF_Files/2012-13/BondMeasurePresentation_Aug202012.pdf">powerpoint presentation</a> and later posted it on their website. All of the current board members (Andy Patapow, Linda Vanderveen, Marc Davis, Todd Gutshow and Penny Ranftle), former board member Jeff Mangum and Superintendent John Collins stand by the decisions to borrow $105 million that will cost almost a billion dollars to repay and won't be repaid until 2052, and cannot be refinanced.<br />
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The district's position, as I surmise it, from the powerpoint file: The schools in the newer areas of the district that are paying Mello-Roos fees are much nicer. They wanted to get some equity in the buildings in the district, so they put all of the non-Mello-Roos properties into a School Facilities Improvement District (SFID). (SFID= a Mello-Roos for-the-rest-of-us.) Twice the voters in the SFID failed to approve bond measures. After a statewide voter measure (Prop 39)passed, lowering the percent needed to pass a school bond measure from 67% to 55%, PUSD was finally successful in getting a bond passed in the SFID. Prop U ($198 million) was approved in November, 2002. It was supposed to provide enough funds to renovate all 24 schools within the SFID, but unprecedented and unforeseen increases in building materials made it necessary for PUSD to ask the voters in the SFID to approve another bond measure, Prop C ($179 million), in February, 2008.<br />
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Oh wait, let me change that. According to former PUSD trustee <a href="http://ranchobernardo.patch.com/articles/poway-unified-officials-defend-billion-dollar-bond-as-public-fires-back">Jeff Mangum</a>, it was the voters, not the school board that passed Prop C. Well, yes it was, but it was the school board that worded the ballot measure, and promised not to raise taxes. The ballot statement said that the estimated cost of Prop C would be $16 per $100,000 of assessed valuation (av) bringing the total cost for Prop U plus Prop C to $55/$100,000 av. Yes, that is what the bond measure said. At the board meeting, Supt. Collins also pointed out that there was some small print in the measure that said the final maturity of the Prop C bonds might be either 25 yrs or 40 yrs after the last issuance of bonds and that the maximum interest rate could not exceed 12%. I did read that back in 2008, and as a result, I questioned PUSD trustee Todd Gutshow about it (see below). My concerns were strong enough to keep me from voting Yes on Prop C in 2008.<br />
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In their powerpoint presentation, the district also pointed out that the total cost of borrowing the $376,998,406 will come to $1.6 billion, which is $4.2611 for every dollar borrowed. Passing the bond measures allowed the district to capture $92,523,994 in state building funds, which is a pretty cool thing. So, the district added the state funds and $73,556,321 in "other district capital facilities funds (creative use of mello roos funds? redevelopment money?) to the principal amount of the bonds, for an amended payment ratio of 2.9579, which is really, really not a cool way to frame this. First of all, the state funds were not "free", they were paid for by us, the taxpayers. Secondly, neither the state funds nor the other district funds were borrowed money, so to throw those figures in and then to recompute the return on borrowed money is completely misleading, in my opinion.<br />
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There was one page in the powerpoint presentation that had some new (to me) information. Apparently PUSD told the San Diego County Taxpayer Association (SDCTA) that they planned to use capital appreciation bonds (CAB) for Prop C. The president of SDCTA, Lani Lutar, <a href="http://twitter.com/lanilutar">confirmed</a> this in a tweet, but she added that the estimated total cost was to be under 500 million. In a <a href="http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/education/article_c83343e8-ddd5-11e1-bfca-001a4bcf887a.html">comment</a> on Carless's article, Lutar said that SDCTA will soon be issuing a policy brief on CABs, but that they oppose them for bond terms greater than 25 years.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 18px;">It is important to note that under certain market conditions, limited use of shorter term CABs may result in a lower cost to taxpayers in comparison to other financing mechanism, so CABs should not be written off under all circumstances. Will Carless was incorrect in his response post. We regularly ask for financing and debt cost information as part of our review process. Our analysis included the total debt cost that was provided to us by Poway in 2008. SDCTA's current policy on CABs is as follows: SDCTA opposes the use of Capital Appreciation Bonds (CABs) with maturities greater than 25 years as a financing mechanism for General Obligation bonds because of the increased debt burden on taxpayers. CABs with maturities of 25 years or less should only be pursued if it can be demonstrated that its use will result in less debt service than other financing instruments. Other financing options that should be compared to the potential use of CABs include voter approved bond reauthorization or additional voter approved tax increases. Defensible assumptions for growth in assessed value shall be used for development of any proposed financing method.</span></div>
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Apparently Lutar's group missed the small print that said the Poway bonds might be issued for a 40 year term.<br />
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PUSD may have let SDCTA in on their expected use of CAB bonds, but SDCTA did not share that information in <a href="http://www.sdcta.org/Uploads/Documents/PropC.Poway_1.pdf">their report </a>recommending approval of the Prop C bonds. I saw nothing in the ballot statement about these CAB bonds, nor anything in the literature from the Yes On C committee. Nor did Todd Gutshow mention it in the email conversation we had prior to the bonds passing (see below). Why not? Why was the CAB financing such a secret?<br />
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In fact, PUSD had already issued a CAB bond in October, 2006, several years before Prop C was even on the ballot. The bond was issued for $3,080,766. It was part of the series B bonds for Prop U. The payback (final accreted value) amount will be $19,050,000. That is almost a 6-to-1 payback. This bond can not be redeemed prior to maturity in 2013. But who knew?<br />
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In addition to underestimating the true cost of renovating 24 schools, PUSD grossly overestimated the growth of assessed valuation in the SFID. These are the figures that SDCTA included in their report, but the figures likely came from PUSD:<br />
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Poway, PQ and RB make up the SFID. Most of those areas are already "built out". There would be minor growth in the Poway Industrial Park, but even that was mostly built out. In fact, the census bureau found that the City of Poway lost population between 2000 and 2010. Where was the 5-8% growth from 2008 to 2015 going to come from? Back in 2008, I asked Todd Gutschow about this and some of the other details in Prop C (my questions are in black. Mr. Gutshow's responses are in blue):<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px;">Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2008</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">1. What EXACTLY is planned for <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Valley</st1:placetype> <st1:placetype w:st="on">School</st1:placetype></st1:place>? Are there 2 plans for Valley- one if Prop C passes and one if it doesn't?</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Newly constructed classrooms? More portables? Newer portables?</span></span><span style="color: navy; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: navy; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: navy; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: navy; font-size: 12pt;">There are two plans for Valley. Much of the planned renovations for Valley will take place using funds from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Prop</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">U.</st1:placetype></st1:place> If Prop C passes, additional work will be done. I do not know exactly what is included in either plan. As soon as I have that information, I will get it to you.</span></span><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">2. How old are the portables at Valley?</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">3. Are the new portables that have recently been brought over for the preschool NEW or are they old?</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> In other words, how old are they?</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">4. Have they been moved from other campuses that were renovated?</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> I suppose this sounds like I am asking if Valley is getting north <st1:place w:st="on">Poway</st1:place> hand-me-downs.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span style="color: navy; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: navy; font-size: 12pt;">It is my understanding that these portables were used at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Poway</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">High School</st1:placetype></st1:place>. I do not know how old they are, but will find out.</span></span><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">5. Can Prop C money be used for district buildings (lease or remodel?).</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">That is, can it legally be used for these purposes?</span></span><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: navy; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: navy; font-size: 12pt;">It is my understanding that Prop C money cannot be used for building, leasing, or renovating the district office or other district administrative sites. Further, there has never been any discussion of using Prop U or Prop C funds for district offices. However, I need to verify what the language of the proposition allows from a legal standpoint (which I understand is the nature of your question).</span></span><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">6. According to SDCTA info, Prop C will cost the taxpayers $497 million. If I had seen that earlier, I might have blogged about how a $40 million shortfall snowballed into a $500 million tax measure.</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <a href="http://www.sdcta.org/Uploads/Documents/PropC.Poway_1.pdf" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;">http://www.sdcta.org/Uploads/Documents/PropC.Poway_1.pdf</a></span></span><span style="color: navy; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: navy; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: navy; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: navy; font-size: 12pt;">I am a little surprised by your statement about the cost of repaying Prop C bonds. Any long-term borrowing (like a mortgage) always results in interest payments that are significantly more than the principal borrowed. The exact amount of interest will not be known until the bonds are issued. Also, I am not sure where the $40M shortfall number comes from. I realize that there have been several shortfall numbers floating around in the newspapers and various district materials, but the shortfall for the originally planned Prop U work is about $90M to $100M.</span></span><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">There are some issues I still do not understand. According to the graphs on this document, assessed valuation is expected to grow by 7-8% during the next 3 yrs. That seems to me to be an overly optimestic projection.</span></span><span style="color: navy; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: navy; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: navy; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: navy; font-size: 12pt;">Actually, 7% – 8% is reasonable based on the increases that we have seen the pass two years. According to the <st1:placetype w:st="on">County</st1:placetype> <st1:placename w:st="on">Assessor</st1:placename>, the 2007-08 assessed value for <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">San Diego</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">County</st1:placetype></st1:place> grew by a little over 9%. I cannot find the growth for PUSD; however, generally, PUSD is a bit higher than the County in general. Even with market values falling, there remains a significant gap between the current assessed value and market value. As homes are sold or remodeled, the assessed value is up dated. I believe this will continue even with the current real estate situation.</span></span><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">7. If Prop C did pass, and assessed valuation did not grow by 7-8% - if, in fact, it grow by 2% or less for the next 3 yrs, how does that affect the taxes the taxpayers will have to pay to pay off the bonds?</span></span><span style="color: navy; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: navy; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: navy; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: navy; font-size: 12pt;">If the assessed value base does not grow according to the estimates, then the district will not issue bonds. The district will only issue bonds when the assessed value base grows sufficiently to allow the combined payment for Prop U and Prop C to remain below $55 per $100,000 of assessed value. The district is 100% committed to keeping the combined tax for Prop U and Prop C below the $55 per $100,000 rate. By managing the timing of the bond issuances, the district controls the tax rate needed to repay the bonds. The district expects that Prop C bonds will be issued over the next 10 to 12 years, but that time could be extended if the assessed value base does not increase as expected.