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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSupplemental - Item TBill Orton EP - October 23, 2000 Hon. Patty Campbell Mayor City of Seal Beach 211 Eighth Street Seal Beach, CA 90740 Hon. Paul Yost Chairman Seal Beach Redevelopment Agency 211 Eighth Street Seal Beach, CA 90740 Dear Madame Mayor and Mr. Chairman: I am attaching two letters, for the review of the Members of the Council and Redevelopment Agency. The first letter is addressed to Mr. Frank Boychuck, of the Seal Beach Trailer Park Resident Owners' Association (Association). The second letter is to the State Housing and Community Development Department, pertaining to the Association's MPROP application. I write to you today, as I do not anticipate being able to stay throughout the duration of tonight's joint public hearing on the city's bond policies. But I do wish to weigh in the discussion of the process that has been followed over whether and how to purchase the Seal Beach Trailer Park from Mr. Richard Hall. In my first letter, to Mr. Boychuck, I laid out profound concerns that I have over how the Association has conducted the process surrounding the proposed buyout. I have not received any reply to my letter from any board member of the Association. I was told verbally by an Association board member that my Bylaw amendments will be duly considered, but have seen no action in the past six weeks to indicate that a hearing will held on my suggestions. I have basically kept to myself over the disagreements that I have with how the Association is conducting its business. But since the Association is not the only player in this process, and as this matter may eventually involve either local or state taxpayer dollars, I feel that it necessary to now air my concerns to Members of the City Council and Redevelopment Agency. You will note that my second letter is a request to :he Department of Housing and Community Development. I am asking that the Department remove my name from the MPROP application that was sent to it by the Association and LINC. When 1 signed the document to apply for this state funding, I did so on the belief that my signature was being affixed solely and purely upon an application forth. An officer of the Association expressly told me that the MPROP forms were `just an application." 85 Riversea Road, Seat Beach, CA 90740 Bill Orton letter October 23, 2000 Page 2 At the September meeting of the Association, Mr. Hunter Johnson answered one question on this subject, and declared that the MPROP application was, in fact, the instrument that declared that park residents wanted to purchase the park. Either the Board officer who gave me the application was uninformed about the nature of the application or a practice of duplicity has been attached to this effort. In either event, I would venture to suggest that this application should not be considered as a valid instrument by which to measure the will of residents. Had it been explained to me that this MPROP application was, in fact, a dual instrument which not only served to request state taxpayer money but also to vote on the purchase, I would not have signed the application. Let it be an application, yes; but an election, no. Put quite simply, I do not sign blank checks on the dotted line. I may vote "yes" on a buyout, but only after I have had the chance to read the proposed language and exact terms. As it is, I must express to you, Madame Mayor and Mister Chairman, that I am utterly appalled by the conduct of the Association in this process. Taxpayer dollars should not be thrown into a process that can only be compared with the health care debate of 1994, in terms of secrecy and fearmongering. Buyout discussions are at a point where city and state money may imminently be committed. The indebtedness being contemplated by LINC will ultimately impact whether the city stays in compliance with state law on low- and moderate -income housing. It is incumbent upon the Council and Redevelopment Agency to ensure that any action(s) taken on a buyout reflect a clean process and the informed will of all parties involved. I ask that the city declare as "null and void" the statement by Mr. Johnson, of LINC, who argues that the MPROP application, of itself, serves as an instrument of whether the residents support a buyout. I ask that the Members of the Council and Redevelopment Agency declare that MPROP application to be exactly that, solely an instmment to seek state funds. I would finally ask that any further vote(s) on this matter be conducted by the City, through the offices of the City Clerk, and that there be a thorough opportunity for timely discussion by residents on the final terms, language and merits of any proposed buyout arrangement. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Mr. Bill Orton 85 Riversea Road Seal Beach, CA 90740 September 7, 2000 Mr. Frank Boychuck President of the Board - Seal Beach Trailer Park Resident Owners' Association 42 Riversea Road Seal Beach, CA 90740 Dear President Boychuck I have asked the members of the Nominating Committee to place my name before the voters when the organization meets on September 29 to elected officers. For purposes of campaign finance disclosure, I herein attest and by my signature do declare that the total funds expended on my "campaign" has been around $35. This was the total cost of copying and computer time at Kinkos. This amount is below the maximum allowable expenditure set forth under Section 4:12 of the proposed corporate Bylaws. I made the decision to run only recently. I have gone door-to-door in the Park to solicit support for my candidacy and stopped at your home. As you seemed to have been out, Ileft a copy of the letter that I have distributed to residents. For the last six months or so, it has been my wife who has represented our household at meetings of the Association. In as much as I support the general direction that the Board is taking, I have not wished to cause undue dissention, by pressing for abidance to parliamentary procedure. In my discussions with residents, quite a number of people have expressed deep and profound discouragement at the manner in which meetings are conducted. While there seems to be general agreement on the direction to follow, people have said to me that they do not feel like they are part of the process. Something so grand as the transition to new ownership must occur with the informed consent of the governed. While we can agree on direction, I think it is safe to say that the process could be better managed. I wish to join the Board in a spirit of cooperation, but I intend to do everything properly within my power to ensure that anyone wishing to speak on issues facing the Board will be allowed to do so and that there be clear and well-managed opportunities for public comment. I intend further to ask the Members of the Board to elect a Parliamentarian, who shall have responsibility to offer binding advice to the office chairing all public meetings. I also have a series of other suggested changes to the as -of -yet - unaccepted Bylaws. Bill Orton letter September 8, 2000 Page 2 Noting that the proposed Bylaws have not yet been adopted, I respectfully ask that my Amendment be either incorporated into the draft document, or that my Amendments be placed on the Floor of the Convention, where I wish to speak in its favor. My proposed Amendments are: Amend Section 5:01, to include the following language: "5:01(a)PARLIAMENTARIAN: After the Board Members have been sworn in, they shall immediately elect one Member to serve as Parliamentarian. Any Board Member may hold this title. It shall be the chief responsibility of the Parliamentarian to advise the Chair on the conduct of public meetings. The parliamentarian may rise at any time to offer advice. The advice of the parliamentarian may include that the gavel be passed to the next Officer, should the Chair be directly engaged in a prolonged motion or discussion. It shall take a majority of the Board to overrule the advice of the Parliamentarian. Amend Section 5:07(e), to read as follows: 5:07(e)(i )OPEN MEETINGS: All meetings of the Board shall be open to all members of the Corporation, and shall be governed by the Ralph M. Brown Open Meetings Act, which does allow for Members of a Board to move into closed session when considering personnel matters or corporate negotiations. 5:07(e)(2)AGENDAS: To comply with the Ralph M. Brown Act, advance notice, in the form of an agenda signed by an officer of the Board, shall be conspicuously posted at least seventy-two (72) hours prior to any meeting being conducted by the Board. For purposes of this section, an agenda shall be posted whenever a majority of the Board is to gather for any purpose, other than to attend a pre -publicized Park -wide social event. All agendas shall include the following: Roll call of members, approval of minutes (as kept by the Secretary), Public Comment, Old Business, New Business, President's report, Treasurer's report, Comments by the Board Members, and Q&A from the Floor. All matters pertaining to the expenditure of funds, including contracts and bidding, shall be considered under new and old business. 5:07(e)(3)PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE: Pursuant to Section 5:01, the President or the Parliamentarian shall chair public meetings, using a commonly recognized set of parliamentary Bill Orton letter September g, 2000 Page 3 procedures. Decisions by the Chair may be overridden, provided that a proper motion and second is made and that the motion is carried by a majority of the Board. If the Parliamentarian offers advice on procedure, the Chair shall heed that advice, unless the chair directly appeals to the Board and receives a majority vote to overrule the advice of the Parliamentarian. Amend Section 5:07(f), to read as follows: 5:07(f)VOTING PROCEDURE: Each member of the Board shall have one vote. All votes shall be cast in accordance with proper