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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSupplemental - Comment from James Sachstschale on Measure W/Great Park q‘e) 1 1 � Mayor and City Council Members I am James Sachtschale. I live at On March 5, 2002 an election will be held that is key to the economic future of Orange County. Our choice will be economic growth or stagnation. An Airport that will generate 6 or 7 Billion dollars of revenue per year plus 69,000 countywide jobs; or a park that will cost an estimated 240 Million dollars a year to maintain and operate. I have three Measure W comments. They are: COSTS, TOXICS and TRICKS Polling by the Orange County Business Council clearly shows that voters oppose any additional taxes to pay for the Great Park. The cost of building the Great Park has been estimated to be 2.1 Billion dollars, and will increase property taxes 10 % county wide for 20 years. This is a $352 per year property tax increase for the average Seal Beach homeowner. That's more than $7,000 of his or her money, just so Irvine can have another park. El Toro MCAS is regarded as one of the most severely polluted bases in the U.S. The estimated cost to clean up the base for park use ranges from $1 Billion to substantially more -- maybe $2 Billion. The Navy has a year 2002 budget of$139 million to clean up ET and other bases they are closing. Where will the extra funds come from? Surely not the Navy. The Navy has agreed that they will clean up the Base to meet airport requirements, but, under CERCLA their liability for clean up is limited. Measure W is a fraud. It's a developer's dream. While masquerading as a park initiative, it is actually a development plan for MCAS property. And, the measure also subjects all other unincorporated County land to the same provisions as El Toro. ( for example; Bolsa Chica, Puente Hills, Anaheim Hills and others). The measure will allow 100 foot high rise office buildings, up to 130 employees per acre, industrial parks, strip malls, and dumps. It is simply a "bait and switch" plan for a "Land Grab" and development. I encourage all citizens to read Measure W and be sure to vote. So, when Irvine politicians promise you the Great Park for free — grab your wallets and go to your voting booth and vote NO on W.