Citizen About Town

By Nancy C. Arcuri, Editor and Publisher

E-mail: nancyarcuri@thecitzensvoice.net

Fax: 626-307-9081

Happy New Year!

A new year is a chance to renew old friendships, make new friends, recall old memories, create new memories, make resolutions to improve your life and keep your eyes and your ears focused on our government (Federal, State, County and City).

In the United States of American we the people are our government. We have an obligation to ourselves to keep our country safe and free for the many generations that will follow us over the years.

I have long been a watchdog at the Monterey Park City Council Meetings and often speak up on issues that I don’t believe that will benefit our hometown.

At the January 7 Council Meeting an agenda item: 4-A Development Agreement with LINC Community Development to purchase 236 S. Ramona Ave and 321, 325, 341 and 371 E. Pomona Blvd and 534 N. Chandler Ave was discussed at the meeting.

However, LINC keeps changing their development plans. They have now requested the Council amend their development plan to include the purchase of the city owned parking lot for $540,000 and an acquisition loan of $2,080,000 to acquire the other 25 units of city owned loan-income housing. This loan will be held by the city based on the staff report for a term of 55 years.

I spoke against the sale of the parking lot located at 236 S. Ramona in the heart of our civic center to LINC so they can build six low-income units.

My reason is parking is a very valuable at our civic center and we need to have additional parking for people seeking our city’s services.  The law requires that any funds received from this sale must be used on another capital improvement like another parking lot.

Why sell our parking lot to purchase another property and tear down the house to build another parking lot?

Since the City does not want to be a landlord I believe in the sale of the other 25 low-income units that the city now owns. However, I am not comfortable with their request for a 55-year term on the loan that the city will be the lender. The funds from this loan can only be used to purchase another re-development low-income housing project in the future.

Who in our city government will be alive over the next 55 years to be sure our city is paid as agreed by an agency that may no longer exist on this loan?

This is a true gamble for the taxpaying voters of Monterey Park.

I stated if the Council majority approves this deal and it closes escrow. The city manager should run a check for $540,000 across the street to see which property owners are willing to sell their home to Monterey Park for a parking lot in the civic center.

The staff reports also states LINC is working with Citibank for a construction loan for approximately $7,000,000 to build the six units and rehab the 25 other units.

Peter Chan asked for a breakdown of the construction loan and was advised by LINC that $6,000,000 would be the cost of the construction of the six units and the other $1,000,000 would be used to rehab the other units.

LINC stated the project would require underground parking that is expensive. The city would be granted19 parking spaces in their project.

This deal is based on the funding of tax credits issued by the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee.

According to a representative from Keyser, Marston and Associates, the city’s consultants, that the investors will be involved for the first 15 years of the project and they will not let the project fail.  It is also normal for governments to allow for a 55-year term to run with the low-income housing overlay.

City Attorney Mark Hensley and his office were still working with LINC and Citibank on the subordination agreements on this project.

LINC’s construction loan is for a term of 20 months and Citibank would be proving a permanent loan for approximately $600,000 with a term of 35 years.

According to the staff report the City and Successor Agency would be subordinated the loans to Citibank’s construction loan.

Mr. Hensley is trying his legal best to protect our city in case of a default by LINC.

Peter Chan, Anthony Wong and Hans Liang voted to approve this agenda item.

Peter Chan is an accountant. Anthony Wong sells real estate. Hans Liang is a probation officer with Los Angeles County. He stated that his trusts the staff reports and he makes his decisions based on their recommendations.

Teresa Real Sebastian and Mitch Ing voted against this item.  Teresa Real Sebastian did not agree with LINC on the 55-year loan term. They keep changing the terms of the development agreement.  Mitch Ing agreed with her that LINC is requesting a loan term that is not reasonable. They both agreed that it is not prudent to sell a city owned parking lot for development in our civic center.

I asked one of the LINC representatives if they had their $7,000,000 loan approval from Citibank. I was told that they needed the city to approve the project before they can get their loans approved.

A Special Meeting was held for January 14 for the Second Reading but now LINC is again changing the terms of the deal. They want an option to extend the $7,000,000 construction loan for two six-month extensions with the permanent loan of approximately $700,000 for 55 years.  The bulk of the construction loan would be paid off with tax credits per LINC.  They also want to take out an additional loan for $500,000 for a 55-year loan. This new loan would be subordinated to the city’s first trust deed.

The new Secord Reading is now scheduled for January 26 at 6:00 PM in the Council Chambers.

During the latest meeting it was disclosed that City Manager Paul Talbot wants to make this deal with LINC.

Monterey Park taxpaying voters should ask Councilmembers Peter Chan, Hans Liang and Anthony Wong how selling our city owned parking lot to a non-profit developer for a housing project in our civic center benefits us?

Their answer is that this project could help low-income people with affordable housing.

I guess our requests for more parking at City Hall and the Library by longtime residents does not matter to them.

So three of our Councilmembers are putting the interests of a non-profit agency that pays their employees approximate $100,000 or more a year before the needs of our residents.

I am very disappointed in their lack of leadership on this issue and several other issues that affect our hometown.