Meeting Monday February 25, 2008

Our next meeting will be at 6:45PM at the MAAC Charter School at 1385 Third Ave. (between Palomar and Quintard, east side of street).

It is important that you come to this meeting and renew your membership or join. We will be planning for 2008. We want to hear about your issues.

Mobile Home residents please come and make sure your issues are at the top of the list for 2008. Also find out how the mobile home park residents can have a HUGE impact in the next election. People opposing the peaker power plant, Palomar Gateway residents, people sick of the infrastructure problems, businesses sick of being hassled unfairly, etc. show up and make your issues our goals for 2008.

Infrastructure

City engineer asks that all potholes (and graffitti) be reported to 397-6000. With the recent rains it is obvious that some of the roads and the unpaved alleys are violating the city's storm water permit report mud, debri, etc. that is being washed into storm drains to Christina Arias at carias@waterboards.ca,gov. 858-627-3931.

June Ballot News

Proposition 98 will be on the June ballot. It is called an eminent domain initiative, but it actually would end rent control. Prop 99 prevents eminent domain from being used against owner occupied residential property.

The General Plan Protection Initiative will be on the ballot. It will allow Chula Vistans to vote on any proposal to build higher than what the General Plan now allows.

The city council is wasting staff time and money it doesn't have on an ordinance, a financial analysis of this initiative, and a proposition of its own. They are afraid to allow the people to have a say in this matter.

This is a very important election year. Two city council seats are to be voted on. Steve Castaneda is up for re-election. Pat Moriarity and Scott Vinton are opposing him. Jerry Rindone is termed out so his seat is open. Pamela Benthousen and Russ Hall are running for this seat. There may be more candidates, since the filing deadline is in March. If no candidate gets 51% of the vote in June the two top candidates for each seat will be on the ballot in November.

Independent Financial Audit

This document shows that the Public Financing Authority (city Council) on June 30,2007 had assets of $152, 883,805 and Total Liabilities of $282,034,176. This is a deficit of $129,150,371. Essentially the Public Finance Authority borrowed the money for the new Corporation Yard, Police Station and Civic Center. It built the buildings and is now leasing them to the city. The city's lease payments are the service on these debts.

When the total interest is added to the principal the police station when paid off in 2033 will have cost $102,236,447. Phase1 and Phase 2 of the Civic Center when interest is included will cost $99,794,611 by 2036 when paid off. Phase 3 apparently did not involve debt until recently when there was a cost over-ride. These are figures from the December audit. Recently some of this debt was refinanced at a lower interest rate, but at a cost of nearly one million dollars and with an extension of the loan and an increase of the debt.