</span></span><span style="color: navy; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: navy; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span style="color: navy; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: navy; font-size: 12pt;">In the mean time, the district will borrow money using a bridge financing arrangement. The proceeds of the future bond issuances will be used to pay back this bridge loan. This mechanism allows the district to perform the work now (keeping the cost lower) while keeping its commitment to the taxpayers to maintain the tax rate at or below $55 per $100,000.</span></span><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">8. Could taxpayers have to pay more than $55/$100,000 av?</span></span><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: navy; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: navy; font-size: 12pt;">Legally, the tax rate under Prop 39 cannot exceed $60 per $100,000 AV. The district would not be able to issue bonds that would require a larger tax rate. Prop U and Prop C are separate Prop 39 ballot propositions. Thus, it would be legal to increase the tax rate to $60 per $100,000 AV for each of them. This would make it possible to have a tax rate of $120 per $100,000. Even though the maximum rate is much higher, the district’s plan for bond issuance, as I stated above, will keep the combined tax rate for both Prop U and Prop C at or below $55 per $100,000. The district will not issue bonds that would require the combined tax rate for both Prop U and Prop C to go above $55 per $100,000.</span></span><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">9. More than $60/$100,000 av?</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Legally is there a limit? I know the limit for a bond proposition is an $60/$100,000 of <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">estimated</span></b> assessed valuation. But if the estimates are way off, what happens?</span></span><span style="color: navy; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: navy; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: navy; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: navy; font-size: 12pt;">As I stated above, under Prop 39, bonds cannot be issued until the actual assessed value base is sufficiently large to keep the tax rate at or below legal limit.</span></span><span style="color: navy; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: navy; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">10. If Prop C passes, and the district borrows money now- eventually they will have to pay back the loan. The assessed valuations may not be anywhere near projections, and 11-14 yrs from now the interest on the bonds could rise substanially. </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">So, legally, even though PUSD said it is not their intent- is it still possible that taxpayers will be paying off both Prop U and Prop C bonds simultaneously- and for way more than $60/$100,000 av?</span></span><span style="color: navy; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: navy; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: navy; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: navy; font-size: 12pt;">The first part of your statement is correct. Prop U and Prop C bonds will be paid off simultaneously at some point. Right now, almost all of the Prop U bonds have been issued and the tax rate is approximately $44 per $100,000. Thus, it would be possible to use the remaining $11 per $100,000 to issue and pay for a portion of the Prop C bonds. As the Prop U bonds are paid off and/or the assessed value base increases, additional Prop C bonds will be issued.</span></span><span style="color: navy; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: navy; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span style="color: navy; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: navy; font-size: 12pt;">Interest rates on bonds are fixed. They cannot rise once the bonds are issued. Thus, bond repayment amounts are fixed once the bonds are issued. This sets the amount of tax that must be collected each year to fund the bond payments. This allows the district to issue bonds only if a tax rate of $55 per $100,000 or less generates enough tax revenue to fund the new issuance plus any other outstanding bond issuances.</span></span><span style="color: navy; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: navy; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">11. From SDCTA:</span></span><span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: Times;">The interest rate on any bond, which is established at the time of the bond issuance, </span></span><span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: Times;">cannot exceed 12% per annum. The total debt service of this bond proposal is estimated</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 9pt;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 12pt;">to be $497.4 million; $179 million principle plus $318.4 million in interest. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">What is the projected interest rate on the bonds that went in to the projected $497 million payback? </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">What is the possible payback amount if the bonds were issued at 12 % ?</span></span><span style="color: navy; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: navy; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: navy; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: navy; font-size: 12pt;">I do not know the exact model used to estimate the bond repayment. I will have to check on this for you.</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></blockquote>
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So, as it turns out, PUSD did issue bonds that will cost the taxpayers more than $55/ $100,000 of av. We are currently paying $55/$100,000 right now and we haven't even paid off all of the Prop U bonds yet. Just how much will it cost you? I haven't seen an all-in-one debt chart that includes both Prop U and Prop C debt service. I had to improvise a bit, and I may need to revise later if I find more bonds that need to be paid. My figures are pretty consistent with the projection that Supt Collins used.<br />
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2012 about $11 million.</div>
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2021 almost $22 million</div>
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2027 approx. $33 million.</div>
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2031 over $45 million</div>
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2051 almost $55 million</div>
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Assuming that the assessed value of your home and the other homes in the SFID, have the same relative value in the future as they do today, you would pay about twice what you are paying now in 2021, three times as much in 2027, 4 times as much in 2031 and 5 times as much in 2051. The owner of a house assessed for $300,000 currently pays $165. that would creep up each year. By 2021 it would be $330, by 2027 it would be $495, by 2031 it would be $660 and by 2051 it would be $825.</div>
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My assumption is unlikely. In fact, it is absurd. All of our assessed valuations won't stay the same, relative to each other as they are today. Houses that sell will be reassessed upward. Properties that are not sold can be reassessed 2% (from Prop 13) yearly unless the purchase price exceeds the resale price- then they can be reassessed downwards. Periods of inflation would also drive up the assessed value and it would make the school tax payments less onerous because the dollars would be worth less. We bought our house in Poway 36 years ago. It was a new house and it cost $36,450. There were periods of inflation and there were a few recessions since then, although none so steep or so severely affecting housing prices as the period we just went through. Nevertheless, I think it is likely that the total assessed valuation in the SFID will increase and that inflation will make that $55 million payment not seem as huge as it seems today. </div>
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The people who will be hit quite severely with the increased school tax payments will be new homeowners and businesses who purchase property in the district in a future time of rising prices. They will pay higher property taxes because of Prop 13 and they will pay a larger proportionate share of the school tax because the Prop 13 assessed valuation is based on the purchase price of their homes. It will be a double whammy. </div>
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I am grateful that Todd Gutshow even responded to my request for information back in 2008. Todd and I plan to get together soon and talk about how things have turned out. One of the things I am concerned about is what is going to happen when the portables at Valley school crap out. And what the district intends to do to make sure the building stay in tip top shape for as long as it takes to pay for them. </div>
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I also wanted to know why the district moved forward to buy a new headquarters with some money they had in another fund AFTER they issued a CAB bond in 2006 for $3 million. We have to pay back $19 million, in 2031 for that bond. That is more than 6 times the amount borrowed. And it is not re-financeable. It seems like we had already dug ourselves in a hole in 2006, and we just kept digging. Why was the school board so optimistic that Prop C would not raise the tax rate on the bonds?<br />
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I will keep you posted.<br />
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<br />Chris Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06489810250555135219noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1057262584896477189.post-7864087531543109922012-08-15T01:29:00.003-07:002013-02-25T12:49:34.726-08:00PUSD's Prop C: The Naysayers Were RightLast week, Voice of San Diego investigative reporter, Will Carless, published a piece on on a creatively financed PUSD school bond: <a href="http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/education/article_c83343e8-ddd5-11e1-bfca-001a4bcf887a.html?mode=story">"Where Borrowing &105 Million Will Cost $1 Billion: Poway Schools".</a> Carless lays out the details of the last bond sale authorized under Prop C, a school bond approved by the voters in 2008. PUSD financed $105 million through a capital appreciation bond (CAB) that will be paid off in 2051. The payments do not start for 20 yrs, although interest continues to accrue. The bond payments will eventually be about $50 million/yr., which is almost half the amount being financed. Unless we have massive inflation or massive new construction in the older areas of the district, we're screwed. And not just us. Our kids and grandkids, and great grandkids are going to end up paying almost a billion dollars for this bond.<br />
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Carless' article created a lot of buzz. The article was reprinted in the Chieftain, as was a <a href="http://www.pomeradonews.com/2012/08/08/pusd-not-alone-in-high-interest-financing/">followup</a> article by Carless. Poway Patch ran a blurb and an editorial piece (<a href="http://poway.patch.com/articles/report-pusd-loan-will-cost-school-district-far-into-the-future">here</a> and <a href="http://poway.patch.com/articles/poway-unified-school-district-trustees-betrayed-our-trust">here</a>). <a href="http://www.powayusd.com/news/press-releases/2012/pr_08-08-12Bond.pdf">PUSD released a statement </a>in response to Carless' article. I have some things to say about the bond sale, but I am not going to rehash everything that was in Carless' article or other articles. I am going to focus on some issues and nitty gritty details that are part of what I like to call "the bigger picture".<br />
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<u>Mello-Roos, SFID, Prop Y, Prop U and Prop C</u><br />
Many years ago, a developer in California could not build a housing development if the local schools were overcrowded. Then, the California legislature allowed developers to form Mello-Roos districts to pay for the new schools. Home purchasers in Mello Roos districts pay yearly fees to pay for the bonds that built the schools in their areas. PUSD has 14 Community Facility Districts (CFD, aka "Mello-Roos" districts) that were formed between 1987 and 2006. (There are possibly more formed between 2006-2012). There are no Mello-Roos districts in the City of Poway. In 2000, PUSD decided the older schools in the district needed some upgrades. PUSD formed a School Facilities Improvement District (SFID), a type of CFD, from the older developments in Poway and PQ and RB that were not in a Mello-Roos district. PUSD put a school bond, Prop Y, a $156 million bond on the ballot. Prop Y got 62.93% yes votes, but it needed 67% to pass.<br />
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In Nov, 2000, California voters passed <a href="http://www.smartvoter.org/2000/11/07/ca/state/prop/39/">Prop 39</a>, which allowed school bonds to pass with 55% voter approval. These bonds were capped at an amount that could be paid for by a <a href="http://www.joneshall.com/pdf/prop39.pdf">tax rate of $60/ $100,000 </a>of assessed valuation. And, uh, there had to be a citizen's oversight committee.<br />
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PUSD could not get a $156 million school bond measure passed in 2000 because it required a 2/3 majority to pass, but in 2002, a $198 million bond measure passed with 57.4% of the voters approval. PUSD promised not to exceed a tax rate of $55/ $100,000 of assessed valuation. Prop U was supposed to pay for expanding and renovating 24 schools, but in Feb, 2008, PUSD asked SFID voters for $179 million more to finish the job. Great job by the oversight committee, eh? Prop C passed with 63.9% approval.<br />
