CITY MANAGER RUSSO IS IN THE DRIVERS SEAT….HOW SAFE DO YOU FEEL?
Our Fugacious, City Manager Mr. Russo and Assistant City Manager Marianna wrote an editorial about the current state of “Fiscal Reckoning”, in the City of Riverside. He was trying to defuse the message that the city is going down the path of bankruptcy. I think Mr. Russo needs to leave the messaging to the professionals. His office is only making it worse and more obvious. You can read the full article on the Press Enterprise.
Who are the Perennial Critics or should I say who are the Truth Tellers. Me Vivian Moreno, Dvonne Pitruzzello, Raychelle Sterling, Jason Hunter, Kevin Dawson, Karen Wright, Marilyn Whitney, Aurora Chavez, Scott Simpson and my man Javier Moreno, we all work really hard and our motivation is to protect the underserved, disabled, elderly, and the taxpayer/ ratepayer from bad decision making at city hall that will ultimately raise taxes and our utility bills.
Because I was referred to in this article I needed to answer or clarify the statements that were made. We took out all the fat or unnecessary verbiage and just left in the substance.
There is nothing ethically wrong with these practices, NO… IT”S JUST PLAIN STUPID, and they are certainly not illegal. Depending on who you ask. Indeed, many cities employ some variation of such budgeting practices, and Riverside could have continued doing so for many years without encountering serious financial difficulties. Just like the city of Bell.
The city’s new administration has spent several months working to institute the kind of fiscal discipline required to generate healthy and sustainable budgets well into the future. This process has been difficult at times for everyone involved. A $1 million surplus projected for fiscal year 2015-16 – built on the type of budgeting we should no longer allow – has morphed into a shortfall of about $8 million. This shortfall, if not corrected with sustainable ongoing measures, will result in a $10-12 million budget hole in fiscal year 2016-17.
We encourage everyone in Riverside to attend the council’s budget hearings or go to EngageRiverside.com to let us know what you think and be a part of that solution. Together, we will ensure that our city’s great past will be honored by an even greater future built upon sound and secure finances. What a joke! sound and secure finances were built on the backs of the RATE payers, overcharging and bilking Riverside Public Utilities has been going on for over a decade. The City Council is responsible for this entire fiasco. THEY OWN IT! The Perennial Critics encourage everyone to attend.
John A. Russo is Riverside city manager; Marianna Marysheva-Martinez is assistant city manager.
NOW FOR A LITTLE MUSIC TO SOOTHE THE SAVAGE BEAST…
VOTE VIVIAN MORENO MAYOR 2016, DON’T FORGET THE DEBATE TOMORROW NIGHT APRIL 28TH AT THE STRATTON CENTER (7:00PM TO 8:30PM), BORDWELL PARK, 2008 MARTIN LUTHER KING BLVD., RIVERSIDE.
According to RivPublic, anonymous contributor to Thirty Miles of Corruption, “And about Russo, the man rocks! Can play the electric guitar and keyboard (and kinda sing??). Maybe he could pull a rabbit out of his hat and find some $$$$ too!”
TMC, RATED RIVERSIDE’S REGIONAL COUNTIES MOST, “NEGATIVE,” “RAUNCHY,” “LOW CLASS,” “VISIONS OF GRANDEUR,” “FULL OF B.S.,” “IGNORANT,” “MISGUIDED,” “BULLYISH,” “FILTHY,” “SICK,” “PERVERTED,” “DEFAMATORY,” “STUPID,” “PATHETIC,” “DESPICABLE,” “DISAPPOINTING,” “BELOW THE BELT,” “A NEW LOW,” “SHOCKING,” “OFFENSIVE,” “OBNOXIOUS,” “INAPPROPRIATE,” “HURTFUL,” “MEAN SPIRITED,” “DISTASTEFUL,” “EMBARRASSING,” HORIFFIC,” “SLANDEROUS” “FIT TO BE VIEWED FROM THE REAR” AND MEZZSPELLED, “MISSPELLED” AND “OPINIONATED” BLOG SITE! YES WE ADMIT WE OUR ALL OF THAT AND MORE, WHICH IN CURRENT TERMS IS KNOWN AS “UNPOLITICALLY CORRECT.” TEMPORARILY BLOCKED BY THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE AT PUBLIC ACCESS SITES WITHIN THE CITY, THEN UNBLOCKED. I GUESS YOU CANNOT DO THAT ACCORDING TO THE ACLU. RATED ONETWO ONE STAR OUT OF FIVE IN TERMS OF COMMUNITY APPROVAL RATINGS.. … AGAIN, THANK YOU COMMUNITY OF RIVERSIDE AND THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE EMPLOYEE’S FOR YOUR SUPPORT! CONTACT US: thirtymilescorruption@hotmail.com
The VIC awards are given to those “Very Important Citizens” that demonstrate outstanding involvement in the political process for all who live in the City of Riverside. These are citizens that are willing to take on the political process for the betterment of us all and dedicated to making the City of Riverside a quality city for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
These are the people fighting the causes that are changing the process, future, and structure at City Hall. Through the selfless effort of many, these people have made significant change in the fabric we all call home. These are the people who make the effort to attend city council meetings on Tuesday and are not afraid to speak up. They do it without a retirement package, paycheck, or a car allowance.
This year the award goes to Marilyn Whitney, for being one of the most influential citizens who has made change for the betterment of her community. In lieu of being called crazy and misinformed she kept the fight and shined the light on a housing development that would have been built on improperly cleaned, contaminated land. This development is called AG Park.
