City of Clovis 2011 Public Utilities Survey

After reading number 15 on the City of Clovis 2011 Public Utilities Survey.

# 15  "Are you aware that property owners are responsible for the maintenance and repair of sidewalks and gutters in front of their property?"

The City Council decided to take no action to have the developer responsible for damaging or constructing the infrastructure so poorly that throughout the development paving, curbs, gutters and sidewalks are fractured and in many cases failing before the subdivision is even completed.

I believe the developer was given a pass because he is considered privileged and not to be held accountable, while citizens and private contractors are at the same time being required to repair an even minor cosmetic damage.

This is now beyond a case of, our tax dollars being used to replace the infrastructure as it fails well before it’s normal designed life expectancy, infrastructure failing, as a direct result of the damage or poor workmanship.

The Public utility survey we received puts us on notice: We as property owners will be held personally liable for repairing damage caused by our developer or subcontractors working directly for him.

I will be filing a complaint with the Fresno County Grand jury this week.  I will be requesting an investigation into preferential treatment of certain developers, related to rezones and lack of accountability, coincidentally contributors of thousands of dollars to Council member campaign funds.

I believe if impartially investigated, we will have a replay of operation rezone.

DOG Report: March 18, 2011

The agenda is posted for the March 21 meeting of the City Council:

http://www.ci.clovis.ca.us/Government/PublicDocuments/Documents/Agenda20110321.pdf

1. PUBLIC HEARINGS

A. Consider Approval - Res. 11-___, Establishing new fees for new state mandated inspection services. (Staff: S. White) (Continued from the March 7, 2011 council meeting)

B. Consider Approval - Res. 11-___, Adjusting the Hourly Labor Rate for services in the Building Division. (Staff: S. White) (Continued from the March 7, 2011 council meeting)

C. Consider Approval - Res. 11-___, Adjusting Inspection Services and    Encroachment Permit Fees. (Staff: S. White)

This is a story that almost writes itself:

Item 1 A

More new fees!

Item 1 B

Raising the hourly rate for inspections!

A side note cut from the backup documents:

The actual cost was calculated at $105 but they are magnanimously only asking for $95.

Problem:

The other ten dollars per hour, rather than being paid by the users of the services, as it is planned and by the way reasonable, will be passed on to be paid out of the general fund being charged to the many citizens who actually paid full value of the inspections when their homes were built. (In effect double billing) while giving the building industry a break.

 Item 1 C:

More fees being raised!

2. ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS

A. COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Consider Approval – Authorize the City of Clovis to join the Statewide Community Infrastructure Program and Authorize the Statewide Communities Development Authority to Take Actions Necessary to Operate the Program. (Staff: T. Sumner)

The backup on this document is almost the story of why our way of life is being threatened.

Highlights in the backup you need to note:

Clovis fees are higher than others.

Developments are not expanding because of the higher fees.

Rather than addressing why the fees are higher we simply put them on a credit card to be paid down the road.

Only property owners who choose to participate in the program would have

assessments imposed on their property.

NOTE:

Property owners as used here, does not mean what you think!

The property owner is the developer.

The developer puts the fees on credit / bond, so they can reduce the selling price of the home, mention to the buyer that there some bond debts associated with the home and they are home free.

Now all of the development fees are now paid by the new homeowner along with their property tax.

The one or two property owners doing the development, make the decision and place the burden on each and every parcel and future owner.

Because fees amount to many thousands this smoke and mirrors system instantly lowers the selling price, while raising the property tax cost by the same amount, plus interest.

Why not simply add the cost of the land to the program and we can have the cheapest home to sell in the valley right here in Clovis.

Don’t concern yourself with the fact that property tax bills including these bonds will substantially increase the semi annual payments.

Try explaining to these citizens years later as we try to fund our City that most of their tax bill is paying not for services they want but payments on fees their developer chose to defer.

For home buyers, paying for the costs of public infrastructure through a special assessment is superior to having those costs "rolled" into the cost of the home. Although the tax bill is higher, the amount of the mortgage is smaller, making it easier to qualify

Wrong!!!!

When you are trying to qualify property tax payments are figured into the equation, so it becomes a wash.

To push the point just a bit farther:

Can I jump on the wagon and get reimbursed for all of the fees included in my home?

I could list the home for well below anything on the market, and simply advise the buyers “There are some bond liabilities on the tax rolls”

Now for the big one:

This is but one more nail in the coffin of local control dying.

As our City joins organization after organization, program after program to homogenize all development. Council of Governments, Valley Blueprint, the list goes on and on all aspects of our live and Cities future are being put to the vote of these agencies.