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<u>Prop C misinformation</u><br />
Personally, I think PUSD planned 2 bonds all along. I am sure there were cost overruns, and for some reason PUSD decided to improve every school in the district during a time of high labor and high materials costs. Prop U + Prop C allowed the district to sell a total of $372 million in bonds. A $372 million bond would still have required a 2/3 majority to pass, but by breaking the amount into 2 smaller bonds, PUSD could get them passed with 55% approval.<br />
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Another reason I believe they planned 2 bonds all along is because PUSD claimed that they were renovating the oldest schools first, but, in fact, they didn't. For example, Valley School was one of the schools that did not get renovated until after Prop C passed, even though it was older than some of the schools that were renovated first. Why? Perhaps because voter approval of school bonds was more iffy in the Valley school boundaries, so Valley renovations became contingent on passing a second bond.<br />
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It is just my opinion that PUSD planned 2 bonds from the get go, but it is a fact, not an opinion that PUSD and the citizen group, "Yes on C" headed by Sabrina Butler, misrepresented Prop C to the voters. The Yes on C group repeatedly presented Prop C as an <a href="http://www.utsandiego.com/uniontrib/20071230/news_1mc30powbond.html">"extension"</a> of Prop U, instead of a separate bond measure. They also said that it would extend Prop U "for 11 yrs". People were led to believe that if they extended the first bond measure for a few years, we could finish the job. It is kind of scary to to imagine why the well educated people of Poway didn't realize that borrowing $179 million a few years after borrowing $193 million was going to be like extending the first bond for a few years.<br />
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<u>SDCTA</u><br />
The San Diego County Taxpayers Association is not a citizen watchdog group. Far from it. Back in 2008, I blogged about the <a href="http://powayblog.blogspot.com/2008/01/proposition-c-part-2.html">SDCTA board of directors</a> and their vested interests in Poway School bonds. As it turned out, I missed a few connections. April Boling is currently on the SDCTA executive committee. In the past, she has been president and held other board positions. Boling is hardly nonpartisan. She has served as campaign treasurer for several local Republican candidates and PACs She was also campaign treasurer for Steve Vaus' successful Recall Rexford committee. Apparently she was also the "contact person" for the "Friends of Poway Unified School District", a 527 political organization advocating for school bonds in Poway in <a href="http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/527/friends_of_poway_unified_school_district.asp">2002</a> (Prop U) and in <a href="http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/527/friends-of-poway-unified-schools.asp">Nov 2007</a> (Prop C).<br />
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SDCTA supported both <a href="http://www.sdcta.org/Uploads/Documents/PropC.Poway_1.pdf">Prop U and Prop C</a>. Here is how SDCTA summarized the fiscal impact of Prop C:<br />
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Fiscal Impact:<br />
Passage of this bond proposal will generate revenue from five issuances over an 11-year period between 2008 and 2019, totaling $179 million. Poway residents would continue to pay $55 per $100,000 of assessed property for an extended period, through 2044, under this proposal. The average assessed value of a home in Poway in 2000 was $200,000. The District has experienced an average assessed value increase of 9.36 percent annually over the last four years. As of March of 2006, the average assessed value of a home in the District is $337,401; therefore a homeowner can expect to pay an additional $185 a year in property taxes.<br />
Table 1 outlines the projected increase in assessed value during the life of the bond. </blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh21tQ3An82BRH2yTwUUmsVSNamKsVE_ZFLLMhCv1GQFAFemZJyESe878nONUZUiTBWKSJZKukvIpqu1y510osejA-tPPaoJJ7muYsW2a9fEVDRZ0FEBdOv2hqRK9hJzZ6Ttiz8YdI9f1E/s1600/SDCTA+assessment+growth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh21tQ3An82BRH2yTwUUmsVSNamKsVE_ZFLLMhCv1GQFAFemZJyESe878nONUZUiTBWKSJZKukvIpqu1y510osejA-tPPaoJJ7muYsW2a9fEVDRZ0FEBdOv2hqRK9hJzZ6Ttiz8YdI9f1E/s400/SDCTA+assessment+growth.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The interest rate on any bond, which is established at the time of the bond issuance, cannot exceed 12% per annum. The total debt service of this bond proposal is estimated to be $497.4 million; $179 million principle plus $318.4 million in interest.</blockquote>
The SDCTA projections are irresponsible. Housing bubbles don't last forever. Maybe they were planning on revamping Poway Rd with 5 story buildings or something, but the outrageous growth rates from 2008 to 2012 turned out to be way off. And it throws off all the calculations for the rest of the bond payback period. Currently, assessed valuation in the PFID is closer to $20 billion than to the projected $25 billion. That shortfall ripples through the entire payback period, making it impossible to payback the loans at the promised tax rate.<br />
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Will Carless' article pointed out that PUSD won't even start paying back the $105 million bond until 20 yrs from now. Here is the chart that shows the payments from the <a href="http://www.powayusd.com/news/coc/2010-11Documents/FinalAUDITReportJanuary31-2012.pdf">audit report </a>on PUSD's website:<br />
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From 2034 to 2052, the yearly payments on this bond will be about $50 million/yr. Currently, taxpayers in the PFID are paying about $11 million per year. That means the assessed valuation of properties in the PFID need to more than quadruple in the next 20 yrs. Either that, or the tax rate will have to quadruple.<br />
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So why did PUSD structure a bond so that we don't start paying it off until 20 yrs into the future? Because, we will be paying off other bonds until 2034. The $105 million bond was the last bond sale of Prop C, but it wasn't the first. PUSD issued $74 million Prop C bonds in 2009. They are also CAP bonds. According to the <a href="http://www.powayusd.com/news/coc/2010-11Documents/FinalAUDITReportJanuary31-2012.pdf">Jan 2012 audit report</a>, PUSD does not plan to pay back those bonds until 2018.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFTMeB19emx3aozlPdk01Sk_5FiHehZB0ynULO3wkDtGiVi9VLrue2HlnnOH-0nfXSuKwYZlXoPuWd8FGy0VebUdjGGRcX2dKq3CWslT6_8Sc1MGKbpnV_u4-JYxLXDaXIPAGmU2HrVXU/s1600/propC+series+A+bond.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFTMeB19emx3aozlPdk01Sk_5FiHehZB0ynULO3wkDtGiVi9VLrue2HlnnOH-0nfXSuKwYZlXoPuWd8FGy0VebUdjGGRcX2dKq3CWslT6_8Sc1MGKbpnV_u4-JYxLXDaXIPAGmU2HrVXU/s640/propC+series+A+bond.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Look at the period between 2028-2032. The repayment amount is over $107, million, or about $21 million/yr. Assessed valuation would have to almost double in the next 16 yrs to meet those payments. That will be difficult, because of the slowed economy, because most of Poway and the PFID is "built-out" and because Prop 13 limits increases in assessed valuation to 2%/yr. for properties that are not resold. We might be in trouble, paying off the bonds well before 20 yrs from now.<br />
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From the chart, you can see that the payments for the Series A Prop C bonds don't begin until 2018. I think that is because we will still be paying off Prop U bonds until then. One series of Prop U bonds will be paid off in 2017, another in 2027, and the last Prop U series will be paid off in 2032. The <a href="http://www.powayusd.com/news/coc/2010-11Documents/program_audit.pdf">last Prop U audit report</a> on PUSD's website, dated June 30, 2007, shows Prop U bond payments through 2032.<br />
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The chart for the Prop U bonds is slightly different than the one for the Prop C bonds in that it lists the years as fiscal years. Therefore 2012- 2017 is a span of 5 yrs in the Prop U audit, whereas it would be 6 yrs in the Prop C audit. I am hoping that some of these Prop U bonds were refunded, because I don't think we will be able to manage both the Prop U and Prop C bond payments between 2018-2033.<br />
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The bottom line is that the voters approved the sale of $377 million in bonds that were to be paid back over an almost 50 year period. It doesn't seem unreasonable that $377 million would generate over a billion dollars in interest over 50 yrs. While it doesn't seem unreasonable, it does seems stupid to have agreed to finance the bonds over such a lengthy period of time. <br />
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<u>The Citizen's Oversight Committee</u><br />
I'm not sure exactly what they are overseeing. The Prop C oversight committee members are Andrew Berg, Ramon Ruelas, Chrissa Corday, Bill Bonner, Lee Dulgeroff, Kathy Frost, Jerry Ricks, Roger Moyers, and John Strula II. They had meetings. <a href="http://www.powayusd.com/news/coc/2010-11Documents/minutes/02-29-12Minutes.pdf">Here</a> are the minutes of their last meeting. It appears the committee and the district spent their time congratulating each other on what a successful job they have done. There is not a single word from anyone on the committee as to how this impossible financing becomes possible.<br />
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<u>What Really Sucks</u><br />
Prop U and Prop C paid for some new schools, some new buildings and modernizing of some portables. I know that Valley School got some old portables from Poway High. The district also spent money on technology equipment. There is no way in hell that those portables, refurbished or not will last until 2051. Technology is pretty much outdated the minute it is bought. Certainly, computers and other tech stuff won't last until 2051. So what will happen when the portables rot and the computers are dinosaurs? The fact that the tax rate on the current bonds may double or quadruple in future years is not going to endear the voters to another bond to replace aging portable classrooms.<br />
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<u>The Contractor</u><br />
Echo Pacific Construction did most of the contract work for Prop C. The district used a lease/leaseback agreement to avoid public bidding. New projects that came along, like astroturfing the sports fields were considered amendments to existing contracts. Echo Pacific Construction figures into an ongoing investigation of <a href="http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/jan/09/college-probe-finds-bid-issue/">bidding issues</a> at several other school districts. They know how to play the game to get the contracts. I am not insinuating that anything illegal was done in the PUSD contracts. I am just saying that they are involved in an investigation. And that they have close ties with several influential people in the community.<br />
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<u>The Politics</u><br />
There was opposition to Prop C. A few libertarians (from outside of Poway) organized the ballot statement in opposition to Prop C. The issues were pretty much related to the government-is-too-big theme. A local, grassroots group, South Poway Residents Association (SPRA) studied the issue, polled their members and voted against endorsing Prop C. They issued a<a href="http://southpowayresidents.stlucas.com/pressreleases/SPRA%20PRESS%20RELEASE%201-17-08.pdf"> press release</a> with their reasons for opposing Prop C. I think one of the biggest issues is that they worried that their taxes would double in order to pay for the 2 separate propositions. Unfortunately, SPRA was belittled for their position and they were told that they didn't care about "the kids".<br />
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I blogged about Prop C <a href="http://powayblog.blogspot.com/2008/01/proposition-c-part-i.html">here</a>, <a href="http://powayblog.blogspot.com/2008/01/proposition-c-part-2.html">here</a> and <a href="http://powayblog.blogspot.com/2008/01/proposition-c-part-2.html">here</a> in 2008. I received a phone call from a woman who was on the "Yes on C" committee and who happened to be a lawyer. She accused me of putting up illegal signs in Rancho Penasquitos and she also threatened to sue me over my blog. I put up no signs regarding Prop C anywhere. I should have reported her to the county bar association. I have no idea how she even got my phone number. Imagine what might have happened if we had had a sane and reasonable discussion of how we would pay back these bonds?<br />
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The point is, people did bring up issues. There were other voices that demeaned and disallowed our concerns. The Poway City Council members all endorsed Prop C, according to news accounts. When there was an empty seat on the council, Merrilee Boyack proposed that it be filled by Sabrina Butler, whose main credential was that she was the leader of the "Yes on C" group. Now Merrilee Boyack is apparently very upset about the bond issue and is posting on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ThanksABillion">facebook</a> about it and sent out "scathing emails". Where was Boyack when Prop C was proposed back in 2008? It is all too obvious that those who are currently making the most noise about the Prop C CAB bonds are people who support Steve Vaus for council, and see the opportunity to hang this mess around the neck of Jeff Mangum, a former school board member who is also running for council. Neither Boyack nor Vaus complained about the bonds back in 2008 or paid any heed to the voices that expressed concerns. I would not be surprised if Boyack and Vaus and Vaus supporters show up at the next school board meeting for a little kabuki theatre. It worked so well before. Remember the Rexford firetruck story? Color me jaded, but I have doubts about the genuineness of those who are just now complaining about the school bonds.<br />