Marilyn has been instrumental in bringing the AG Park issue to City Council. Also, getting the media source KTLA involved and interested in the issues of AG Park. Marilyn last year was new to council meetings but has brought a lot to the table since then. She made sure that thee AG Park issue didn’t go away, in doing so, she changed helped change how the City of Riverside has done business with developer buddies such as Chuck Cox. During this year, Marilyn received a letter from Developer Chuck Cox’s lawyers to “Cease and Desist,” as to stop her first amendment right of free speech with reference to public comment at City Council. This was a back fireing blow to developer Mr. Cox., because later in the year the light of exposure brought to the forefront the true reality of this cover up. Thsi was a someone has done someone wrong type scenario, and it came to light.
She created the AG Park Family, and exposed the misdoings of the Department of Toxic Substance Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), developer Chuck Cox and former scumbag Ward 7 Councilman Steve Adams. With her efforts, the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice (CCAEJ) Director Penny Newman took notice, then the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took notice, now there are investigations being forwarded on the Congressional level. The community of Riverside expects accountability for those individuals and entities involved, and we believe we will see it 2016. From all of us at the TMC Family, we Congratulate and Thank-you, and simply say Well Done….
Newly christened Ward 7 Councilmember-elect, John “the Exterminator” Burnard, is already embroiled in controversy. In an email from Burnard (jburnard@riversideca.gov) to Ag Park (aka, Arroyo Park) family member, Marilyn Whitney, which was then forwarded to RRR (Residents for Responsible Representation) Chairperson, Sharon Mateja, Burnard states, “Got this done today,” in reference to a, “Stop Work,” order issued to the developer of Ag Park by the City.
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Thirty Miles of Corruption asks Burnard to elaborate on the email. What exactly did, “he,” get done? Many in the Ag Park family are confused and annoyed that Burnard seems to be taking credit for something he could not have accomplished single-handedly. Despite our inquiry, Thirty Miles of Corruption.com has not yet heard back from Burnard. Councilman-elect Burnard (as he hasn’t been formally sworn in yet) can contact us via our email address: THIRTYMILESCORRUPTION@HOTMAIL.COM
We want to make something VERY clear to Mr. Burnard: just as your predecessor Steve Adams has done nothing so far to help his constituents in regards to the Ag Park issue, you have yet to do so either. He may have made a statement or two about it during his campaign expressing his sympathy, but talk is cheap. We also believe that the longer Burnard is in office, the more his views towards Ag Park will resemble Steve Adams’, because Ag Park will be major legal issue going forward and we believe his loyalty will be to the City insiders’ club, and not his Ward 7 constituents. We hope that will not be the case, but are not overly optimistic.
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE DTSC LETTER
As we understand, this DTSC (Department of Toxic Substances Control) letter was received by City Manager, John Russo, on June 16th at approximately 5:30 PM. In response, Russo made the decision to initiate a “Stop Work” order as is indicated in this City News Release.
CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE NEWS RELEASE LETTER
Russo thereafter contacted Public Works to officially process the, “Stop Work,” order and deliver it to developer Chuck Cox’s head engineer, Bob Beers. To our knowledge a Councilperson doesn’t have the power or authority to issue a, “Stop Work,” order. Soooooo…a person, who is not yet a Councilmember, and even if he was, doesn’t have the power to unilaterally halt a project, seems to want to take credit for other peoples’ hard work. Is this an aberration or the beginning of a pattern? Time will tell.
CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE “STOP WORK” NOTICE
“Got this done?” Got what done? We guess if you are a supporter of John Burnard’s you just gotta love the big lug … maybe even expect more of the same, “leadership from behind,” in the near future. Perhaps it’s just an error in judgment. But, as we are told, if you need someone to kill bugs, he’s your man. Some Ward 7 residents are asking, “Is he also developer Cox’s man?” since he got a campaign donation from him, and (from the top picture) is also on hugging terms with Councilman Steve Adams … who was definitely Cox’s guy. If an exterminator know one things, it’s toxic business, so he should fit right in dealing with this mess.
La Sierra resident, Jim Martin, recently confronted Burnard about the campaign donation. According to a witness, and apropos of our, “WTF? Observation of the Day”, Burnard indicated he didn’t know this was the developer Chuck Cox, but perhaps another person by the same name! COMMENTS WELCOMED!
REMEMBERING FORMER INTERIM CITY MANAGER LEE MCDOUGAL… What his fixation was with peoples’ behinds, we’ll never know. Here you go Lee, the way the residents of the City of Riverside will always remember you… Did you get enough of our money to make your payments? “Got Skeletons in Your Closet?”… you gotta know we know.
SEPARATED AT BIRTH?
While McDougal was certainly a step in the right direction for City of Riverside (a very low hurdle considering his two predecessors, Scott Barber and Brad Hudson, were ethically on the same level as most common criminals), we still bristle at his attempts to censor the public through disparate camera angles and removal of, “controversial,” videos from the City’s website. You were a good soldier for your masters … just not a very American one.