If you happen to be the toilet in the area you will inevitably improve, If you were as Clovis is in a position of having a higher standard as has been the recent case we are loosing the very things we move to Clovis to enjoy.

The General Plan Housing element is mandated in several areas because of the humiliation process.

Local control of our money and our destiny is being handed off one by one.

As Council members lament about requirements and loss of control, one only has to look back over the record to see how the local control was simply given away. In this case to help developers by giving them a way to kick the cost of development fees down the road and away from their sale price, in other cases it is chasing the carrots called “GRANTS”

As our council and others stand with their hands out wrapping us in all of the grant strings, they don’t seem to understand the basic concept of where the money comes from.

Every penny in grant money is either, proceeded, or soon followed by the State taking more local funds to pay for the grants they just awarded.

This agenda is the perfect picture of why this City, this State, and Our Country, is in the mess it is.

The answer to every problem is to put it off, kick the can down the road, or hide it behind smoke and mirrors.

Grants now dictate what projects can be done while reason and logic have no bearing.

Solar systems are installed because much of the cost is covered by a grant, grant money that came from our pockets.

Developments subsidized with development funds now asking for fees to be waved as well.

July 30, 2010 Clovis City Manager moves on

WRITTEN BY BUSINESS JOURNAL STAFF
THURSDAY, 29 JULY 2010 11:51
Clovis City Manager Kathy Millison announced her resignation today after accepting an offer for the same position in Santa Rosa.
Millison served the City of Clovis for the last 27 years and was appointed city manager in 1991. During that time, she has seen the community grow from a mere 32,000 people to a current population of 96,000.
During that time, Millison has been at the forefront of several community and economic improvements including the creation of a general plan to guide growth through 2035, the expansion of new water, sewer and government service facilities and the forging of several new partnerships with nonprofit organizations to develop and support beneficial amenities.
A graduate of Michigan State University with post-graduate experience at Fresno State, Millison is the board chair of the California Association of Local Economic Development. She also serves on the board of directors of the Institute for Local Government and the Economic Development Corporation serving Fresno County while holding several other prominent roles with local organizations.
Millison, , will replace Santa Rosa's former City Manager Jeff Kolin, who resigned in January. She accepted the position at a salary of $17,545 per month beginning Oct. 4. Her last day as Clovis city manager is Oct. 1.
LAST UPDATED ON THURSDAY, 29 JULY 2010 14:34

http://thebusinessjournal.com/government/5740-clovis-city-manager-leaves-office-for-new-position

A special meeting of the Clovis City Council has been announced:

Item A seems to be a no brainer:

Item B Will be a bit more interesting:

The City Manager has a very profound effect on the day by day operation and direction the City of Clovis takes.

I for one am hoping for an open process to select the new City Manger, rather than a series of Closed Session discussions followed by an announcement of the new Manager.

General Plan Advisory Committee (GPAC):

The meeting was interesting to say the least.

We have a Southern California firm writing and updating our Central Valley City, Plans. No wonder it is beginning to look like L.A. urban sprawl.

We have a Planning Department hell bent on putting together a plan that meets all crazy unworkable requirements no matter how it will negatively effect Clovis.

At some point, somebody needs to just blurt out what we all know.

It is not working!

And last but not least we have a City Council firmly in the back pockets of the development community, willing to make any and every change proposed by developers regardless of the impact on the Plan or our City.

Whatever plan is adopted is subject to change based on higher developer profit above all else.

When you combine what meets the requirement of the crazy unworkable programs, Sacramento has come up with and developers getting whatever they ask for on a silver platter.

The Clovis way of life has one foot in the water and the other on a slippery toilet seat.

Do you hear the tank filling in preparation for the big flush?

It seems several folks from the Planning department went South to get tours of outstanding examples of higher density developments.

It is looking like Clovis will have higher density, one member of the committee even suggested out loud that Loma Vista would be a good location to meet the requirements.

This brings up another problem in my opinion.

The GPAC has representatives from the development industry, local businesses large and small, even representatives from communities outside of Clovis City limits.

Strange thing is not one representative from within what is arguably the fastest changing and developing area of the City, LOMA VISTA.

This one will take more than me barking at the committee.

Write or call City Council members.

Two Council members will flat out ignore you, or try to change your mind, one will listen intently and follow the first two and two will actually, seem to understand.

See if you can figure out who I am referring two as you have your conversations.

It was also interesting to note Loma Vista is to be discussed late in this phase of the update process, we can only hope it will come up before the next wave of amendments fly through the process.

Sorry! I tend to chase rabbits as I write.

Back to the meeting.

Planning is setting up a tour of local developments so the committee can get a feel for the concepts.

