The auction of the old Pacific View Elementary site is moving forward despite protests at Tuesday's school board meeting.
Nearly 100 people attended the Encinitas Union School District's board meeting in an attempt to convince the trustees to postpone or stop the auction of the property. The opponents of the auction asked district leaders to keep the space public.
"This was a gift from the public, by the community to the school district and it's time for the school district to reciprocate," said a speaker.
[...]
The trustees told the group to share their concerns at Wednesday night's City Council meeting. The auction is planned for Tuesday, Mar. 25 at a minimum bid of $9.5 million.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Pacific View sale to continue
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Boring.......
ReplyDeleteThis is a nonprofit operation not a city priority
What can we do go get the city to make the bid/purchase? Also, is the zoning correct for a developer to build houses? I think the city (me being a taxpayer and knowing the realities) needs to pony-up and buy it.
ReplyDeleteThe city is totally broke, and not being honest about how broke it is.
DeleteIf you want transparency, write your council and tell them you want to see park costs, debt service, pension costs, and deferred road maintenance openly discussed in this May's six-year financial plan.
WCV
No way José. If Kitty wants to buy this property they should sell part of a hall property
ReplyDeleteWCV
ReplyDeleteYou sound just like THE WHINER KEVIN CUMMINS and you comments are an exaggeration
So show me the numbers.
DeleteI'd be happy to be proven wrong.
WCV
Gotta go with WC here, offer up your numbers if you know differently, instead of bad mouthing Kevin. The city cannot afford to buy Pacific View, and as Chatfield said, it's been a wasted 10 years of wrangling..
DeleteMoney Talks, and you know what walks..
-Mr Green Jeans
The city can afford Pacific View if ---- the council cuts salaries on the highest paid, eliminates at least 5 job positions over $100,000, come clean on the maintenance expense for the Hall property and adjust it to less than $200,000 a year instead of the $1.5 million projection, drop the multi-million dollar life guard "shack" and drop the underground tunnels.
DeleteIf those 100 people pony up $100K each you'll own PV. You'll also own a rundown, asbestos filled eyesore. But hey at least you'll be able to put your art gallery there and collect...$180K per month says Lynn. Nice return on your money.
ReplyDelete8:50 encinitas taxpayers now own Pacific View - It is EUSD and the board of skunks and seeming kleptocrats along with Tim Baird screwing the populace- just like Obama, Bush, Harry Ried and John McShame have been screwing the populace- IT's called taking from you to give to their friends
DeleteMore illogic from Marr....
ReplyDeleteI haven't posted on this thread, before. Keep my name out of it if you aren't willing to give yours.
DeletePacific View is NOT filled with asbestos. Inspections have shown that any problematic asbestos HAS ALREADY BEEN REMOVED. The School District is talking about auctioning the property off to be sold for residential or mixed use development, which would require privatization, that is REZONING out of the public domain.
Baird made more misstatements. The Encinitas School District, which is different from Encinitas Union School District, which was not formed until 60 years later, was created to accept the land donation from JS Pitcher in 1863, and to raise initial monies through a school bond for $600, which was a great deal of money, back then.
The land already belongs to the public; it should remain in the public domain, for the greatest common good, for a true community arts and learning center. Scott Chatfield, who began the excellent website, SavePacificView.org never said or implied that the City cannot or should not buy Pacific View. Mr. Greenjeans, you are sounding, there like a Gus Vina/Glenn Sabine/Tim Baird apologist.
I agree, 7:07 is projecting his own boredom onto the threads begun by WCV, here. Again, if you are bored, why do you rush to be the first to post a comment on a thread that you find so boring?
A public speaker during oral communications at the 3/12 CC Meeting, last night, talked about how I had suggested that those City Employees (and contractors) making over $100,000 per year should take a 20% pay reduction, DOWN to $100,000, but he left out that part of it. I wasn't talking about an across the board 20% reduction. Mr. Cole, I believe he said his name was, didn't bother to give examples in the private sector, although he brought that up. The best way for the City to save money is to cut operating expenses, do a hiring freeze, not to add more taxes. More on that on another thread. I bring it up, here, because the City can afford Pacfic View, because it would have a reliable lease revenue stream, and would bring great value to our community.
Can I borrow $100k to pony up?
ReplyDelete-Mr Greenjeans
The distant between the mind and the heart is insurmountable.
ReplyDelete7:07 You're not only bored but you are ignorant. There is currently no non profit organization involved in any of this. There was a group called ArtPulse that seduced the EUSD and lied about their finances. EUSD claims they offered a "bid" of 7.5 million, but it was spoken word. When the time came for them to pony up a $300k deposit, there wasn't any money. Tim Baird keeps blaming "the city" and that is an out right lie. Also in cahoots was John DeWald who wanted to build 6 homes on the PV site, and the EUSD would've received $30K per home. The EUSD are worse than a drug cartel.