Was McDougal somehow afraid or offended by a full frontal? From his past it sure doesn’t appear so … things that happen in Montclair don’t always stay in Montclair! Until next time Lee…
TMC, RATED RIVERSIDE’S MOST, “VISIONS OF GRANDEUR,” “FULL OF B.S.,” “IGNORANT,” “MISGUIDED,” “BULLYISH,” “FILTHY,” “SICK,” “PERVERTED,” “STUPID,” “PATHETIC,” “DESPICABLE,” “DISAPPOINTING,” “BELOW THE BELT,” “A NEW LOW,” “SHOCKING,” “OFFENSIVE,” “INAPPROPRIATE,” “HURTFUL,” “MEAN SPIRITED,” “DISTASTEFUL,” “EMBARRASSING,” HORIFFIC,” “SLANDEROUS” AND MEZZSPELLED, “MISSPELLED” AND “OPINIONATED” BLOG SITE! TEMPORARILY BLOCKED BY THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE AT PUBLIC ACCESS SITES WITHIN THE CITY, THEN UNBLOCKED. I GUESS YOU CANNOT DO THAT ACCORDING TO THE ACLU. RATED ONETWO ONE STAR OUT OF FIVE IN TERMS OF COMMUNITY APPROVAL RATINGS.. TMC IS NOW EXCLUSIVLY EXCLUSIVELY ON FILE WITH THE COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE’S DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE (WE BELIEVE THIS WILL END SOON, SINCE THE FOCUS IS NOW ON THE IMPROPRIETIES OF MR. “Z”. WE TRIED TO TELL YOU, BUT NOBODY LISTENED), AND DON’T FORGET WE ARE PROSSIBLY POSSIBLY ON FILE WITH THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE’S POTENTIAL SLAPP SUIT LIST… A STRATEGIC LEGAL MANEUVER THAT CAN BE DONE ONLY IN RIVERSIDE WITHOUT A CONTRACT… AGAIN, THANK YOU COMMUNITY OF RIVERSIDE AND THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE EMPLOYEE’S FOR YOUR SUPPORT! COMMENTS ALWAYS WELCOMED, ESPECIALLY SPELL CHECKERS! WE JUST CAN’T SPELL! EMAIL ANONYMOUSLY WITH YOUR DIRT BY CONTACTING US AT: THIRTYMILESCORRUPTION@HOTMAIL.COM
On Wednesday, May 29th, a forum on the history and health issues surrounding Riveride’s Ag Park was conducted by Penny Newman. Newman concluded that the seriousness of the violations present at the site will probably end with someone going to jail. Newman stated that developer Chuck Cox knew there were PCB’s in the liquid sludge, and that it would have to be incinerated. However, as that would’ve been expensive, he instead decided to mix the liquid PCB’s with dirt to make it bulk waste so that it could be hauled off to Kettlemen Hills Toxic Dump site.
City workers were sent in to clean up the sludge. Haz mat was never called. The question is what did Chuck Cox know and when did he know it? We believe he knew something.
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Newman also told the crowd of several dozen that the original description of the AG Park property submitted by Cox to the DTSC was that of “vacant,” never mentioning it was a former sewer plant. Therefore, DTSC (Department of Toxic Substances Control) was misinformed.
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Bob Beers, Cox’s Engineer, told Newman that they had the proper document to show that they had the right to be on the property. This October 04, 2003, Press Enterprise article stated that there was a contract with the City of Riverside, which read that, “subject to obtaining a grading permit from the city, shall….demolish and remove from the Ag Parcel the concrete, asphalt and sewer debris currently located thereon to the reasonable satisfaction of the city.” Former Assistant City Manager Michael Beck mentions Cox, “jumped the gun.” Was Beers disingenuous with Penny Newman?
At the AG Park Forum, resident Jim Martin gives a bit a history that took place early on in 2003. We have to give the utmost respect and credit to Jim Martin, who has been an advocate for the AG Park neighborhood longer than anyone we can remember. As is usually the case in the River City, no one listened to him when the solutions were less messy.
Both Council Candidates, John Burnard and Alysia Webb for Ward 7, attended the forum. Burnard was seen taking a slew of notes during the forum, sitting next to Press Enterprise reporter Alicia Robinson. Were these to take back to developer Chuck Cox and the city of Riverside for damage control?
Residents told us that they when they asked Ward 7 Council candidate, John Burnard, if he had received any contributions from Developer Chuck Cox, he stated emphatically, “No.” So we at TMC investigated .. and what we found is that Mr. Burnard received a $100 contribution from …. (drumroll) Developer Chuck Cox, as indicated in his 460 filing.
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Who else is donating to Burnard’s campaign? Ward 1 Councilman, Mike Gardner, contributed. Of course current Ward 7 City Councilman Steve Adams was is a supporter as well. Adam’s, whose long relationship of being tied to developer Chuck Cox, would leave a bad taste of toxins in anyone’s mouth … something we know pesty Burnard is an expert in.
Burnard has the support of a slew of unions, even the SEIU, which is quite remarkable since we are told he is a registered Republican. (Burnard must have overlooked this endorsement, since he has yet to mention it publicly.) The last time a council candidate didn’t agree with the union machine, we the public coughed up $100,000 for an investigation that concluded with the Council voting “not to vote”.
Hopefully, all this should give those in Ward 7 an idea of who and who not to vote for. We endorse candidate Alyssia Webb, who has not received any union contributions, possibly because she wholeheartedly represents the concerns of the average residents of Ward 7, particularly in regards to the Ag Park issue. If elected, will we see another Councilman Mike Soubirous character assassination?
Ward 7 resident, Jim Martin exposes that while Burnard is telling everyone he was against Measure L, all his current supporters were for it. Meanwhile sources were telling TMC that Burnard was originally for Measure L, but was convinced at the last minute to place his vote against it.