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In retrospect, there are probably many lessons to learn from the whole bond mess. Maybe if the political process in Poway was more inclusive, we would be able to make better decisions. But I don't see that happening anytime soon.Chris Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06489810250555135219noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1057262584896477189.post-16072609676321620742012-03-30T14:00:00.006-07:002012-04-01T16:15:58.351-07:00Wading Through The ScamsI help manage the financial affairs of an elderly family member. Last week, I looked through her bank statement and noticed a recurring $29.99 charge around the middle of each month. What are you buying from something called "Amk*pth Healthy"?, I asked. She didn't have a clue. <div><br /></div><div>Apparently, my relative purchased a Christmas present from one of the Amerimark catalog companies (<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;">Anthony Richards, Beauty Boutique, Complements, Essentials, Healthy Living, Time for Me, FeelGood Store, and Windsor Collection) </span>and without realizing how, ended up enrolled in something called <a href="http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/weblog/comments/5082/P20/">Passport to Health</a>, which does nothing for her, except deduct $29.99 from her account each month. A quick googled search of "Amk*pth Healthy 866-345-4401" let me know I had everything to fear. <div><br /></div><div>I guess she was lucky. Some people have been scammed at more premium levels and didn't catch it for a <a href="http://www.phoneowner.net/PhoneOwner/866-345-4401/1.html">longer period of time. </a> I can see that the scam has been ongoing since at least 2008, and nobody has yet put a stop to it. I called Amerimark and got them to unenroll my relative and to promise to pay back the 3 monthly payments she made. So far, they have not done that. Now I have the unenviable task of checking and rechecking her checking account to see if the charges were deducted, as promised, and if no new charges appear. And I have to try to convince my relative to quit buying crap from catalogs owned by Amerimark companies.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>I hate these scams. I know many people actually agreed to the memberships, without even knowing that they did. Mostly, that is because of the cunning way they slip in the membership during the check out process for another legitimate purchase. Last week, I signed my granddaughter up for a swimming class at the Poway Community Pool. The city's <a href="http://www.poway.org/Index.aspx?page=915">online page</a> about swim lessons says "online registration is highly recommended". They don't mention on this page that there is a $1.50 additional charge for signing up for the swim class online. I didn't find that out until I went through the hassle of signing up for an account and trying to pay for the lesson. </div><div><br /></div><div>So, I was a bit miffed already when I went through the check out process and attempted to pay for the swimming lesson. I put the lessons in my "cart" and then indicated that I wanted to check out and pay for them. I loaded in my credit card number, and prepared to hit "next, next, next" to finalize the transaction. And then, unexpectedly, in the middle of the payment process, an offer to buy magazines was on my screen. Not on a pop up window, where I could avoid it, but on the screen where I was paying for the swim lessons. WTF? Why do I have to chose not to get some magazines when I am signing up for swim lessons? I hope I hit the "No thanks" button. Why was the city letting someone sell magazines to people trying to sign up for swim lessons? </div><div><br /></div><div>It wasn't over yet. The next screen was not a receipt for the swim lessons. Nope. I was offered a membership to something or other. It might have even been "Passport for Health". They would charge my credit card monthly for I don't know what. Was I in a video game trying to make it through a field of scammy landmines? I hit, "No, thanks" again. At least I think I did. I hope I did. I was just trying to pay for a swim class, damn it. Stop it! </div><div><br /></div><div>I'll be spending a lot of time in the coming weeks taking my granddaughter to her swim lessons. And checking my credit card bills for unanticipated charges. Next time I sign her up for a class, I am going to save the $1.50 processing charge and a whole lot of headaches and sign up in person. I recommend it for everyone else, too.</div><div><br /></div><div>Update: Ugh! I am starting to get spam in my email folder. This has prompted me to take another look at the company that processed the swim class registration for Poway. The registration is on a site called "activenet". When I registered, I signed an <a href="https://ActiveNet6.active.com/cityofpowaycsd/servlet/termsOfUse.sdi?sdireqauth=1333306909667">agreement</a> with activenet. Part of that agreement said this:</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 4px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 4px; font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; "><strong></strong></p><blockquote><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; "><strong>4. Links; Third Party Services; Promotional Messages</strong></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; ">As a convenience to our members, we may provide links to third-party web sites. The linked sites are not under our control, and we make no representations as to the quality, suitability, functionality or legality of any sites to which we may provide links. You hereby waive any claim you might have against Active with respect to such sites.</p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; ">In addition, you may order services or merchandise through the Active Sites from other persons not affiliated with Active ("Seller"). For example, you may choose to register for a sporting event and purchase event-related merchandise on the Active Sites. All matters concerning the merchandise and services desired from a Seller, including but not limited to purchase terms, payment terms, warranties, guarantees, maintenance and delivery, are solely between you and the Seller. Active makes no warranties or representations whatsoever with regard to any goods or services provided by Sellers. You will not consider Active, nor will Active be construed as, a party to such transactions, whether or not Active may have received some form of revenue or other remuneration in connection with the transaction. You agree that Active will not be liable for any costs or damages arising out of such transactions, either directly or indirectly.</p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; ">Active and/or third parties may, from time to time, send email messages to you containing advertisements, promotions, etc. Active makes no representation or warranty with respect to the content of any such email messages or any goods or services which may be obtained from such third parties, and you agree that neither Active nor such third party shall have any liability with respect thereto. You further agree to receive certain periodic communications from Active such as newsletters, content, messages, and announcements, and that these communications are considered part of your access of the Active Sites and services and that you may not be able to opt out of receiving such communications in every instance.</p></blockquote><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; "></p></span>Ugh! Ugh! Ugh! Sign up in person and avoid the hassles.<br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 4px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 4px; font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; "><br /></p></span></div><div><br /></div>Chris Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06489810250555135219noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1057262584896477189.post-66977903342987611102012-02-07T16:38:00.000-08:002012-02-09T16:18:50.902-08:00Geo-Politics 3<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT3OOvXY37Q00Q32bofnTDdnLPLXz0-LmACWqRogn9WMmcsDldIP0MAJTTCXUbvhhTrzi2lqokjqwQ8hLMYfmzcOxNydJRNI7rgyKlYx-018lK5Fc6EjmWrBTUKwnuJZQM1tyu-sCjegA/s1600/current+councilmembers.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 369px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT3OOvXY37Q00Q32bofnTDdnLPLXz0-LmACWqRogn9WMmcsDldIP0MAJTTCXUbvhhTrzi2lqokjqwQ8hLMYfmzcOxNydJRNI7rgyKlYx-018lK5Fc6EjmWrBTUKwnuJZQM1tyu-sCjegA/s400/current+councilmembers.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706558737610316834" /></a><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;">Current Councilmembers</span></div><div>Wow, it has been about 15 months since this last election in Poway. We are way overdue for a geopolitical update.<div><br /></div><div>(Note: click on any of the maps on this page to make them larger. The maps are divided into 3 parts: orange for north Poway, blue for south Poway and green for east Poway.)</div><div><br /></div><div>In Nov., 2010 Dave Grosch was elected to his first term on the council. John Mullin was re-elected to the council position, and Don Higginson was re-elected to the mayor position. That made the geo-political map very interesting. Both Boyack and Grosch live in the same Rancho Arbolitos neighborhood; Higginson and Cunningham live in the same north Poway neighborhood. Mullin lives in the Del Poniente neighborhood. It's nice to see two councilmembers hail from south Poway, which traditional enjoys less representation than north Poway. Of course, Grosch and Boyack live pretty much on the northern edge of south Poway. In fact, the geo-political picture is pretty edgy, all the way around, except for Mullin. He is the only council member that does not live close to Pomerado Rd. and the western boundary of Poway. </div><div><br /></div><div>What will the geo-political map look like after the elections later this year?<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxpqAFC9Y6mh3y_GRp2v99lzqEqHnOT9tPjNZc2MvLg6W5mLWP8DlB_Oea8co_NcooS52kQG8qvlelh8yVwxtoYu5uUoTZTWRFm3DGdDAJiNQytzeUZ9J_bhGmanUy2nt-DbWfwrC79gQ/s1600/declared+candidates.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 369px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxpqAFC9Y6mh3y_GRp2v99lzqEqHnOT9tPjNZc2MvLg6W5mLWP8DlB_Oea8co_NcooS52kQG8qvlelh8yVwxtoYu5uUoTZTWRFm3DGdDAJiNQytzeUZ9J_bhGmanUy2nt-DbWfwrC79gQ/s400/declared+candidates.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5707285108899827362" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;">Announced Candidates and Councilmembers not up for re-election</span></div></div><div><br /></div><div>It is pretty early in the year for folks to announce that they are running for council in November. Traditionally, Poway councilmembers don't announce whether or not they plan to run again until summer. This year is not so tradition. Merrilee Boyack has announced that she has no plans to run for re-election. She has endorsed Steve Vaus, who has announced his intentions to run for council. Jim Cunningham has already announced that he is running for re-election. Former PUSD school board member, Jeff Mangum, has also thrown his hat in the ring. It's very early. But I decided to look at the geo-political possibilities among those who have announced their intentions to run. Currently, there are 3 contenders (Vaus, Cunningham and Mangum) for two spots on the council. If Vaus and Cunningham win, Poway will have 3/5 of their council living within a block or two of each other in the same neighborhood. And 4/5 of the council would be from north Poway again, no matter which 2 of the 3 contenders wins. </div><div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS7YWL3_6ckohy_hFdSfcOxK4kRZKNgMUvdRArhXRbWQsDYj3sn__9KS4hcKqGaygH17KTszcggUwQx20cxhkHEvXmA0EERFF3-SOYNKJNIdBY72IOtUlRfDInWiz6u0ctF2XGfnRcm7A/s1600/all+councilmembers+xx.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 369px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS7YWL3_6ckohy_hFdSfcOxK4kRZKNgMUvdRArhXRbWQsDYj3sn__9KS4hcKqGaygH17KTszcggUwQx20cxhkHEvXmA0EERFF3-SOYNKJNIdBY72IOtUlRfDInWiz6u0ctF2XGfnRcm7A/s400/all+councilmembers+xx.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5707294240659244050" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikRrcRRx9JmADJHKUW3RYOdDxI5AEbxAFijsFr6y4RLb7dixMBmVOUiF8bSkgN66RAjyj3FFr5j6nh9SnTXtXpRk2tobpT-xH-jeJskzztPddbwvlGD3qb4Xi16oST89cEiVVtdd2Gfrc/s1600/all+councilmembers.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;">All Poway council members</span></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div>It seems that our council always tilts towards over-representation from north Poway and under-representation of the south end of town. So, I decided to look at where all of our past council members have lived. Eight council members have come from south Poway and ten have come from north Poway. Not too lopsided. But then I looked at the number of years those from each area have served on the council. The north Poway council members logged 96.5 yrs and the south Poway council members served for 53.5yrs. Now, that's a bit more like I remember it. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>There is a lot more than location to choosing a council member or being represented by one. And it should be noted that some of the south Poway council members lived in the less dense parts of south Poway that share rural residential zoning with most of north and east Poway. </div><div>It should be noted that many, many of the land use decision that affect the majority of Powegians living in south Poway were made by people who don't really have to experience the consequences of those decisions in their day-to-day life. </div><div><br /></div><div>Note: Map edited to correct location of Mangum's current home, Cunningham's years of service.</div>Chris Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06489810250555135219noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1057262584896477189.post-25709455309587890312012-02-01T21:50:00.000-08:002012-02-07T13:29:14.864-08:00What Killed Redevelopment?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN1UL_xf1miKWawSTcrqlK4ApmSNprwko7JUvvR0J3Y87MWzvcdbyVR0vmb7j3BJwxf8Yr0GAP053hfHb9AjHr1HYBEJB6wlNZWgye7BcbrSGPxffK_mGD8XUq0U9HiNNUieuUMcHrXoc/s1600/paguay+redevelopment+project+area+map.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 309px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN1UL_xf1miKWawSTcrqlK4ApmSNprwko7JUvvR0J3Y87MWzvcdbyVR0vmb7j3BJwxf8Yr0GAP053hfHb9AjHr1HYBEJB6wlNZWgye7BcbrSGPxffK_mGD8XUq0U9HiNNUieuUMcHrXoc/s400/paguay+redevelopment+project+area+map.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5704458728658484914" /></a><br />Alternately titled: It's the math, stupid!<div><br /></div><div>It's official. All 400+ redevelopment agencies in California are dissolved as of today, February 1, 2012. A last minute <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/28/4221229/judge-refuses-to-halt-demise-of.html">court case </a> to keep redevelopment alive fizzled. The <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-redevelopment-20120101,0,7158409.story">pleas and threats</a> from the redevelopment crowd did not convince the state legislature to keep redevelopment on life support for a few more months, so they could figure out a way around the eventual demise. <div><br /></div><div>In the last few weeks, the pro-redevelopment faction tried their best to talk it up, point to their successes and to blame the state for "grabbing their money". If I could have $100 from every reporter or politician who claimed, in a news article, that redevelopment money was now going "to be sent to Sacramento", I think I could afford to buy some distressed ex-redevelopment property at fire sale prices. The real reason redevelopment had to end, wasn't, as <a href="http://www.pomeradonews.com/2012/01/12/guest-opinion-the-demise-of-redevelopment-in-poway/">Bob Emery</a> said, because our "dysfunctional state government finds it necessary to dismantle an institution that works, and creates jobs, to try to stop the financial hemorrhaging of their own making." The real reasons redevelopment had to die is because of voter-passed propositions, the nature of exponential growth, and greed.</div><div><br /></div><div>Redevelopment agencies first got their start in California in 1945. The whole idea was to give cities and counties a tool to tackle urban blight in the post war years. In 1952, new legislation allowed redevelopment agencies to finance projects with tax increment. Tax increment is the increase in property taxes from the tax value on the day a redevelopment agency is created. Suppose the property tax for a vacant parcel of land was $100 in 1983 when Poway created their redevelopment agency. Some time later, if someone built a million dollar home on that parcel, the new property tax would then be around $10,000/yr. When the owner of the parcel paid his/her $10,000 property tax to the county, the county would send $100 of their tax to the schools, cities and county and send the $9,900 tax increment($10,000-$100) to Poway's redevelopment agency. The school district would have gotten a little less than half of that $100.</div><div><br /><br /></div><div>There weren't very many redevelopment agencies in California until the voters passed Proposition 13 in 1978. Prop 13 put a lid on soaring property taxes in the state. After Prop 13, cities looked everywhere and anywhere for a new revenue stream. Tax increment money started to look very attractive. </div><div><br /></div><div>Once cities jumped on the redevelopment bandwagon, the abuses began. Poway's redevelopment area was created in 1983. It was comprised of 8200 acres of so called "blighted" land, 75% of which was undeveloped. It doesn't take a math whiz to realize that the tax increment on vacant land is going to jump after something is built on it. Poway's redevelopment acreage wasn't urban and it wasn't blighted, but it did provide a revenue stream for the fledgling city.</div><div><br /></div><div>Post Prop 13, redevelopment agencies popped up everywhere. As the tax increment started rolling in, the impact was noticeable, particularly for schools. Since most of the growth was in the redevelopment area, most of the new taxes went to the redevelopment agency. In Poway, new homes were built in Rancho Arbolitos, Old Coach, Bridlewood, and other areas within the redevelopment area. The students who moved into those homes went to PUSD schools, but most of the property taxes their parents paid went to the redevelopment agency. When the industrial park was built, those new property taxes also went to the redevelopment agency and the schools were left with many new students but no increase in revenue to pay for them. Although Poway was perhaps among the more brazen with the amount of acreage, particularly undeveloped acreage that they put in their redevelopment area, they were by no means the only redevelopment area to capitalize on diverting property taxes that would normally go to the schools.</div><div><br /></div><div> By 1988, the schools were really feeling the pinch. The California voters passed Prop 98, which required that the state backfill the funds that redevelopment was taking from the schools. Talk about <a href="http://lao.ca.gov/analysis_2009/education/ed_anl09002.aspx">unfunded mandates!</a> There was nothing in Prop 98 that explained where the state was supposed to get this money, save for a little bit of lottery funds. The backfill money to fund the schools came from the state's general fund , which is derived from things like income tax and sales tax revenue. </div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKGWm0jK7XPSKgE39vDh7D0ngrFyfMdhyphenhyphenagmkUqax7ZzsHwdDN5ucftfXomrFpzbEGHgwn7H24Zb6Q6oj8rw26EIQFERgLzobWjEG2qFkD7Juuh1r-Dyg3PDZwI85ufZNUortKRCUsjyY/s1600/exponntial+growth.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 310px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKGWm0jK7XPSKgE39vDh7D0ngrFyfMdhyphenhyphenagmkUqax7ZzsHwdDN5ucftfXomrFpzbEGHgwn7H24Zb6Q6oj8rw26EIQFERgLzobWjEG2qFkD7Juuh1r-Dyg3PDZwI85ufZNUortKRCUsjyY/s400/exponntial+growth.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706131108682262450" /></a></div><div>Last year, redevelopment agencies were diverting 15% of all property taxes in California. Here is where the exponential growth comes in. Don't bail, I promise I will make it easy. Look at the "graph". The thing to notice about the graph is that the red line starts slowly climbing uphill, then it seems to curve and shoot upwards. That graph is the classic exponential growth graph. This graph represents the growth of a population over time, but a graph of how much tax increment the redevelopment agencies diverted from the schools (and other local taxing entities) over time would look similar. It starts out slow, but once it gets rolling along, it zooms upward. Redevelopment agencies currently divert 15% of all the property taxes in the state. In Poway, it is 50%. Eventually, redevelopment agencies would consume almost all of the property taxes in the state. The system would collapse way before that, in fact, it is collapsing now. There is no way that the state could continue to backfill that kind of money. Where would the state get that kind of revenue? They can't print it. It is irresponsible for public officials to be so blind to the reality of how impossible it would be for the state to come up with the billions of dollars that redevelopment sucks up.</div><div><br /></div><div>The state tried to be reasonable and demanded that redevelopment agencies give back to the schools some of the diverted tax increment. Here is where the greed comes in. The cities wanted no part of it. They wanted it all. The redevelopment agencies helped to fund Prop 22, a voter measure advertised as "keeping local money local". When they approved Prop 22 in 2010, most voters had no idea that Prop 22 meant that the redevelopment agencies would continue to take a larger and larger share of property taxes, leaving the schools dependent upon the state to replace larger and larger amounts of diverted funds. </div><div><br /></div><div>The state really had no choice. They had to discontinue the redevelopment program because it was sucking up all of the property tax money. The only option was to allow the redevelopment agencies to continue if they voluntarily agreed to cough up $1.7 billion for schools. The California Redevelopment Agencies sued the state. The California Supreme Court decided that the state could discontinue the redevelopment program but that they could not ask the redevelopment agencies for voluntary payments that were really not voluntary. The voluntary payments violated Prop 22. In the end, it was the redevelopment agencies own proposition, Prop 22, and their greedy brinkmanship that did them in.</div><div><br /></div><div> There are so-o-o-o-o many lessons to learn from this redevelopment saga. If and when somebody comes up with some new tools for cities to use to spur economic development, I certainly hope that we don't have to make the same mistakes all over again.The sad thing is that we the people are the city, we are the state, we are the school district. We pay taxes so we can provide for common services. The people who represent us on the city level failed to care that funding for our schools was impossible with Prop 22. They didn't care about us, they cared about getting the biggest share of revenue they could get. They were incapable of looking at the big picture. And they failed to understand the math. </div></div>Chris Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06489810250555135219noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1057262584896477189.post-21174510523620778542012-01-17T22:37:00.000-08:002012-01-19T14:31:02.714-08:00Happy New Year<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi17NUdXsnft15XdtjvZplzAvpC4ociG4vL6dsVKM9ULwYznczTjODF1LKJftlOpWj_i1-s9HAcwxmjY9FbXvV84vR9k03SqdhubVatZmg9qDigR6xioKJGbHeB7XB8j4VYESg5MW0kDmU/s1600/money+down+the+toilet.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 238px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi17NUdXsnft15XdtjvZplzAvpC4ociG4vL6dsVKM9ULwYznczTjODF1LKJftlOpWj_i1-s9HAcwxmjY9FbXvV84vR9k03SqdhubVatZmg9qDigR6xioKJGbHeB7XB8j4VYESg5MW0kDmU/s400/money+down+the+toilet.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699115847284391218" /></a><br />Happy 2012! <div><br /><div>New year, same ol' shit????</div><div><br /></div><div>Nope. Not this year. Because of a California Supreme Court decision, redevelopment agencies will cease to exist on February 1, 2012. That will mean some big, big changes for Poway and hundreds of other California cities. You can be sure I will have lots to say about it soon, but here is a little hint: It's all about the $$$$$$$$$$$$$. Every redevelopment agency was required to work up an EOP (enforceable obligation payment schedule) of all their bond debt, contracts and other obligations for payment. Poway's total on the <a href="http://www.poway.org/Index.aspx?page=1445">Oct 1, 2010 document</a>? It's $1,398,802,316.43. Almost 1.4 billion taxpayer dollars diverted from schools and core government services. In little ol' Poway. To clean up our urban blight. They are crying a river over losing that money stream. </div><div><br /></div><div>(note: Poway revised their EOP after the supreme court decision. The <a href="http://docs.poway.org/weblink8/0/doc/50449/Page1.aspx">new EOP </a>(1/17/2012) total: $0.4 billion. That's a billion dollars less that they will be spending now that redevelopment agencies will cease to be. Half that billion dollars will go to our local schools. They other half will mostly go to the county and come back to the city's own general fund for core services.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Unfortunately for Poway sewer customers, it is the same ol' shit for 2012. On December 20th, the council voted to <a href="http://docs.poway.org/weblink8/0/doc/50109/Page1.aspx">reduce the sewer consumption <b>charge</b> </a>by 7%. Note that the word is <b>charge</b>, not <b>rate</b>. Poway doesn't charge for sewer use by the unit, the way they do for water (and the way other cities do for both water and sewer). They use an archaic tiered fee structure. It is an adaption from the days when everyone just paid a flat sewer fee and no separate consumption fee. Now, we all pay a flat service fee AND a consumption fee, but the consumption fee in Poway is not a rate as it is in other cities. Poway, charges a consumption charge of $40.98 to sewer customers who use between 6-12 units. That means that the customer who uses 6 units pays twice as much per unit ($6.83) as the customer who uses 12 units ($3.41 per unit). Poway gives an even bigger price break to the biggest sewer users. Customers who use 50 units of sewer flow pay only $1.83/unit. Is that fair? Or even logical? </div><div><br /></div><div>Poway can afford to cut the sewer rates because they have a <a href="http://powayblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/sewer-slush-fund.html">big surplus in the sewer fund</a>. They have been overcharging customers for years, and, in particular, overcharging smaller users. What's amazing is how the city continues to use the sewer slush fund for non-sewer related expenses. Last year they completed a sewer project on Oak Knoll Rd that was paid for with redevelopment funds. But since they needed $3 million dollars to move Toyota across the street and shoehorn a Lowes in Toyota's old location, they took $3 million from the sewer fund and put it into the redevelopment fund to "backfill" the Oak Knoll project and then they moved it into a fund to buy property for Toyota. </div><div><br /></div><div>The sewer fund is also tapped to pay the bonds on the new city hall. Most of the water/sewer services are run out of the city's operations center building near Lake Poway. So why are water/sewer customers paying for city hall? I guess we have to pay for the administrative staff who dream up new ways to soak us unfairly. Some of the council members who voted to make the sewer customers pay for the new city hall are on septic systems and don't help pay for those bonds themselves.