ReplyDeleteYeah, no mention of ArtPulse's lack of funds in Baird's presentation last night...
Delete-Mr. Greenjeans
DeWald did "pony up" $100K, which was refundable through the end of October, 2012. Because rezoning was so uncertain, he dropped out of escrow and was refunded his $100K, instead of coming up with another $200K, which would have made a total of $300K, non-refundable, after 10/31. DeWald risked very little. Art Pulse had put in nothing, but time and PR through April Game. Art Pulse's primaryl source of money, at the time, was a loan, through a benefactor.
DeleteThe Art Pulse/DeWald plan called for 7-9 twin home lots, so that would have been 18 twin homes plus at least one "caretaker's unit" in the monolithic structure composed of "classrooms," which also could be designated as offices or retail spaces, in the new mixed use zoning classification, for which DeWald/Art Pulse had applied.
When DeWald dropped out of escrow, he effectively withdrew his application for rezoning. There is currently NO application on record. Previous applications were turned down because they did not meet CEQA standards, or receive Council's endorsement.
The city can afford Pacific View if ---- the council cuts salaries on the highest paid, eliminates at least 5 job positions over $100,000, come clean on the maintenance expense for the Hall property and adjust it to less than $200,000 a year instead of the $1.5 million projection, drop the multi-million dollar life guard "shack" and drop the underground tunnels.
ReplyDeleteA formation of pigs was just spotted flying over Leucadia!
DeleteI agree, 9:53. Most community members, who are aware, and who care, have a can-do attitude re establishing an arts and learning center at Pacific View, through a non-profit that would lease, rehab and maintain the pre-existing classrooms. No zoning change would be necessary, and no environmental impact report absent significant redevelopment.
DeleteHow maybe employees make over 100,000... The cabinet team and maybe 5 other people....c'mon.
Delete7:33
DeleteHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Try 66 in 2012! Probably more in 2014. And that's wages alone -- benefits are on top of that.
WCV
That about sums it up...
ReplyDeleteNext topic please.....
New taxes on the council agenda tonight. What is the current sales tax in Encinitas? In San Diego county?
ReplyDeleteThree of the council members want the transaction and use tax (TUT) which only requires a simple majority of the voters to pass. You pay the tax no matter where you are. If you buy something from northern California, you pay Encinitas TUT. Net scheme. The five council members spent all the city money on the Hall property. Previous councils approved new fire stations and spent over $15 million to make the fire people happy.
Tell the council NO! No taxes!
2:27 - if you have to ask "What is the current sales tax in Encinitas? In San Diego county? ", then you haven't done your homework and are thus disqualified from the discussion. Hint: the answer was in Vina's presentation to the council as a bullet point - kind of hard to miss........
Delete- The Sculpin
3:34 PM
DeleteThe question was rhetorical. Have you done your homework?
This won't pass tonight. Muir and Gaspar will oppose because they don't want to be seen as raising taxes. Barth and Shaffer will support raising our taxes becuae they beleive it is ok to ask you the private worker to work harder and pay more to support their 'social justice 'programs that make them feel good about themselves while it makes you poorer.
DeletePhony Tony will oppose the tax increase after having gotten a call with marching orders from Papa Doug at the UT.
Well then 3:41, hit me with a brick! My clairvoyant skills seem to be failing me......regardless, the highest rate in CA is 9.75%, much less than SD's 8%. That said, without a budget, I don't know how anyone can make an honest decision about a tax increase - yea or nay.
Delete- The Sculpin
Isn't Kranz in D.C. on some kind of junket? Will he be at tonight's meeting? If he isn't it would be a 2/2 split. Maybe he will Skype in.
Delete4:46 PM
DeleteThe highest rate is 10% in the cities of Pico Rivera, South Gate, and La Mirada.
2:27 are you kidding me! Barth, Shaffer and Phony Tony are terrible! They want to take your money becuae their management sucks
ReplyDelete2:38 ALL of the council wants our money and that includes Muir and Gaspar. If not for increase in taxes, it is for something else. We need to replace all of them.
ReplyDelete3:04 with all respect Gaspar and Muir opposed further talks on this subject. I am no fan of those two - the pension hog Muir and teh developer backed Gaspar- however the shoe on this one fits the so called community character candidates- Barth, Shaffer and Phony 'deep local roots' Kranz
DeleteI have a great idea for raising net discretionary funding, reverse the 35% mistake from $tock$ and reduce all (existing employees) pensions to 2% @ 62 in one vote just like they raised it in 2005 . In 2014. , council should right the wrong!!!! Do it next month council. It can and must done!!!!
ReplyDeletePlease get it straight: Three other council members and Stocks raised the pensions by 35% in 2005. Bond voted no. Please stop attributing the increase to Stocks alone.