Riverside Police Officers Association gave Burnard $10,000.00, Riverside Firefighters Legislative Action Group gave $6,095.48, Greater Riverside Chamber of Commerce gave $1,000, IBEW $1,000, California Apartment Association Political Action Commitee $1,000, Ted Weggeland, President of the Raincross group, $250.00.
If you are part of the Ward 7 AG Park Family who will serve your interest? Vote Alysia Webb Ward 7, the Ag Park Council Choice.
OTHER RELATED AND PREVIOUSLY WRITTEN TMC STORIES ON AG PARK:
Above pics show the digester, a diagram of the digester, more of the broken digester, the sludge and the city of Riverside attempting to dilute the concentration of contaminants with soil. (Click Images to Enlarge).
All City staff and Council involved in this mess should resign immediately. You know who you are. The most heartbreaking part of all of this is that people have died and there are many who are very sick. The City of Riverside would have continued to cover-up the dirty little secret in Ag Park if it weren’t for some really great citizens. It was Dvonne M. Pitruzzello, Errol Koschewitz and TMC who went door to door in the Ag Park talking to the citizens in the area for a couple of days because we were so upset at Councilmember Steve Adams and his arrogant behavior especially about this project.
From there we found Marliyn Whitney, who has become the mighty force behind the fight to uncover the real story of Ag park. Thank you, Marilyn, for your dedication and tireless effort keeping your neighborhood informed and the City aware that this is not going to go away until there is accountability for the cover-up and devastation due to the misdeeds of some of our “leaders”.
OVER COLLECTION OF FUNDS FROM RIVERSIDE PUBLIC UTILITIES:
AT A WARD 1 COMMUNITY MEETING IN THE WOOD STREETS, JASON HUNTER, HOLDS COUNCILMAN MIKE GARDNER ACCOUNTABLE FOR HIS PROMISE OF TAKING ITEMS OFF THE CONSENT CALENDER IF A CONSTITUENT ASKS. NOT TRUE SAYS HUNTER! WOULD THE REAL MIKE GARDNER PLEASE COME FORWARD? WHEN ASKED, GARDNER RESPONDS, “SOMETIMES I WILL, AND SOMETIMES I WON’T!”
TMC, RATED RIVERSIDE’S MOST, “VISIONS OF GRANDEUR,” “FULL OF B.S.,” “IGNORANT,” “MISGUIDED,” “BULLYISH,” “FILTHY,” “SICK,” “PERVERTED,” “STUPID,” “PATHETIC,” “DESPICABLE,” “DISAPPOINTING,” “BELOW THE BELT,” “A NEW LOW,” “SHOCKING,” “OFFENSIVE,” “INAPPROPRIATE,” “HURTFUL,” “MEAN SPIRITED,” “DISTASTEFUL,” “EMBARRASSING,” HORIFFIC,” “SLANDEROUS” AND MEZZSPELLED, “MISSPELLED” AND “OPINIONATED” BLOG SITE! TEMPORARILY BLOCKED BY THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE AT PUBLIC ACCESS SITES WITHIN THE CITY, THEN UNBLOCKED. I GUESS YOU CANNOT DO THAT ACCORDING TO THE ACLU. RATED ONETWO ONE STAR OUT OF FIVE IN TERMS OF COMMUNITY APPROVAL RATINGS.. TMC IS NOW EXCLUSIVLY EXCLUSIVELY ON FILE WITH THE COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE’S DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE (WE BELIEVE THIS WILL END SOON, SINCE THE FOCUS IS NOW ON THE IMPROPRIETIES OF MR. “Z”. WE TRIED TO TELL YOU, BUT NOBODY LISTENED), AND DON’T FORGET WE ARE PROSSIBLY POSSIBLY ON FILE WITH THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE’S POTENTIAL SLAPP SUIT LIST… A STRATEGIC LEGAL MANEUVER THAT CAN BE DONE ONLY IN RIVERSIDE WITHOUT A CONTRACT… AGAIN, THANK YOU COMMUNITY OF RIVERSIDE AND THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE EMPLOYEE’S FOR YOUR SUPPORT! COMMENTS ALWAYS WELCOMED, ESPECIALLY SPELL CHECKERS! WE JUST CAN’T SPELL! EMAIL ANONYMOUSLY WITH YOUR DIRT BY CONTACTING US AT: THIRTYMILESCORRUPTION@HOTMAIL.COM
PROPOSED BOUNDARY MAP WITH DEVELOPMENT IN COMPARISON TO ORIGINAL 1963 AERIAL (CLICK TO ENLARGE PIC)
Current housing development now known as Arroyo Park approximately superimposed over a 1963 aerial of the original Riverside Sewer Site. Red Arrow over proposed boundary map (second pic-below left) displays approximate position of broken sewer digesters. The housing development within the dark lines is the proposed properties which will be under consideration of the new community facilities district. The new homes and properties will be subject to the additional tax on top of the standard property tax. Third pic below right, original aerial of the Riverside Agricultural Park which includes the original City Sewer System.