</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSyq1uQePH-5t4frXdVE3uIzBJYSoEmUJbyBKkQxEgbk23a5WtJlEyJpNoCSY8GtTK7KocykkNJXeFJ3CW9EKsVmX2zktoUDSERnfzrVOMPINhAn1xSOgrXMUHSDG9wYk0nDQNuEAF_0/s1600/old+water%253A+sewer+bldg.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 238px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSyq1uQePH-5t4frXdVE3uIzBJYSoEmUJbyBKkQxEgbk23a5WtJlEyJpNoCSY8GtTK7KocykkNJXeFJ3CW9EKsVmX2zktoUDSERnfzrVOMPINhAn1xSOgrXMUHSDG9wYk0nDQNuEAF_0/s400/old+water%253A+sewer+bldg.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699098620038786274" /></a><br /></div><div>Remember the old water/sewer building on Poway Rd., right across from the library? That building was paid for by water/sewer customers, too. After it was no longer needed for the water/sewer department use, it was "quit claimed" to the city. The water/sewer ratepayers paid for the building, but we got nothing for it. Now the city leases it out. Does the lease money end up in the sewer fund? Nope. If the city sells the old building, will the sewer customers see the assets returned to the fund that paid for the building? Not likely.</div><div><br /></div><div>Redevelopment owes the sewer fund a big bunch of money too. In 1983, Poway sewer customers forked over $5.5 million to jump start the newly formed Poway Redevelopment Agency. How did the sewer fund have an extra $5.5 million in it to lend to redevelopment? If I remember correctly, our rates were hiked up to minimize the stress of potential future rate hikes. I am not sure we will ever get all of that money back from the soon-to-be-defunct redevelopment agency. Does that make you feel de-stressed or distressed?</div><div><br /></div><div>But that isn't all. The lush sewer funds are being used to pay the legal bills for a 5-yr long saga of negligence, irresponsibility and retribution. I'm talking about the Tartre/Armstrong case. Five years ago, the city hired a company to clear some trees on a sewer easement. They oopsied. They were supposed to cut down a total of 25 mature trees on 9 properties, but they took out way more than that. Of the 41 trees they removed from the Armstrong's and the Tartre's backyards, only 1 was in the sewer easement. The city admitted that they messed up and said that they used a map with the easement marked incorrectly on it. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Tartres and Armstrongs wanted the city or (West Coast Arborist), the company that the city hired, to replant mature trees, fix the creek that they damaged and leave them alone. They filed a claim with the city. The City retaliated by citing (<a href="http://docs.poway.org/WebLink8/DocView.aspx?id=18056&dbid=0">resolution 08-004</a>)the Tartres and Armstrong with some PMC (Poway Municipal Code) and FEMA violations on their property. The City claimed that their fences were in a special flood hazard area and that they had to remove them or get a special permit that required a $30,000 flood study. Instead of working to make things right, the City puffed up their chest and said, "You take what we offer or we will make your life hell." And then the City proceeded to make their lives hell.</div><div><br /></div><div>After the City refused to fix their properties, the Tartres and Armstrongs filed a lawsuit over the property damages. In a tit for tat, the The City sued the Tartres and Armstrongs over the PMC and FEMA violations. It didn't matter if the Tartres and Armstrongs won their lawsuits or if the judge noted that the City's case "smacked of retaliation", the City was (and still is) hell bent on sending a message: "Cross us and we will make your life miserable." And why not? Those excess sewer funds were just sitting there waiting to be raided to pay for the City's bullying.</div><div><br /></div><div>Five years of hell. And it is not over yet.</div><div>Here is a summary of where things stand.</div><div><br /></div><div>There are two main cases:</div><div>1)<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Appellate Court Case No. D056319</span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b> underlying case</b> <b><span>37-2008-0076297-CU-NP-CTL</span></b></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family:'Lucida Grande';"><span><br /></span></span></b></div><div> This is the Tartres/Armstrongs suit against the city and their contractor West Coast Arborists for damages to their property, emotional distress, and civil rights violations.</div><div><br /></div><div>In June, 2009, a jury decided that Poway had been negligent and awarded the Tartres and Armstrongs damages for negligence and emotional distress ($119,810 for the Tartres and $67,462 for the Armstrongs). In Dec, 2009, Judge Link denied the City's request to undo the jury's decision and awarded the Tartres and Armstrongs $479,000 for attorney fees and legal costs. The Tartres and Armstrong were also required to pay the legal fees for West Coast Arborist. </div><div><br /></div><div>Neither side was totally satisfied with this result. The City of Poway is appealing the civil rights violation portion of the decision. If the City wins, they won't have to pay the $479,000 in attorney fees; if they lose they will owe an additional 10% interest. The Tartres and Armstrongs are claiming civil rights violations and also that the arborist the City hired was responsible, in part for a portion of the damages. If they win, they won't have to pay the arborist's fees. If they lose against the City, they may have to pay the City's attorney and legal fees. The Tartres and Armstrongs final brief is due on Jan 20th, then oral arguments will be heard. The court will decide the case between April and June of this year (2012).</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>2) <span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;">Appellate Court Case No. D055225 </span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;"><b> underlying case: 37-2008-00081870-CU-WM-CTL</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div>This is the Tartre/Armstrong Writ against the city council after the city hit them up with PMC (Poway Municipal Code) and FEMA violations. </div><div><br /></div><div>This case is almost concluded.</div><div>Judge Lisa Foster ruled that Poway messed up, didn't follow their own municipal code, got the FEMA thingee wrong and that Poway needed to take back their resolution (<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'Lucida Grande';font-size:medium;">#08-004)</span>, <strike>harrassing</strike> demanding that the Tartre and Armstrongs pay for an expensive flood study and get permits for their fence, which the city claims is in a FEMA floodplain. The judge made that ruling almost 4 months ago. The council still has taken no action to comply with one part of the court order, the requirement that the Poway City Council rescind resolution 08-004. </div><div><br /></div><div>Hmmm, I remember another case when the City Council allowed some residents to build a private <a href="http://powayblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/john-mullins-terrible-horrible-no-good.html">gate across a public road</a>. One of the people who lived on the road sued, and won his case in court, at great expense to himself. The city took their sweet time complying with that court order too. They didn't rescind their approval of the gate and demand it's removal for weeks after the court's decision. Respect for the courts much? I don't think so. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Tartres and Armstrongs have to drag the City's sorry ass back to court and let the judge slap them upside of the head to make them comply. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Last week the judge ordered the City to comply with her order or explain themselves at yet another hearing on April 6, 2012. The City knows that they have lost, but they have one last opportunity to taunt their own residents. And why not? It's not their money that is paying for it. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></div><div>The City is paying for their attorneys and legal fees out of the sewer slush funds. I don't know why. The cause of the problem was bad maps (so said the City) and a bad attitude (so said the judge). I'm not sure which city department is responsible for mapping expertise, but whichever one it is, I think that department and the City administration owe a reimbursement to the sewer fund. The City's attorney costs were $354, 461 (as of June, 2011) for the first case and $83,553.36 for the second case (as of Jan 3, 2012).</div><div><br /></div><div>If I was a member of the Poway City Council or staff, you know what I would do? I'd make some new year resolutions. First, I'd make 2012 the year Poway gets its act together and charges fair sewer rates. And secondly, I'd make a huge attempt to reform what seems to be a retaliatory bullying habit. It's nasty. It's embarrassing. It benefits nobody except the lawyers. It makes the city look like it is poorly run. In fact, it makes it look like it is run by a crime family, rather than a government that works for its own people. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>2012 is going to be a big year of changes. Is it too much to hope that the changes will make Poway a better place to live?</div>Chris Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06489810250555135219noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1057262584896477189.post-15881726864123850052011-11-17T16:18:00.000-08:002011-11-18T21:26:38.297-08:00Redevelopment UpdatePoway Blog has been on a bit of a hiatus while I attended to some family matters. But that doesn't mean that nothing has been going on during the last few months or that I haven't been paying attention.<div><br /></div><div>One of my special areas of concern has been, and continues to be, redevelopment. As many of you may know, redevelopment plays a major role in many land use and budget decisions in Poway. It also has a <a href="http://powayblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/its-minemy-ownmy-precious.html">huge impact on school financin</a>g and the state budget. Last January, newly elected Gov. Jerry Brown proposed eliminating redevelopment agencies in California. This kind of blew me away. I had been a critic of redevelopment for many years. I even <a href="http://powayblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/dear-governor-arnold-great-news-i-think.html">wrote a letter to Arnold </a>and sent it to him and all of the state legislators in June, 2009, suggesting that Arnold grab some money from the magical redevelopment agencies to balance the state budget. But I never dreamt that anyone would call for the demise of the goose that kept laying those golden redevelopment eggs. </div><div><br /></div><div>Brown's plan to snuff out redevelopment agencies met a lot of resistance. With a few rare exceptions, GOP legislators were opposed, although technically. redevelopment doesn't line up with their supposed "values". Redevelopment is big government, intrusive government, secret government, with the power of eminent domain and, um, did I mention the excessive borrowing aka deficit spending ? There were also a few Democrats who couldn't really sign off on ending redevelopment, so the California legislature devised a way for redevelopment agencies to rise from the ashes and continue to borrow money and spend it on development projects. The catch was that they had to give billions of dollars to the local schools and local agencies, like fire departments, that are funded with property taxes. Considering that redevelopment agencies have <s>stolen</s> diverted billions of property tax dollars from schools for years, it seemed a pretty reasonable compromise. But the redevelopment agencies wanted it all. They went for broke. They sued the state.</div><div><br /></div><div>Both the redevelopment agencies and the state agreed to have the case go directly to the state's supreme court. The court has agreed to decide the case before January 15th, when the first batch of payments from the redevelopment agencies are due to be turned over to a local authority that will distribute the money to local schools and special districts. </div><div><br /></div><div>On October 10th, the California Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case which is named CRA v Matosantos. The <a href="http://www.calredevelop.org/external/wcpages/wcwebcontent/webcontentpage.aspx?contentid=438">amicus briefs</a> for each side are posted on the CRA's website. The ones that support the redevelopment agencies, claiming that the state cannot dissolve them or reconstitute them for a ransom, are: Association of California Cities, Orange County; City of Irvine; Long Beach; Public Interest Law Western Center, San Bernardino County, Southern California Coalition, CRA/LA, Riverside County and ABAG (Association of Bay Area Governments). With the exception of the Public Interest Law Western Center, each of these is, has, or represents a redevelopment agency.