By Nancy C. Arcuri, Editor and Publisher

Email: nancyarcuri@thecitizensvoice.net

Fax: 626-307-9081

My dear readership I have very sad news for you. Our Lions Club have lost their lease with the city of Monterey Park because they could not afford the $1,920 past due rent on the garage they rented at the Service Club House.

The members asked that their $160 a month current lease payments to be waived for the duration of the lease because of the current poor financial standing and their past due amount be waved.

The City Council was in discussion on adjusting the rent to $1 a year for the 2016 year with a balloon payment of $1,919 due and payable in January 2017.

This was first place on the agenda in November 2015 for discussion.

The Council asked the Lions Club for to provide the last three years tax returns, a business plan and their year to date profit and loss statement.

The members presented the requested documents at the March 16th meeting.

The White Cane Day Inc. tax returns proved the financial hardship. The members created and sold their famous white canes to clubs around to world as a means to raise fund to manufacture more of the white canes.

The Monterey Park Lions Club is a non-profit so the tax returns did not list a profit.

This part of the club uses their funds to conduct eye testing on many of the local students. If the child needs glasses and their family cannot afford to purchase the glasses then the club has been paying for them as part of their public service.

The Council read the tax returns and questioned if Councilmember Stephen Lam could be involved in the discussion since he was an officer of the club before he sat on the Council.  He did not have a financial interest in the club and received no income for serving on the board.

Mark Hensley, the city attorney, said the Fair Political Practice board said Councilmember Lam could discuss the Lions Club lease in a letter that he requested their decision on this agenda item.

Councilmembers Mitch Ing and Teresa Real Sebastian disagreed since the FPP did not know that Councilmember Lam was an officer.

Councilmember Real Sebastian left the meeting since she is an attorney and is held to a higher standard.

The Council took no action on the agenda item.

Several residents and club members spoke in favor of amending the lease and waving the past due rent since the Lions Club has been part of Monterey Park’s history since 1937 each time it was place on the agenda.

Please read the decision made by the Monterey Park Lions Club in the Letters to the Editor section.

During the March 16th meeting the Council held two public hearings appealing the Planning Commission’s Conditional Use Permit for wireless towers on 901 Corporate Center, a five story building and 417 North Garfield Avenue, Christ Lutheran Church.

Mark Hensley gave the Council legal advice why they could not deny the requests for the wireless towers including the possible health issues and devaluation of property values. The Federal Communications Commission has determined that the cities, counties and states have very few legal rights to deny the wireless towers. It can be denied if it is a public nuisance.

After public hearings with testimony from the applicants that their cell phone service needs additional cell towers and the public on the possible health issues and loss of their property values the Council approved the wireless tower on Corporate Center under protest.

The Council suggested that the residents asked our Congressmembers to help change this law.

The Council asked for more detailed information from AT&T’s request to have a bell tower built in front of the church for their wireless tower. The staff report has a Cross at the top of the tower that would be their cellphone antenna.

During the April 6th meeting the Council held a public hearing and heard testimony from the applicant and the public.

AT&T had their representative and one of their lawyers at the meeting demanding their right to have a cellphone tower at this location. They threatened to sue Monterey Park it they did not get their way.

Several residents spoke against using a church for profit and the Cross for a wireless tower so AT&T could expand their service. The unknown health issues were also discussed since the law was created in 1996.  Several new reports state the dangers of cell phones and other radio wave devices for young children and people in ill health.

Two church members were in favor of this project that would provide them with $2,000 a month income from AT&T. One church member spoke out against using her church for this purpose.

The pastor did not attend this meeting since he was in China. The church members did not state if they voted on this issue per their church constitution.

AT&T provided written documentation that their service was spotty in that neighborhood so they needed another cell phone tower at that location.

Councilmembers listened to the speakers’ concerns. They expressed concerns about the possible health issues that could not be used as a reason to vote against the item.

They also questioned the spotty service since Councilmember Teresa Real Sebastian drove around the city checking her AT&T cellphone for service. She reported that she received great service in our city.

AT&T’s web sight advertises full coverage service in our city.

She also took pictures of the location on Garfield that cannot exceed 40 feet based on our zoning laws. The cellphone tower would be 52 feet, which exceeds our height limits in that neighborhood.

The height of the cellphone tower and using religious symbols to transmit wireless waves could be used by the Council to deny the Conditional Use Permit voted on by three members of the Planning Commission. The Council could determine that this bell tower is a public nuisance to the residents of Monterey Park.

Councilmember Real Sebastian provided documentation by the Burbank City Council denying a cellphone tower to built on a small church in their city.  AT&T did not sue Burbank for their decision to support their residents.

The Council had issues with AT&T’s documentation and decided to continue this agenda item until the April 20th meeting.

Councilmember Mitch Ing said his AT&T phone drops calls at the City Hall so he and Councilmember Teresa Real Sebastian suggested that AT&T consider putting their cell tower at City Hall.

AT&T representatives agreed to provide more documentation and attend the April 20th meeting.

On April 7th I called the Southwest California Synod in Glendale 818-507-9591 to voice my concerns about the new bell tower to be built at the Christ Lutheran Church using the Cross, as an antenna for cellphone service.

The office staff member, Andrias, said each church has a different constitution and their bishop has little or no power over the churches.  The membership makes all of the decisions.  They would pay property taxes but they would not pay any income tax on their profits from AT&T.

I invited Bishop Guy Erwin to attend our April 20th Council Meeting since one of his churches insists in using the Cross as an antenna.

It is very offensive to residents of Monterey Park and other surrounding cities to use a religious symbol for profit.

Please attend the April 20th Council Meeting to express your concerns on this issue.

Please also contact your Congressmember regarding the FCC regulations that deny the rights of “We the People”.

This is an Election Year for some of our Federal Senators and Congressmembers so they maybe more willing to listen to your complaints against the bullies at the FCC.

Please study all of the issues and histories of the candidates so you can be an informed voter on Election Day.

The November 2016 election will determine the future of our United States of America.