Resident Jim Martin speaks about Developer Chuck Cox’s comment regarding the AG Park property (aka Arroyo Park) being a “toxic dump” site. ( CLICK THIS LINK TO VIEW YOUTUBE). Resident of Ward 7 Jim Martin, calls out council and reinforces the statement that developer Chuck Cox referenced AG Park, aka Arroyo Park, as a “Toxic Dump.” Martin also made the claim that the City of Riverside spent over $1 million on the initial clean up of this site, therefore the City of Riverside has a tremendous investment in this project, regardless of what we are hearing. Further he speaks of the credibility of DTSC (Department of Toxic Substance Control) for the State of California. What he also states is that the original 15 inch diameter sewer line is significant, why was this significant? It’s significant because this concrete pipe contains PCB’s (Polychlorinated Biphenyls), but was broken up into smaller pieces and now stands in a huge pile waiting for Jurupa Avenue extension to be completed according to Developer Chuck Cox’s engineer Mr. Beers, and this PCB infused concrete rubble will be the the foundation of the Jurupa Avenue extension. It is now known that the oversight by DTSC on particular toxic sites is in question. Further, it is not argued as to why they are being investigated.
TMC was sent the following pics which were purported to show crushed toxic infused concrete being mixed with soil as the foundation for the Jurupa Avenue extension for that property, as Jim Martin stated at public comment, March 3, 2015.
CLICK ON ABOVE PICS TO ENLARGE
What can be seen in the mounds of dirt right behind someones backyard, with what appears to soil infused with crushed concrete, in the subsequent photos one can see crushed concrete laid out and graded by the machinery, then what appears to be mixed in with soil and graded.
Again we see the developer hard balling, intimidating and attempting to strong arm the residents. Residents who attempt to ask the simple question of how they have been impacted by toxic materials that may not have been properly addressed. One resident in particular Marilyn Whitney, was sent this letter by Developer Chuck Cox’s attorney Allen Matkins, who incidentally also does work on occasion for the City of Riverside. The letter appears to utilize the lawyers tools of intimidation, hoping you don’t know your rights scenario. Similar letter was sent to KTLA Channel 5 reporter Kacey Montoya.
The following letter from the County of Riverside, Department of Environmental Health which states that test sampling must be witnessed by a Haz Mat representative. Further the letter specifically states that the letter does not relieve the City of Riverside or other associates (possibly developer Chuck Cox) of any responsibilities mandated under the the California Health and Safety Code, if additional or previously unidentified contamination is discovered at this same location. The reason this is important is that the Community Advocates brought the issue of AG Park to the County Supervisors, only to be told by them that this was a City of Riverside issue.
CLICK IMAGE TO VIEW FULL LETTER
Activist Vivian Moreno, attempted to correct interim City Manager Lee McDougal from “waffling” on the issue that the City of Riverside “screwed up.” McDougal also states that DTSC (Department of Toxic Substances Control) canceled their appointment to speak on the AG Park issue. TMC has learned that the reason DTSC canceled their appointment with the City of Riverside is that they could not support the City’s position on AG Park (Arroyo Park), therefore there was a no show. It’s interesting to note they backed out from speaking at Council on short notice. The following is interim City Manager Lee McDougal splaining explaining the whole situation.
Interim Riverside City of Riverside Lee McDougal explain how he feels he was quoted regarding what many at a Friday Morning Club Meeting at the Goeske Senior Center. Many are saying he was “back pedaling” and “waffling.” Activist Vivian Moreno interrupts McDougal and Mayor Bailey gets involved. Again, many now see Lee as a “Smooth Operator.” Cheating is cheating is cheating, and whether it happens to the public, a friend or a spouse – its still cheating. McDougal did give the community the option to have properties tested independently tested at the City of Riverside’s expense. He states that no scientific evidence was given to him, but maybe he does not know how to interpret scientific data. Chief Financial Officer Brent Mason gets involved toward the later part of the video.
The below advertisement shows that the AHV is in the process of selling these homes before they are built.
Advertised through AHV Homes. While residents adjacent and within the vicinity are claiming deaths and illness from cancer, would you purchase a home here, as many are asking. The City of Riverside and Developer Chuck Cox continues to discredit the residents of this area as what appears to be allegedly a “cancer cluster.” According to the below letters sent by developer Chuck Cox to KTLA’s reporter Kacey Montoya and AG Park resident Marilyn Whitney, there is “no toxic dump site.” This was sent by the law firm of Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natisis LLP, which incidentally, also does work at taxpayer expense for the city of Riverside.
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Yep, a bit on the scary side as many are saying, but don’t shoot the messenger Allen…. A “bullshitter,” as residents are stating, or a law firm you can depend on? Again, an entity hired by the city of Riverside not to defend the taxpayer, but to screw them. Another parasitic law firm, like Best Best & Krieger, that feeds on the sweat of the taxpayers. Worst of all, they retaliate against the taxpayer with their own money. Those that are elderly, sick and dying.
So let me get this straight, first Cox gets attorney Allen Matkins to send letters to KTLA reporter Kacey Montoya and resident Marilyn Whitney telling them that AG Park is not a “toxic dump.” But on March 3rd Chuck Cox publicly calls AG Park a “toxic dump”? There is definitely something rotten in Denmark.
Another fine dirty land deal? What has been commonly known as AG Park a 21.34 acre housing development to built over contaminated ground, cleared by DTSC as safe for development. In order to pay for all the incidentals, which the developer usually incurs the cost, they are proposing to council to set up a CFD in order to hit the taxpayer for $6 million, rather than those responsible. It appears that the property will change hands under developer Chuck Cox’s Friends of Riverside Airport LLC to Friends of Riverside Airport-RSI Arroyo Park LLC, and the developer would like the City of Rivesride to implement a special levy, by declaring the development site a Community Facilities District, aka Mello-Roos. This means a special tax will be collected to pay for all expenses he is responsible for to the tune of $6 million. Is Chuck Cox the City’s new $6 million dollar man? Or will it only become a Bionic crisis for the taxpayer? The problem that has yet been addressed, has the property been given a clean bill of health in lieu of the Department of Toxic Substance Control being investigated.