DeleteTrue, but it's more fun to pick on Stocks, 'cause he was so cranky, in additional to be a total RINO...
DeleteGo to Costco and get taxed additional sales tax for being an Encinitas resident.
ReplyDeleteIt's doubtful the city can afford the property, especially since no one knows what it's worth. 3:05's solution is unrealistic and speaks to a basic misunderstanding of how the world works......as my southern friend likes to say. "well, bless 3:05's heart...."
ReplyDeleteThe only way anyone will make any headway with the city's finances is if they understand where the finances have been. We need to see historical financials as well as the budgets that corresponds with those financials to see how realistic historical budgets were. This will then give us an idea of how realistic the current budgets are. Without this information any ideas on how to fix this mess are pure pie-in-the-sky guesses. Sorry if I've missed it, but can someone point me to where I can find this stuff? I've looked......
- The Sculpin
Sculpin,
DeleteIf you want past budgets, go to the city web site and click Finance on the left bar and then Budgets.
But past budgets are a very crude starting point, because we now have four major issues hitting all at once:
- The city has been underfunding road maintenance by $2 - $3 million or more every year. Continuing to defer like this will increase eventual replacement costs substantially.
- The city has been underfunding pensions by several million dollars per year. Calpers is eventually going to stop that charade.
- We have a brand new park with undisclosed operating costs.
- We have much higher debt service going forward due to the new debt issued for the park.
Put those four together and you are at minimum looking for many millions of dollars per year over and above what we are spending today.
What's the plan?
WCV
I remember former mayor and council member Jim Bond talking about how historically, year after year, the City's projected operating costs were significantly less than the actual operating costs, which he said was not sustainable.
DeleteSculpin is wrong as usual.
ReplyDeleteCouncil can and should cut existing payments to 2% at 62 as of the date they pass the resolution. They should be no different. The Pers retirement schedule would be 2.7%@55 from 2005 til 2014 when council changes it then it's 2% at 60 from that point forward. Legal and simple. Council needs to do it.
Sculpin sounds worried because he's probably a city employee bless his heart... Sorry train is coming
--just saying
4:52,
DeleteSadly, that doesn't seem to be the case. Recent court rulings have come down that government workers are entitled to keep getting the most generous pension they ever had for as long as they keep working.
So you can't cut their pensions, but you could lay them off instead.
WCV
... or you could cut their pay enough to bring down their pensions.
DeleteWCV
Or the amount of employee contributions can be increased. Also, I would like to have some authority for "recent court rulings," so I could look them up. Because I don't see why changes cannot be made, prior to someone's retiring, who is a govt. employee. In fact, my understanding is that the County made big changes, but it may have been through increasing employee contributions.
DeleteLynn,
DeleteStart here.
http://reformpensions2014.com/
The whole reason behind the initiative is to allow cities to cut pensions on a go-forward basis.
WCV
I agree. Make all city pensions the same ~ 2% at 62 for existing and new employees.
ReplyDeleteExisting employees just got windfall pension benefits from 2005 until city council passes the resolution the year.
It needs to get done to save our city. Tell your council now- cut pensions to 2%@62 for all employees NOW!
No Taxes but cut the pensions!!!!
WC please provide reference court precedence . I'd love to read about it....
ReplyDeleteIf it's the case, cut their pay !!!
http://www.mercurynews.com/pensions/ci_24782960/pensions-city-workers-cant-be-cut-but-pay
DeleteThe mayor of San Jose, a moderate Democrat, is pushing a ballot initiative this year that would change this. Expect the unions to spend millions to kill it... and they will probably win.
WCV
WC
ReplyDeleteThey still get paid their retirement accrued at 2.7% at 55 for the time earned. We are not reducing their earned pension to date.
At a new point in time council can set a new retirement benefit at 2% @ 62 for all employees.
Please provide the case or law that states otherwise?
Thanks
Yes I wish it were so but that San Jose case is about accruals going forward, not about cutting past earned benefits.
DeleteIt's unfair, but it's the way the courts have come down and it doesn't look like that will change unless we do it by ballot initiative.
WCV
... but on the bright side, this doesn't apply to management, so the council could cut Vina's and his cabinet's pensions tonight.
DeleteMaybe I'll watch to see if they do that.
WCV
Thx for the link... I read up on it. Some local hot shot attorney should be all over this.....
ReplyDeleteIt's the only way to save our city!
Don't expect Marco Gonzales to do anything. He has changed his thinking and is now on the side of developers and DEMA. He is the lawyer for NOT preserving Desert Rose, and he is on the Encinitas Hospitality Group. We all know how that is going. Marco is a sell out, make no mistake about that.
DeleteFirst speaker just skewered council!
ReplyDeleteThat was Oral Communications. Pacific View comments were 1 1/2 hours later.
ReplyDeleteCondo Ridge.....on the books.
ReplyDelete