</div><div><br /></div><div>The groups that filed amicus briefs in support of the state's position are: Affordable Housing Advocates (a San Diego group that advocates for affordable housing); California Professional Firefighters; Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence (an Orange County group from Chapman Univ School of Law); California Teachers Association; Los Angeles USD; MORR- Chris Norby, and Santa Clara USD. The groups supporting the state's position represent school districts, firefighters, affordable housing advocates, the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence (a conservative group concerned about the abuse of eminent domain) and MORR (Municipal Officials for Redevelopment Reform). </div><div><br /></div><div>The redevelopment agencies sued the state , claiming that both ABx-26 which dissolved redevelopment agencies and ABx-27, which allowed for the new alternative redevelopment agencies that voluntarily paid a ransom to the local schools, were unconstitutional. They claimed that the voters passed Prop 22, which forbids the state from grabbing any of their redevelopment money. From the <a href="http://blogs.kqed.org/capitalnotes/2011/11/10/california-supreme-court-slugfest-over-redevelopment/">comments at the supreme court hearing</a>, it appears that the justices seem to lean toward the position that the state has the right to abolish redevelopment agencies, that ABx-26 is constitutional. </div><div><br /></div><div>The question then becomes, "Is ABx-27 constitutional - can the state make the redevelopment agencies give a share of their diverted property taxes to the schools in order to continue to exist?" If the answer is yes, then the redevelopment agencies lose and the state wins the case. But what if the courts find ABx27 <i>unconstitutional</i>? This is where it <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2011/nov/11/local/la-me-redevelopment-20111111">gets really interesting</a>. </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 20px; font-family:Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;font-size:14px;"><blockquote>Justice Joyce L. Kennard suggested that the agencies' challenge of both laws could backfire. She said the court could find the abolition constitutional but the revenue-sharing law invalid, a prospect that an attorney for redevelopment agencies called the worst possible outcome.</blockquote></span></div><div><br /></div><div>If the court finds ABx-27 unconstitutional, then everything would revert back to ABx-26 and the redevelopment agencies would all be dissolved. Redevelopment in California would be no more. And it would be because of this court case and Prop 22, a sneaky voter initiative that redevelopment agencies pushed to get on the ballot and passed in 2010.</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 20px; font-family:Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;font-size:14px;"></span></div><blockquote><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 20px; font-family:Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;font-size:14px;">Justice Marvin R. Baxter observed that it would be ironic if Proposition 22, which redevelopment agencies had promoted, ended up requiring the court to overturn the compromise and cut the lifeline that the revenue-sharing law provided. Baxter also appeared dubious that the proposition gave the agencies "perpetual existence."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 20px; font-family:Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;font-size:14px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 20px; font-family:Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;font-size:14px;"><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-family: inherit; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; ">Deputy Atty. Gen. Ross C. Moody, representing the state, agreed that the agencies may have miscalculated in suing to overturn both measures.</p></span></div></blockquote><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 20px; font-family:Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;font-size:14px;"><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-family: inherit; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; "></p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-family: inherit; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; "></p><blockquote>"The redevelopment agencies took a gamble on this lawsuit," Moody said</blockquote><p></p></span></div><div>Remember, the redevelopment agencies did not have to file this lawsuit. They chose to. They are not accepting the lose, lose position. Redevelopment agencies are now arguing that ABx-26 and ABx-27 cannot be considered separately, that they are <a href="http://blogs.kqed.org/capitalnotes/2011/11/10/california-supreme-court-slugfest-over-redevelopment/">intricately woven together.</a> </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px; font-family:Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"></span></div><blockquote><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px; font-family:Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;">The back-and-forth in the San Francisco courtroom seemed to hint that the justices are grappling less with whether the Legislature has the power to abolish RDAs -- a power that the Court seems poised to uphold -- and more with whether the budget provisions that dissolve and then reconstitute RDAs are, as the attorney for the locals argued, "joined at the hip."</span></div><div></div></blockquote><div>The redevelopment agencies are now arguing that comments from some legislators indicated that they only voted for ABx-26 because there was also an ABx-27. Therefore, if either one is unconstitutional, they both are. But that argument seems particularly weak, since the laws actually say that <a href="http://blogs.kqed.org/capitalnotes/2011/11/10/california-supreme-court-slugfest-over-redevelopment/">they are separate.</a> </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px; font-family:Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><blockquote>Legislators wrote language stating the two <em style="font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; ">are</em> separable -- a point raised in a pointed exchange led by Justice <strong style="font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; ">Goodwin Liu</strong>. "How could it be any clearer?" said Liu after reading the relevant passage from the legislation.</blockquote></span></div><div>This is all good news, hopeful news, for redevelopment watchers. The sad part is that the taxpayers are paying for both sides of this court case. The sadder part is that all 5 of Poway's council members strongly support the redevelopment agencies' case and the <a href="http://powayblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/brown-makes-redevelopment-give-schools.html">diversion of property tax funds from PUSD </a>and special districts. </div><div><br /></div><div>The California Supreme Court expects to rule on the constitutionality of ABx26 and ABx27 by mid-January 2012.</div><div><br /></div>Chris Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06489810250555135219noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1057262584896477189.post-906926460325512282011-09-03T23:11:00.000-07:002011-09-04T16:14:27.890-07:00Next Up: Lowe's<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_iIyebdng3FN475PAMPBqRc_PCB6r_W7AFw0BpBZvEjqF0fgN5XY4gxnoro3a11-_CvqPg9Ul80SKTF9JJXGRzpvbNwo-BNMEQ6MeCSGVZfMXLcn64sCOYTy7JZPybUat1OucDhWeTzE/s1600/Lowes.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 308px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_iIyebdng3FN475PAMPBqRc_PCB6r_W7AFw0BpBZvEjqF0fgN5XY4gxnoro3a11-_CvqPg9Ul80SKTF9JJXGRzpvbNwo-BNMEQ6MeCSGVZfMXLcn64sCOYTy7JZPybUat1OucDhWeTzE/s400/Lowes.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648396595514917346" /></a>
<br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;">I don't think anyone ever envisioned warehouse stores being built on Poway Rd when we incorporated back in 1980. In fact, when the General Plan was approved in 1983, it didn't say anything about giant big box stores or warehouse stores. The General Plan has been amended a couple of times per year since then, with most of the changes adversely affecting south Poway, but there are still no development standards for warehouse stores on Poway Rd. in our plan or our municipal code. </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;">
<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;">Nevertheless, the council just approved expanding Wal-Mart into a superstore and next </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;">Tuesday, the council will approve the Lowe's warehouse building on Poway Rd. There might be a few residents yammering away about nightmare traffic and noise, but it won't matter. It is a done deal. Was a done deal before anyone even heard about it. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><div>
<br /></div><div>Even after blowing off noise and traffic as nonexistent "monsters under the bed", there are still some glaring nonconformance issues that have to be addressed. Sort of. There will have to be some <a href="http://docs.poway.org/weblink8/0/doc/48928/Page1.aspx">tweaking</a> of the rules . The building height limit is 35 feet in Poway. Thirty-five feet or 2-stories, whichever is less. The General Plan was amended in the last few years to provide 2 exceptions. One was to allow a 3-story hotel in the business park. And another was to allow 3 stories for affordable housing projects. Commercial buildings don't have an exception. Except for something called an "architectural feature". </div><div>
<br /></div><div>Look at the picture of Lowes in the drawing at the top of the blog. See that extra roof that looks like a doghouse or an outpost in a stockade? The staff suggests giving Lowes almost 10 extra feet for that. They are calling it an "architectural feature". Now look at the picture again. Visually remove the architectural feature. Guess what, the building is still over 35 feet high. Click on the enhanced picture from the staff report below. The blue line is at approximately 35 ft. Both of the roofs above the word "Lowes" exceed the city's 35 ft limit, as do the other 2 peaked roofs. I always thought of architectural features as something like a church steeples. I guess you can build over 35 ft. in Poway now if you have a peaked roof. </div><div>
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxmUB1s67tKLnB58SKL17be4sAvd2yyx1u4cLj3NDvItCF0td2LeomJSg2nAN07tt463Jfcm-wCJ8g7q1OeXR_UbHFB0JejHTmBYimjwA-2vTvItIu4Ctz9GGsEIZckVvSycu2RU34s80/s1600/Lowes+roof2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 78px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxmUB1s67tKLnB58SKL17be4sAvd2yyx1u4cLj3NDvItCF0td2LeomJSg2nAN07tt463Jfcm-wCJ8g7q1OeXR_UbHFB0JejHTmBYimjwA-2vTvItIu4Ctz9GGsEIZckVvSycu2RU34s80/s400/Lowes+roof2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648395119259278546" /></a>That's not the only cheating on our standards that the staff had to do for Lowe's. Lowe's proposed signs are too big for our codes. So, they came up with a newfangled way to measure the size of the sign. They are going to only measure the space in the letters in the word Lowe's and not count the white space around the letters. With this little adjustment, they will be just under the limit.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Oh, and Poway's sign ordinance limits the height of the signs to 8 ft, but the city is going to let Lowe's have theirs go to 15 ft because <s>Walmart has one</s> there will be so much traffic in the area, it might obscure a lower sign. This is a special exemption, just for Lowe's, because there is no traffic going into any other commercial businesses, right?</div><div>
<br /></div><div>As you might expect, the Lowe's project is actually going to improve traffic in the area, according to the staff report. Yeah, I want some of what they're smoking, too. The report says that the traffic at Poway and Gate Dr is now LOS "F". After installing a new traffic light at Gate Dr and the extension of the left turn lane at Poway & Community Rd, the LOS at Poway &Gate Dr will improve to LOS "C" by 2030, even with all of the new Wal-Mart and Lowe's traffic. Don't forget, the city is now using <a href="http://powayblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/honk-if-you-believe-this.html">new traffic LOS designations</a>. What was once considered a failing grade, is now a passing grade. </div><div>
<br /></div><div>The staff report also says that the Lowe's building "has been designed to comply with the Poway Road Specific Plan standards". Unlike our traffic standards, the Poway Road Specific Plan hasn't been dumbed down as far as I know. It didn't take me anymore than a minute or two of skimming through the <a href="http://www.poway.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=1100">Poway Road Specific Plan</a> (PRSP) to question whether Lowe's plans are compliant. </div><div>
<br /></div><div>Chapter 5 of the PRSP list some design guidelines. Some of them are kind of squishy. For example, under Architecture, the PRSP says:</div><div><blockquote>Building mass, height and pad elevation should be comparable to and complement that of surrounding structures.</blockquote></div><div>"Comparable" and "complement" allow a lot of wiggle room for interpretation. I don't think a humongous warehouse is comparable to or complements any of the other businesses on Poway Rd. But that's just me. Other guidelines are less subjective:</div><div><blockquote>Rear and side facades should be designed to be consistent with the architectural style of the building and the design of the primary facade.</blockquote></div></span><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;">Lowe's rear and sides are not consistent with the front. It is a basic butt-ugly warehouse in the back and sides. Even before clicking on the picture below, you can see that Lowe's back isn't anything like their front which is pictured above.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><div>