The Community Facilities Act (more commonly known as Mello-Roos) was a law enacted by the California State Legislature in 1982.[1] The name Mello-Roos comes from its co-authors, Senator Henry J. Mello (D-Watsonville) and Assemblyman Mike Roos (D-Los Angeles). The Act enabled “Community Facilities Districts” (CFDs) to be established by local government agencies as a means of obtaining community funding. Counties, cities, special districts, joint powers authority, and schools districts use these financing districts to pay for public works and some public services.[2]
A Mello-Roos District is an area where a special property tax on real estate, in addition to the normal property tax, is imposed on those real property owners within a Community Facilities District. These districts seek public financing through the sale of bonds for the purpose of financing public improvements and services.[3] These services may include streets, water, sewage and drainage, electricity, infrastructure, schools, parks and police protection to newly developing areas. The tax paid is used to make the payments of principal and interest on the bonds.
Therefore, localities that have been empowered by state law or local law can levy these special taxes on their residents to fund the capital costs of a wide variety of public improvements (such as roads and sewer services), as well as the ongoing operation and maintenance costs of a limited number of public services (such as schools, police and fire protection services, libraries, etc.) that benefit the community. But of course, these are prone to abuse.
The work on this project to date has been undertaken by the City’s financing team, which consists of bond counsel (Best Best & Krieger), special tax consultant (Albert A. Webb Associates) and the financial advisor (CSG Advisors). Staff members from the Finance Department and the City Attorney’s Office are coordinating the formation process. This already should be telling seeing that Best Best & Krieger and Albert A. Webb & Associates are in on this deal.
Some of the details of the language being brought forward to the Riverside City Council as follows:
Owner has the option to purchase that certain real property located on approximately 21.34 gross acres of land including Tract No. 28987 (the “Property”) located in the City, commonly known as “Arroyo Park” from Friends of the Riverside Airport, L.L.C., a California limited liability company. Of course it is commonly known as “AG Park.”
The City, is in the process of establishing a community facilities district pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 2.5 (commencing with § 53311) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code, commonly known as the “Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982” (the “Act”), over and including the Property for the purpose of levying special taxes (the “Special Taxes”) and selling bonds, in one or more series (the “Bonds”), in an amount sufficient to finance the acquisition of land and improvements thereon for public use, and the design, planning, engineering, installation, and construction of certain public facilities and improvements, to be owned, operated or maintained by the City (the “City Facilities”) to satisfy the obligation of the Property and the Owner for the payment of certain fees to the City. The Public Facilities are generally described in Exhibit A attached hereto, which Public Facilities are necessary to the development of the Property. Said community facilities district shall be known as the “City of Riverside Community Facilities District No. 2015-2 (Arroyo Park).”
Section 3. Types of Facilities and Incidental Expenses.
(a) The types of public facilities proposed to be provided for and financed by the proposed community facilities district are street and road facilities, including street lights and traffic signals, storm water drainage facilities, water system facilities, including capacity in existing facilities, sewer system facilities, including capacity in existing facilities and sewage treatment capacity, or such other facilities of the City which have a useful life of five years or longer(the “Facilities”).
(b) The incidental expenses which will be incurred are: (i) the cost of planning and designing such facilities and the cost of environmental evaluations thereof, (ii) all costs associated with the formation of the proposed community facilities district, issuance of the bonds thereof, the determination of the amount of and collection of taxes, and costs otherwise incurred in order to carry out the authorized purposes of the community facilities district, and (iii) any other expenses
The following is what is proposed that these properties pay for in the proposed Funding and Acquisition Agreement which is set for approximately $3.9 million, but the actually wiggle room requested expands to $6 million, therefore $2.1 million in taxpayer monies are questionable in appearance.
This was discussed at City Council at 2:00pm on March 3, 2015 on the discussion calender, public invited to speak on the this subject. We believe this should not go forward until the issue is fully investigated by an outside independent agency with reference to the safety issues brought up by residents, but will appear again for discussion and approval April 28, 2015 at 3:00pm within the City Council Chambers. Concerned community members should show up for this very important issue.
What public speakers had to say on the proposed issue:
Section 4. Special Taxes. Except where funds are otherwise available, special taxes sufficient to pay for all such facilities, to pay for debt service on other obligations of the City relating to such facilities, and to pay the principal of and interest on the bonds of the proposed community facilities district and the annual administrative expenses of the City and the proposed community facilities district in determining, apportioning, levying and collecting such special taxes, and in paying the principal of and interest on such bonds and the costs of registering, exchanging and transferring such bonds, secured by the recordation of a continuing lien against all taxable or nonexempt property in the proposed community facilities district, shall be annually levied within the proposed community facilities district. This is also in the above Intention to Establish CFD, (Community Facilities District), but referring to Section 4.
