Citizen About Town

By Nancy C. Arcuri, Editor and Publisher

Email: nancyarcuri@thecitizensvoice.net

Fax: 626-307-9081

The Olson Company held a Special Election on June 3. According to the Los Angeles County Clerk they are the unofficial winners with 1,755 votes or 52.45% on June 6 at 2:22 PM. They had 164 more yes vote to win this election.

This development company financed this special election so they can build 80 single-family units at 2015 Potrero Grande in Monterey Park. This is the old site of a long-standing nursery across the street from Resurrection Cemetery.

All of the residents on the east side of town watch many funeral processions wind down their local streets to this large Catholic cemetery.  This area is always a traffic nightmare between the funerals and the decorating of their loved ones burial sites during the holiday, especially at Christmas.

I want to thank the 1,591 voters or 47.55% of the residents for saying no to the Olson Company. We voted for more commercial development and sales tax for our city.

This developer has been very generous to the city in their support of several city events. They have spread their wealth among several non-profits and other groups before this election.  Their Major Donor statement is available on the city clerk’s website.

Their total expenditures and contributions from 1/1/2014 until 5/21/2014 are $120,879.31 or $68.88 per yes vote.

Thomas Wong, our representative on the Board of the San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District is also a Boardmember of Imprenta Communications Group.  His company consulted with the Olson Group to the tune of $7,000 to win this election.

The attorney for San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District stated that Mr. Wong did not have a conflict of interest as the water would be from the city’s water district and the additional water needed would be purchase from another water district.

Residents believe that Mr. Wong may not have had a legal conflict of interest but he had a moral conflict of interest. He has stated publically many times that we need to conserve water in this drought. Yet he pushed a yes vote to add 80 single-family homes to our drought stricken water supply.

Thomas Wong should be voted out of office. Our hometown deserves better representation.

Residents are very angry with the elected officials who supported the Olson Company. They are very short sighted and failed to imagine that the long awaited Market Place, our largest commercial site, will bring in much needed sales tax to our city. This successful shopping center, while large at 45 acres, may not be large enough for the additional commercial businesses that may want to locate in Monterey Park.

Now our last large commercial site at 2015 Potrero Grande will be rezoned for residential so we will lose additional sales tax that would be used to pay for our city’s services (fire, police, library and recreations and parks).

Short sighted elected officials and voters grasped at Olson’s promise of $440,000 in additional property tax and constructions jobs that will end when the houses are completed.

The no voters wanted to have additional property tax and additional sales tax.

When people whine that Monterey Park is over crowded with no place to shop or park ask them how they voted on Measure A?

Monterey Park has a very long and dark history of being a “pay to play city” as several elected officials, their cronies and developers have profited politically and financially on the strange developments in our hometown.

Last month we celebrated our city’s 98th birthday when our city fathers raced to Sacramento to incorporate so we would not be a sewer farm for other cities.

Has Monterey Park has become the cesspool of the San Gabriel Valley?

On June 18 the City Council will determine if our sewer rates and water rates should be increased to pay for installing new sewer lines and new water lines in our 98-year-old hometown.

The city has along standing policy of developers paying for permits and impact fees on any new projects.

Over the years residents have seen single-family homes replace with five, ten or more condos and one story commercial buildings replace with high-rise buildings.

Driving by the constructions sites we have seen the streets torn up and a small repair jobs leading to the middle of the streets, the locations of most sewer and water lines.

Did the developers add their additional kitchens and additional bathrooms to our aged sewer and water lines?

What happen to the impact fees that should have been used to pay for new sewer and water lines at the locations of all of this new construction?

Will the new developments (Market Place, Garfield and Garvey, the five hotels and the Olson project) pay to install new sewer and water lines at their locations?

According to sources at City Hall the impact fees did pay for the additional units added to our city’s water and sewer lines.  Any larger pipelines required by the development were installed at the time of the new construction.  The new constructions projects will pay to install new water lines and new sewer lines at their project site and in some cases into the surrounding area.

The Council and staff will be prepared to answer the major questions on the permit and impact fees as well as the new rates being established to replace our failing infrastructure.

Councilmembers have a stressful decision to make. Do they vote to increase the sewer rates and water rates to replace our aging infrastructure or do they vote the status quo and make emergency repairs as required?

Their votes to increase the sewer rates and the water rates could cost them on Election Day.

They should vote for what is best for Monterey Park and her future. The best decision would be vote to increase the rates to pay to install new sewer lines and new water lines for the health and safety of the residents, business owners and guests of our hometown.

Monterey Park property owners and their tenants recognize that we all need to pay our fair share in higher sewer rates and higher water rates to improve our quality of life in our hometown.