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggYuZd87Yl3RKfK-Neo_aSvQuEyDPsjqUNF-AVSgpXTvMsV0PSzi-qECTuRHLQvJTSwxRY4N0m3LKgE-JHJlbcn5AYyJk4k_KApXfOeIsnST4xR2Cos7sSz4wcVvTktoYrOHJ0Xlr79YI/s1600/Lowes+back.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 64px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggYuZd87Yl3RKfK-Neo_aSvQuEyDPsjqUNF-AVSgpXTvMsV0PSzi-qECTuRHLQvJTSwxRY4N0m3LKgE-JHJlbcn5AYyJk4k_KApXfOeIsnST4xR2Cos7sSz4wcVvTktoYrOHJ0Xlr79YI/s400/Lowes+back.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648416522233021410" /></a>Here's another design guideline from the PRSP:</div><div><blockquote>The parking lot should not be the dominant feature of the site. Large expansive paved areas located between the street and buildings are to be avoided.</blockquote></div><div>Hmmm...did our planners read the PRSP before submitting this? But to be fair, Lowe's is going to sell stuff from the parking lot. Kind of break up the expanse with lumber and plants and seasonal stuff and whatnot. I am sure it will have the look and feel of an open market.</div><div> </div><div>
<br /></div><div>And another:</div><div><blockquote>The first parking stall which is perpendicular to a driveway or first aisle juncture should be at least 40 feet back from the public street curb. With larger centers, significantly more setback areas may be required for vehicle stacking and the ability to create secondary accessways with adjoining properties. </blockquote></div><div>
<br /></div><div>The Lowe's project will have a 20 foot-wide landscaped setback along Poway Rd. The rest of it will be packed with cars, both parallel and perpendicular to entrance driveways, aisle junctures and each other. </div><div>
<br /></div><div>The PRSP was written in 1996. There are 91 pages in the plan and the word "warehouse" appears "0" times. The PRSP mentions a lot of nice things for Poway Rd, like bicycle and pedestrian friendly access and covered walkways and open space and "gathering places" and a "town center". So, how did we end up with a Super Wal-Mart and a Lowe's? </div><div>
<br /></div><div>Last week, <a href="http://www.pomeradonews.com/?p=15729">Bob Emery</a>, who sat on the council for over a quarter of a century, voiced his opinions about the Wal-Mart expansion approval process and the opponent's concerns. </div><div></div><blockquote><div>Most of the hullabaloo from the opposition concerned traffic and impacts on businesses. "It will hurt other local markets in the area." Excuse me? If detractors are worried about "little Vons," which is part of the safeway empire of nearly 2,000 stores, let's be realistic. We live under a free enterprise system based on competition and some make it and some don't. As for traffic, I would rather see our streets jammed with shoppers spending money in Poway so we can pave streets, maintain our parks, fight fires and crime and provide other essential community services. .....</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Finally, just across town, the Target store is adding several thousand square feet to its store so it can also go into the grocery business but there hasn't been a peep out of anyone. Target practices the same dubious hirting practices and right-wing bullying as Walmart but no one seems to care. What about the impact on that "ma and pa" store next door called Albertsons? Go figure.</div></blockquote><div></div></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;">I want to remind people that Prop FF was Bob Emery's baby. Prop FF was the 1988 ballot initiative that makes it mandatory to get voter approval to increase the density or to build a single store on any land zoned rural residential in Poway. After Emery got the quality of life in his neighborhood protected, he pretty much didn't give a damn what happened to folks in south Poway.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><div> </div></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;">
<br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;">I am going to spell it out for him and others who don't understand. Not that they will "get it". But it is important to set the record straight. I've lived in Poway for over 35 years. People have been complaining about traffic on Poway Rd. for most of that time. For years and years, councilmembers and the city manager complained about all the folks from Ramona driving up and down Poway Rd. The city's redevelopment agency spent lots of money (that I do not believe is paid off yet) to build Scripps Poway Parkway in the undeveloped hills of south Poway, so we could have some employment opportunities and to get the damn Ramonans off of Poway Rd. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><div>
<br /></div></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><div>And now the city is getting a super big-box store and a warehouse store, two ventures that will bring a great deal of regional traffic to Poway Road. Poway Rd is a miles-long commercial corridor that is also the access point for many residential neighborhoods. It ends in what is essentially a cul-de-sac, with an offshoot to the nearby community of Ramona. It doesn't take a PhD in planning to know that the best place to site regional shopping ventures is on the periphery of the community, as close to freeway offramps as possible. So the reason people are not complaining about Target expanding and selling food is because the Target center was better located and designed to handle the traffic and noise and truck deliveries. </div><div>
<br /></div><div>Poway Rd commercial properties don't have the depth that the Target center has. Many butt right up next to residential areas. There are no apartment houses that face Target. It is amazing that the same people who found it incompatible to have even a neighborhood shopping center anywhere near their homes would be so supportive of a 24-hr regional shopping center and warehouse store adjacent to or across the street from someone else's. Yes, we need sales tax to support needed services. But the people who approved the Wal-Mart expansion and will approve Lowe's are not sacrificing their quality of life; they are taking someone else's.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>And about that free enterprise stuff. I'm not buying it. The city gave Wal-Mart almost a million dollars to locate in Poway. And they just robbed our sewer fund of $3 million to move Toyota across the street so that Lowe's could fit into Toyota's old spot. It wasn't done out in the open or by selling the property to the highest bidder. It was all planned and executed behind closed doors with an exclusive negotiated agreement. That is not how a free enterprise system based on competition works. </div><div>
<br /></div><div>The expanded Wal-Mart has been approved. Lowe's will be approved. I'm sure they will bring in some sales tax dollars. Not that Poway isn't already capturing more than their share of <a href="http://www.poway.org/Index.aspx?page=727">per capita sales taxes revenue</a> compared to other California cities. But it is never enough, is it?</div></span></div></div></div></div>Chris Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06489810250555135219noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1057262584896477189.post-27535737704529005222011-08-28T12:39:00.000-07:002011-08-29T09:53:32.194-07:00Monsters Under The Bed<iframe width="420" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ceViqnZ7US4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<br /><b>h/t to Joe and MaryLou St Lucas for the Poway Monsters Under The Bed Video</b><div>
<br /></div><div>Last Tuesday night, the Poway City Council met to approve the Wal-Mart expansion. We arrived a bit late but didn't really have to worry about parking, 'cause we knew there would be plenty of room at the empty Dixieline shopping center.<div>
<br /></div><div>The meeting was crowded. All of the seats in the main chamber were taken. One side of the chamber seemed to be filled with Wal-Mart employees. Made me wonder if they would lose their job if they didn't show up. The lobby was also full; standing room only. We found some outside seats in front of 2 TV screens on the side of the building. Might have been the best seats available. We got to see the speakers as the council saw them, instead of from their backs. And we got some fresh air instead of the stench of divisiveness.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>There were some articulate, thoughtful speakers from the "No We" group who presented their concerns about traffic, parking, aesthetics and noise, especially nighttime noise from delivery trucks. There were also a couple of passionate out-of-towners who begged the council to approve the Wal-Mart expansion so they could one-stop shop at Wal-Mart. They promised that the benefits of one-stop shopping at Wal-Mart would ripple through the business community. Another pro-expansion guy got up and complained because Joe St. Lucas, president of the 800 member No-We group, spoke for 5 minutes (with permission). He then proceeded to single out each anti-expansion speaker and say they were wrong. He droned on and on and Mayor Higginson was so captivated he forgot to remind him that his 3 minutes were up a long time ago. </div><div>
<br /></div><div>After the speakers "had their say", the council members weighed in. Dave Grosch expressed his concerns about how the traffic and noise would affect the residents. For John Mullin, it was simple. Wal-mart is a commercial use. The land is zoned commercial. Voila, the decision is easy-peasy. But inconsistent. Just a couple of weeks ago, John Mullin voted for <a href="http://docs.poway.org/weblink8/0/doc/48659/Page1.aspx">an emergency ordinance</a> to keep another commercial venture from locating in a commercial zone because it might have an adverse effect on the neighborhood. Mullin wasn't interested in any adverse effects from Wal-Mart. And neither were Boyack, Cunningham or Higginson. In fact, Higginson went so far as to say that the concerns were "<a href="http://poway.patch.com/articles/walmart-expansion-approved-mayor-calls-concerns-monsters-under-the-bed-2#video-7472146">monsters under the bed</a>."</div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); line-height: 27px; font-family:Georgia, Palatino, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:21px;"><blockquote>"All I've heard tonight are monsters under the bed...there are no monsters under the bed," says Higginson.</blockquote></span></div><div>Classic Higginson. This certainly is not the first time he has belittled or denigrated residents who have come to council meetings to express their concerns. But this is probably the first time he has done so to an 800 member organization at a taped meeting. It was pretty obvious throughout the whole meeting that finally allowing the residents to "have their say" was an exercise in futility. As one speaker so aptly said, "Thanks for nothing."</div><div>
<br /></div><div>It wasn't always like this in Poway. During the early days, after incorporation, there was a decided effort among the elected leaders to make developers listen to residents. I can remember a developer showing up at council one evening and residents voicing complaints. Councilmember Bob Emery growled at the developers, "You go talk to the residents and work it out with them and THEN come back and ask for approval." Things changed when the city formed a redevelopment agency and that redevelopment agency became the biggest developer in town. Projects were shaped behind closed doors between developers and staff. Things became "done deals" long before they went to council for approval. Residents "having their say" conformed to the laws, but otherwise, the exercise was meaningless.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>The Wal-Mart expansion is an example of how the city plans to develop in the future. The residents concerns will be ignored.The Wal-Mart neighborhood meetings were a harbinger of that we-don't-have-to-listen-to-you attitude. Wal-Mart simply set up tables and displayed their plans for the neighbors to see. A one-way meeting. No opportunity for the residents to voice their concerns. So, so different than the neighborhood meetings about north Poway developments or the amphitheater. Those days are definitely over.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Another example of the city's willingness to blow off resident's concerns is the feebleness of the EIR (environmental impact report). It's a joke. For example, consider the traffic information. The Wal-Mart EIR says that the level of service (LOS) at Poway/Community Rd is level C. But <a href="http://powayblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/honk-if-you-believe-this.html">for the last 14 yrs</a>, the city has been saying that it is level "D" or level "E". In the upcoming staff report for Lowes, the LOS of the Poway/Community Rd intersection is level "D". How did it go from level "C" to level "D" in a week? Especially since the EIR claimed that expanding Wal-Mart would improve traffic in the area. Do people just make stuff up to fit whatever conclusion is needed? </div><div>
<br /></div><div>Every year since 1997, the Poway council has made an annual declaration that <a href="http://powayblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/honk-if-you-believe-this.html">traffic sucks so bad</a> in Poway, they qualify for an exemption from state law. Every year since 1997, the traffic monsters were real, and Higginson signed his name to it. This year, for the first year since 1997, the city council has not made their annual declaration about where you cannot have a granny flat because traffic sucks so bad. So, if you are thinking about building one, hurry and get your permits. I am afraid that as soon as Lowe's is approved, the council will look under the bed and tell the state that those monsters are really, really real. And so scary. </div><div>
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<br /></div>Chris Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06489810250555135219noreply@blogger.com6