AG PARK BACKGROUND: ACCORDING TO THE FOLLOWING CITY OF RIVERSIDE MEMO TO FILE PER DEBBIE ANDERSON, ASSOCIATED ENGINEER, THE DIGESTER BREAKAGE OCCURRED IN AND ABOUT JULY 1ST OR 2ND OF 2003 ACCORDING TO COX’S ENGINEER BOB BEERS. This is important because Jorge Moreno, Office of Communications for the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) stated that the department didn’t get involved until 2005, two years after the fact. The response plan by DTSC, according to their records, was not approved until 2006. You may ask, why? We are asking the same questions. Incidentally, DTSC is currently being investigated.
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But again, we have Phil Pitchard, Intergovernmental and Communications Officer for the City of Riverside, contacting Kacey Montoya attempting to discredit and slander the Moreno’s. They had recently been told by a former prior high profile executive within the City of Riverside, that the effort to remove them from there place of business was instigated by former Assistant City Manager Belinda Graham, as allegedly stated, “a personal vendetta.” Mrs. Graham, who is known to work better horizontally, as opposed to vertically some city insiders have stated. This contradicts the City of Riversides moniker as a business friendly city. What is more remarkable, we found more small business owners have stated the same, but were afraid to openly state it for fear of retaliation. What is that all about? What it is about, is how the City of Riverside does business, and it’s not pretty.
JORGE MORENO, DTSC PHIL PITCHFORD, CITY OF RIVERSIDE
Incidentally, Phil Pitchard previously worked for the Press Enterprise of which very little, obviously, has been reported with reference to the AG Park issue, although many residents surrounding this development have claimed illness and have reported family deaths to unusual circumstances. Was Pritchard given the job by the city in order to covering up a really big stories such as AG Park? Is he a journalist or a snake? Cause we are snake trainers. As his email indicates, his attempts to silence the message and slander the messenger. I checked, Jorge Moreno is not related, thank god… PR person for DTSC who was quick to defend his department of any wrong doing. Our suggestion is that the City of Riverside hire Jay Carney… at least he is more entertaining and can be part of a more believable spin.
Jay Carney had the art of words, and could have ‘splained just about any alleged malfeasance or bad press coming from the White House..
In one NBC investigation first reported February 2, 2013, “People are getting sick, people are dying and community members are crying out.” said one DTSC source. “We’re not doing near enough; in fact, we are allowing it to happen.” A second DTSC source stated, that the “expectation the public has of being protected is not being served.” The hazardous waste tracking system seems to be problematic. The investigative unit analyzed the most recent 13 years of hazardous waste tracking system data and found that 44 percent of the entries detailing types of hazardous waste were listed as blank, unknown or invalid. It was found that part of the problem could be the DTSC staff itself. A state audit by the California Department of Human Resources found that 59 percent of employees in the DTSC department were just not qualified to hold the positions they held. There is simply no doubt that there are problems within the DTSC, and for the City of Riverside to claim a clean bill of health is debatable at the very least.
ACCORDINGLY, TMC JUST LEARNED THAT FORMER AND FIRED CITY ATTORNEY CHRISTINA TALLEY WAS HAVING DIFFICULTY PAYING ATTENTION ON THE DAIS! While it was noted by interim City Manager Lee McDougal at the Goeske Center, the Friday Morning club was told she had two phones, she would be texting someone on one and playing a “game” on the other. This may answer the question as to why she appeared at times, surprised, as a deer caught in the headlights. I as the CEO of the City of Riverside and employer would ask my council to ask for a part refund from Best, Best & Krieger for her lack of duties, as well as not representing the best interest of the taxpayers. The City of Riverside hired the controversial law firm Best, Best & Krieger, who gave us one of their historically problematic attorneys, Christina Talley.
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RIVERSIDE COUNCIL MEMBERS SIGN A COMPLAINT TO REMOVE THE LAW LICENSE OF FORMER RIVERSIDE DEPUTY ATTORNEY RAYCHELE STERLING. In what appears to be a conspiratorial closed door retaliatory move, certain council member signed off on a bar complaint against former deputy attorney Sterling, in what appears to a retaliatory move to silence her public speaking. Sterling was fired for reporting fraud under former City Attorney Gregory Priamos. As a result of the bar investigation their complaint was unfounded. This was an attempt Councilman Steve Adams (who was also serving as Mayor Pro Tem at the time), Councilman Andy Melendrez, Councilman Chris MacArthur and new Councilman Jim Perry. Councilman Mike Soubirous and Paul Davis refused to part of this underhanded activity and refused to sign the document. What Adams didn’t know would happen, was that it open many closed session meetings to be made public. This is going to definitely change the perspective of these councilmen when they listen to tapes that were never meant to be made public.
The disgusting part was that three of the five Temecula City Council had some connection to Rancon Real Estate, a development they needed to vote on.
The hotel’s owners are represented by an agent with Rancon Real Estate Corp. According to Thorson, Rancon Real Estate’s chief executive officer is Dan Stephenson, who also founded the Rancon Group, a Murrieta-based collection of development-related companies of which Comerchero is president and CEO.
Stephenson has been the top donor to all five council member’s political campaigns, and Roberts’ son is a Rancon Real Estate agent, although he is not the listed agent for the hotel.
Naggar and Washington are investors in limited liability companies managed by Stephenson, according to Thorson’s report. Naggar is also a real estate consultant to several of those companies.
The question is if we the public “own it.” Why must we waste our profits in advertisements? After all Riverside Public Utilities only serves the public. I believe this wasteful advertisement money should be returned to the taxpayer, as well, as any other monies funneled into other creative financing accounts.