parliamentary procedure, and shall be duly recorded into the official minutes by the Board Secretary. No vote shall be considered official until the formal minutes have been approved at a subsequent regularly scheduled public meeting. Amend Section 5:07(g), to read as follows: 5:07(g)QUORUM: A quorum of the Board shall be a majority of the Board Members. A quorum shall be required for any meeting to be convened. Any Member of the Board may call for Quorum during the conduct of business. The recognition of an absence of Quorum shall be cause for the Board to immediately cease official business, until such time as Quorum is again recognized. Amend Section 5:07(h), to read as follows: 5:07(h)TRANSACTIONS OF BOARD. The Board shall act on items of new and old business — including matters pertaining to finances and contracts — on the principles of recognized parliamentary procedure. No item may be considered passed until it has had at least three readings. All motions must have a second. Votes may be considered official once they have been formally recorded in the minutes maintained by the Board Secretary and those minutes have been approved at a subsequent regularly scheduled public meeting. Amend Section 7:01(4), to read as follows: 7:01(4)Tbe member of the Board has had two consecutive unexcused absences of the regularly scheduled monthly public meetings. By a majority vote, the attending members of the Board may formally excuse another Member's absence, for good cause. The regularly scheduled monthly meetings shall take place on the Second Wednesday of each month. Bill Orton letter September 8, 2000 Page 4 Amend Section 7:02, to strike the following language: 7:02: ..."and shall have the effect of suspending the affected Board Member until the recall recommendation is voted upon by the appropriate constituent membership." Amend Section 10:07, second paragraph, to read as follows: 10:07: The voting procedures detailed in Sections 4:05 through 4:11 of the Bylaws shall be followed. Quorum must be present for a vote to occur on transactions involving the incurring of debt or sale or assumption of bonds in an amount exceeding $50,000.00. The Chair may not call the vote of the people until each resident who wishes to speak has had proper opportunity to address the audience. The Chair may move to close debate, but this shall require a two-thirds vote. Once debate has ended and Quorum has been recognized, a two-thirds vote of the electorate present shall be required to adopt transactions involving debt or bonds in excess of $50,000.00. Quite a lot, I know, but most of these suggested Amendments are intended to provide for all meetings to be conducted in a open and public manner, where people are empowered to be involved in debate. The final amendment is the most critical, as it covers the biggest questions of all — namely, how to consider major debt and bond transactions. It is only fair that this be the most open process of all and that any final decision is made by the same two-thirds vote threshold currently enjoyed by all California voters facing similar property -tax or assessment bond measures. Sincerely, Bill Orton 85 Riversea Road Seal Beach, CA 90740 cc: Members of the Board, plus two posted copies Bill Orton Mr. Lorraine French Representative Mobilehome Park Residents Ownership Program Department of Housing and Community Development 1800 Third Street Sacramento, CA 95814 Via facsimile: (916) 327-6660 Regarding: Application for MPROP funding for the Seal Beach Trailer Park Dear Ms. French: Earlier this summer, I was approached by an officer of the Seal Beach Trailer Park Resident Owners' Association (Association), who asked me to sign application papers for the MPROP program. For a little over a year, an effort has been waged by residents here to purchase the park, an effort which I generally support but have taken no formal position on, as no final terms have been reached. The MPROP application has been one step in a long trail of actions in this regard. When the Association board member asked me to sign the MPROP application, she assured me that in so doing, I would be signing "just an application." Nothing more. I have since come to learn that the Association officers and the management of the non-profit that the Association has affiliated itself with view this MPROP application as a dual instrument. The Association and non-profit tell me that by signing, not only was I assisting in the application process, but I was also electing to endorse the buyout of the park. I did not then, nor do I now endorse any particular arrangement for a proposed buyout. I may support a buyout, after carefully reviewing the full terms and exact language of a proposed agreement, once those terms are presented to residents for their due consideration. But no firm details have yet been presented. I will not sign a blank check and commit taxpayer dollars to an agreement seemingly drawn up in the dark. Having no details on what a proposed buyout of the Seal Beach