RUMOR MILL UPDATE ON FORMER RIVERSIDE UTILITIES ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER OF RESOURCES, AND NOW “RETIRED” PRIVATE CONSULTANT GARY NOLFF: The word around the grapevine is that the controversy that ensued after the exposure of Nolff’s $200/hr consulting contract with Riverside Public Utilities, is the mysterious Mr. Nolff is now working for Best Best & Krieger, who is working for Riverside Public Utilities. It is now our premise that in order for Nolff to distance himself from the Reiko Kerr controversy, the City of Riverside strategically asked BB&K to hire him. Therefore, taxpayers monies are now being funneled through the no contract BB&K arrangement in order to pay Nolff’s consulting fees. Again, residents are silently asking the question to TMC, for obvious fear of retaliation, what the heck’s going on here? To many in the community these kind of relationships bear an uncanny resemblance to what some might call a “criminal organization.” Again, don’t shoot the messenger BB&K: you made the incestuous bed you lie in.
We’ve heard rumblings from various online PE commenters complaining that their comments were blocked/edited/removed. Freedom of speech does not seem to claim precedence over getting across, “the agenda,” on the Press Enterprise comment section. For one thing, TMC has been blocked… and many in the community have said the same. So what is up Press Enterprise, are you the Fourth Branch of Government, or only Pravda? We made a call months back and asked the PE if there was any reason that we, TMC, would be blocked from commenting. They answered that there was no reason they felt we should be blocked, and there system as they saw it, showed that we were not blocked. Well TMC did a test this week regarding one of their editorials: Innovation Changes the Climate Change.
Then we signed off, and voila! The comment disappears. Now you see it, now you don’t! PE readers have noticed the low amount of commenters, and less of those who can criticize. Is this the new PE? To control the message? We welcome your comments, especially the PE. Even though we felt that the PE didn’t tell us the truth, or just wasn’t privy to understand the real issues at hand, we felt this was important enough to know where the PE stands. Is there an obligation to the public, or is it now just to an elite few?
THIRTYMILES BANNED FROM COMMENTING ON THE PRESS ENTERPRISE..THE CLAIM IS THAT THEY ARE CONNECTING PEOPLE TO THEIR COMMUNITY?…BUT ARE THEY REALLY?
Evidently we did one of these, we don’t know which, but it could be one or just all of them.
CAN NEWLY CHRISTENED RIVERSIDE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY FIND SOLACE IN THOSE WHO DIDN’T SUPPORT HIM? WILL THESE NEW ASSOCIATIONS CHANGE HIS ORIGINAL CAMPAIGN OATH TO THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE? The question to District Attorney Mike Hestrin is why is he embracing those that didn’t support him? Such as Senator Jeff Stone, (Mr. Law Enforcement Impersonator), Sheriff Stan Stiff Sniff, Supervisor Kevin Jeffries, Supervisor John Tavaglione, Supervisor John Benoit and of course, who many are stating is the, “ringleader,” Supervisor Marion Ashley..
How many from this cast of characters are embedded in land deals throughout the County of Riverside? And who are their cohorts, who support their business dealings. The real question is, “Will Hestrin unveil the scam of developing properties through the mechanism known as newly incorporated cities?” That is: taking properties from their owners via code enforcement and newly voted upon resolutions, which then can be exploited at their own discretion?
WILL NEW CITY ATTORNEY GARY GEUSS BE ABLE TO HANDLE THE TRASH LEFT BEHIND BY FORMER CITY ATTORNEY GREGORY PRIAMOS? WILL HE BE ABLE TO KEEP THAT SMILE ON HIS FACE FOR LONG?
TMC, RATED RIVERSIDE’S MOST “OFFENSIVE,” “INAPPROPRIATE,” “HURTFUL,” “MEAN SPIRITED,” “DISTASTEFUL,” “EMBARRASSING,” HORIFFIC,” “SLANDEROUS” AND MEZZSPELLED, “MISSPELLED” AND “OPINIONATED” BLOG SITE! TEMPORARILY BLOCKED BY THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE AT PUBLIC ACCESS SITES WITHIN THE CITY, THEN UNBLOCKED. I GUESS YOU CANNOT DO THAT ACCORDING TO THE ACLU. RATED ONETWO ONE STAR OUT OF FIVE IN TERMS OF COMMUNITY APPROVAL RATINGS.. TMC IS NOW EXCLUSIVLY EXCLUSIVELY ON FILE WITH THE COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE’S DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE (WE BELIEVE THIS WILL END SOON, SINCE THE FOCUS IS NOW ON THE IMPROPRIETIES OF MR. “Z”, WE TRIED TO TELL YOU, BUT NOBODY LISTENED), AND DON’T FORGET WE ARE PROSSIBLY POSSIBLY ON FILE WITH THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE’S POTENTIAL SLAPP SUIT LIST… A STRATEGIC LEGAL MANEUVER THAT CAN BE DONE ONLY IN RIVERSIDE WITHOUT A CONTRACT… AGAIN, THANK-YOU COMMUNITY OF RIVERSIDE AND THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE EMPLOYEE’S FOR YOUR SUPPORT! COMMENTS ALWAYS WELCOMED, ESPECIALLY SPELL CHECKERS! WE JUST CAN’T SPELL! EMAIL ANONYMOUSLY WITH YOUR DIRT BY CONTACTING US AT: THIRTYMILESCORRUPTION@HOTMAIL.COM
jehunter51