Trailer Park entails, I cannot have my signature be viewed as an endorsement of unspecified terms. Since the MPROP application is being viewed as a dual instrument, I cannot have my name attached to it. Therefore, by this letter and with nrr signature. I ask that my name be struck from the MPROP application submitted by the Association and/or its affiliated partner, the LINC Housing Corporation. Please feel free to contact me at (562) 866-3391, if you have questions about my request. Sincerely, Bill Orton 85 Riversea Road, Seal Beach, CA 90740 SEAL BEACH TRAILER PARK Resident Owners' Association Mayor Campbell - Chairman Yost and Members of the Council and Redevelopment Agency Good evening - I'm Glenn Clark of 12 Cottonwood Lane in the Seal Beach Trailer Park. I am the Vice President of the Resident/Owner Association. Your experiences in this Council Chamber with diversified opinions being expressed all of the time make you modem day heroes in my book. I know you can empathize with me at this time. Some 18 months ago the SB Trailer Park woke up to a very large problem - A crisis would he more like it. Our homes and our way of life were in jeopardy. Our park had been purchased!!!! A Committee, of which I was a member, was formed to look into some damage control measures and to look for a permanent solution to our problems. The first thing we fumed to was the existing Covenant between the Redevelopment Agency of the City and the Seal Beach Trailer Park, Several different legal opinions were solicited as to the validity and enforceability of the Covenant. Every opinion we received indicated that the Covenant was not an iron clad, written in stone document. In fact, they said it had serious legal flaws, any one of which would render the Covenant null and void if it were tested and found wanting in Court. So we had two choices. The first choice was to pull our security blanket, (the Covenant) over our heads and hope, just like Charles Schultz's Lines, that Lucy or someone else would not yank it off, leaving us vulnerable. Our second choice was to defend the Covenant as best that we could and look for a more permanent solution. Again, we sought expert advice from people who were very aware of the problems we were facing. Their collective advice, "Buy the park"! Get this owner off of your back! So 14 months ago we started a long and convoluted process with a goal of purchasing the park from the existing owner. During this 14 -month period, we had at least eight (8) General Meetings, five (5) mini -meetings, 50 Committee Meetings, 10 Community Affairs and innumerable face to face informal questioning. We sent out about 80 communications consisting of over 10,000 pieces of paper. We conducted surveys to determine if the resident owners were interested in purchasing the park. We also formed a nonprofit corporation and received tax- exempt status from the State of California. We were busy!! Spred,bCCB rc revame bads 1020.00 Rev. 10/1/21/W Page 2 Speech to Joint City Council & Redevelopment Agency re S8 Mil in Revenue Bonds For the first few months of our quest, we seriously considered financing the park ourselves. The combined credit rating of the residents would not qualify nor allow an economically feasible loan to be raised. Then, the whole idea of a Nonprofit Corporation to act as the purchaser/manager during the life of the repayment period came to our attention. We found out that nonprofit corporations are specialty designated by both the federal and state governments to act as financial funnels to convey low interest and tax free monies into low to moderate income housing developments such as our trailer park. This low interest and tax-free money is impossible to obtain by individuals or local groups. A huge saving in interest of 2-3 percentage points is immediately apparent. (A conservative estimate of 8-10 Million dollars in interest saving has been made for our particular bond issue.) By using a nonprofit corporation to actually purchase the park, we could see the residents 1) retaining affordability (average $500 per space, per month), 2) retaining the low to moderate income mix now in the park, 3) regaining control of their destiny and 4) having complete control of the trailer park ownership once the bonds have been paid off. Because of this, and because a big hunk of that $500 payment per month will be going directly into retiring the bonds, the residents will develop a sense of pride of ownership in their park. Everyone will notice immediate improvements and appearance. A number of interested nonprofit corporations submitted their applications and resumes to the City of Seal Beach. Linc Housing Corp. was selected as the successful firm. They were far and away the most cooperative and resident oriented amongst the applicants. The President and CEO of Linc Housing, Mr. Hunter Johnson, is here tonight. The legal documentation needed to issue the Revenue Bonds to finance the purchase of the park is before this joint session of Council and the Redevelopment Agency this evening. I and this Association strongly urge the Council and the Agency to approve this necessary step in the overall purchase process. Thank you for this opportunity to address this body. sve l,mcrsaw,o,e,-�nm,d, 10­23ao w ,, 10m21/M Oft SEAL BEACH TRAILER PARK Resident Owners' Association October 17, 2000 Mayor ratty Cawnpbett a nd, Memberkof the Seal.BeacivCUy Coaftca Cha irmanv rauLYost and, Memberk of th& Sea4, Beadv RedevetopmentAgency Rt: Approvalofa.Reven"&Bon&lsmAet&Fi4,t ceith& Purch~ of the Seal Beach. rradier Park. YIL4 Aroci atww hak conducted several su"eyk of the reudentkof our Park, to- determ4*wthew tv"reitov purcham^j, th & Park, a k tong a k the monthly purchase paymenrk are. a¢fordable Thee af/forda&lay a4& take* mto- account that a n"*U er of low and. moderate- "wo- a fotkk w&& not lm, able to- afford, evervthfklevetofpayment. Sourcekawularrawugementyfor su%tabtei f%na nciwu�to- cover the, df{ference etcher ha4, beery worked. out cr i* ly E a crwely pursued.. The. reWU-k Of our la tent wraW411 survey conducted, o v Saturday, Augu4t12, 2000 were ad -follows/ outofa,tctatof123 space% 101 residentkresponded,: 98 were, Ery favor of then purchase,' 1 awul, 2 were, undecided. Tllerefom th& percentage of k*portof thos& re4ponde:ng wa k 97% amd of the tota i, Park, re6:de n ts; 78 %. Pa.g12 Mayor Patty Cawvpbdl£, City Co --,6b - Cha.dr P -,I Yost6 Red"doplAge uy if adjustments were made, tota key into account tery (10) absentee, owners an& other non-Mdrilehome- residents; thew a total of 113 spaces- woui& be a, fair basis for cadculatutg- a.n& th4k would give a n 8 7% majority of the, Iota L Rask, residents ivv favor ofpurchasin*the Park. Tiu*ASSoctatwry hay worked. long, an& hard, to- make, th k d ve a reality. the extra ord,* c coopera tiory a nct of forty by theCaty Counca,, the,Redevelopmen Agee tt, LSftt f of the City of Seal Bea.ck to a4siat iry this endeavor is muck apprec ated.by the,overwh� majority of the residents of the, Rask. Siru,erely, 77-t /I'-- �-CA�t� HS6A. Seat,Beacivrr arR k R� -% OwnersAs4ociatG»m Inc,, of Directors .�rRrE /2 Co rrru✓nO ` / ,as Lj#tt�(t� as em ,✓wo D Ga44E �9 c-J?nn�� epi CAC.. -Pp Ltr.SBCCf,Rede Age.uy-$SMf;&n&ly:10-00.wpr V 10-23-00 10:52 ALAN D ROSS LAW CORP FAX Cover Sheet TO: Patricia Campbell City of Seal Beach FAX NO.: (562) 493-9857 SUBJECT: Seal Beach Trailer Park on Riversea Road FROM: Alan D. Ross DATE: October 23, 2000 ID=818 501 8960 Pell., ALAN A ROSS L4 CORPORATION 17530 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 205 Encino, Ca4fornia 91316.3879 (81h) 301 -Mn F.1.Y(81s) s01 -8m TIME: I f),' 50 qqPM PAGES: 2, including this cover sheet. COPY ALSO SENT TO: Don McIntyre, City Manager ............ (562) 493-9857 Quinn BarrOW, Esq, City Attorney......... (213) 626-0078 COMMENTS: Please see attached letter. TRIS IIESSBGF IS INTENDED ONLY FOR THE MEW THE IWIVIOUL OR ENTITY FO VHICH IT 15 ADORESSM AMD N11T --AIN I RMEIU,10 THAT IS FSIVILEGFD, CONFIDENTIFI AND EYEWr IRON DISCLOSURE. IF THE RENDER O` IN', NCS'•^` IS Y0I THE INTENDED NECIPTEYI OR M EI@1.DTEE OR AGENT RESROI SUH1 FOR DELIVERING THE HESSNGE TO THE INTENDED NECIFIENT, YOU ARE N Irf NOTIFIED TUT MY YISSENINATION, DISrRimim OR m ING OF THIS (420401"'W" iS STIDCLLT FROHI811ED. IF YOU MW RECEIVED THIS COWNMIGTION IN ENRON, PLEASE NOTIFY IIS INNEDIATELY e' TeLEFHDNE RID RETDRY 11 1;TGINUL NIVRAW TO US BY NAIL. THANK YOU. ORIGINAL TO FOLLOW BY: Regular Mail Vll Overnight _ Messenger _ Not being sent C'v11PnXLGMPBEIl 4 ID -Ula 59L 8966—T P92/92 Alan D.Poss ...w a .o„ L<,a c;6EPeEan6n `E.ncinn,(.elifoEnb 91316--Wg oa October 23, 2000 ORIGINAL VIA U.S. MAIL COPY VIA FACSIMILE Patricia Campbell City of Seal Beach 211 8th Street Seal Beach, CA 90740 RE: Seal Beach Trailer Park. on Riversea Road Dear Mayor Campbell: This letter is in reference to a joint meeting of the Seal beach City Council and Redevelopment Agency to be held Monday, October 23, 2000 to consider authorizing revenue bands to fund the purchase of the above referenced trailer park by a tenant group. Our client, Tonia Sonju is the owner of a home within the subject trailer park. Her ownership interests have been established by litigation and are confirmed of record. our client, Sonia Sonju as a co -general partner of Seal Beach Partners, Ltd., the trailer park owner, never consented to the sale to Seal Beach Associates. In addition, Sonia Sonju has a judgment lien recorded against the trailer park property. Our clients will vigorously contest any action by any party, including the City and Seal Beach Associates, which represents itself as the owner of the trailer park, to deprive our clients of their interests in the trailer park. We request that the City not proceed with any bond issue until a full review of these matters has been concluded. Very truly yours, ALAN D.SLA CORPORATION By: Ross ADR: do cc: Don McIntyre, City Manager Quinn Harrow, Esq., City Attorney c/o Richards, Watson and Gershon Clients ..0\LEttEMS\CLMEEELL