I have issues with this planned tour as follows:

First off the tour needs to be open to all citizens wishing to participate.

Second issue, a tour of model homes and newly built subdivisions will not show anybody what things will look like. You may as well look at concept drawings.

The tour needs to see what neighborhoods built in the densities we are facing will look like when they are fifteen years old.

City Council:

It never stops amazing me how a person transforms from concerned citizen to politician.

The first thing that seems to occur is in the eyes.

Wave money in front of a politician and the eyes glass over and spin like reels on a slot machine.

Look at our City Council. More houses equal, more money coming in, more development fees, more property taxes, the visions flash on their spinning eyes.

Unfortunately over time each home costs more to service than the City takes in. After the first flush of new cash each home becomes a drain on the system.

The solution always seems to be the same. “Let’s build more houses”. This keeps the money flowing. It is not unlike a “Ponzi scheme”.

Ponzi Schemes are only sustainable as long as they can keep expanding.

A more logical system would be to create more business because business is sustainable. It has been around forever. Small business owners tend to live in, work in, and support their community.

Once again the eyes begin to roll and spin. The mantra gets repeated over and over again. BIGGER IS BETTER! BIGGER IS BETTER!

Abra Cadabra, and POOF!

We have a SUPER WAL MART.

When the eyes finally stop spinning we discover how many small businesses have been force to shut their doors, how many local jobs were lost.

Wal-Mart doesn’t buy local, Wal-Mart hires not just from Clovis. Are they in realty local jobs if they drive in from Fresno to work and take their pay checks back with them at the end of the day.

The reason a politician can do these things time after time and keep getting reelected is because, money not votes decides an election outcome.

All incumbents have to do is keep the big money donors happy and donating to assure their reelection.

There is only one thing I know of capable of breaking this cycle.

That one thing is an educated informed base of voters willing to participate in their government.

Please folk!

The small town Clovis way of life is being quietly flushed down the toilet as we are being homogenized within the Central Valley Blueprint.

We are in the headlong rush to compete dollar for dollar with Fresno, instead of protecting and strengthen our what has made Clovis the special place it is.

Keeping Government Open Keeps Government Honest

July 26, 2010 General Plan meeting

The General Plan Citizens’ Advisory Committee Meets tomorrow night
July 27, 2010 at 6:00 See attached agenda.

Also attached is the Report to Council referred to in the agenda.

This is an interesting process.

Hundreds of thousands invested in writing the general and specific plans, citizen groups and committees put together investing hundreds of hours in the process.

Then the “PLAN” piece by piece is flushed down the toilet at the whim of developers.

We need to be represented in the Advisory Committee process.

Be at the meeting if you can.

Back to our local issues.

I have the first phase of paper work done.

It is called a: NOTICE OF INTENTION TO CIRCULATE RECALL PETITITION

We need a total of twenty of Clovis registered voter signatures.

Let me know when is a good time to stop by and get your signitures or give me a call

When it is served on the Councilman, and filed with the City Clerk, the process begins.

Time to get their attention.

The recall is the primer.

The first objective is to recall Nathan Magsig, he has been the worst offender, with more ties and reasons to support development (other than what is best for Clovis) than any of the rest.

Second objective:

Hopefully it will flush out some viable candidates for the March Election and get citizens talking.

By the time the election comes around we will have had an opportunity to educate the Citizens of Clovis about what our Council has been doing for developers as they use smoke and mirrors to misdirect our gaze to wonderful Plans Guiding Principles and great speeches.

Keeping Government Open Keeps Government Honest

The Clovis DOG (Demand Open Government) Blog

Clovis DOG Report: July 21, 2010

Feel free to forward information to any interested citizens you know.

At the Monday night meeting the only controversial issue was the proposal to approve in concept the moving and expansion of the 500 club.

The 500 club is a six table card room and bar in old town. Clovis approved an ordinance allowing only this one gambling facility within the city.

The proposed conceptual approval passed in a four one vote with Councilman Whalen voting against.

The conceptual approval includes:

Triple the number of tables, from six to 18.
Games allowed proposed to be anything approved by the State of California.
Seven day a week operation twenty four hours per day.
Move location from old town to Shaw Ave near Willow.
And the ability for the operation to be sold to any qualified purchaser.

So much for the “Clovis way of life.” Again the concept is toward competing with Fresno referring to Fresno’s card room as justification.

Meeting after meeting I hear the Council talking about revitalizing the Shaw corridor. An 18 table Casino I am sure will go a long way toward that goal. Possibly an adult book store, and a few tattoo parlors, will help us keep up with the progress Fresno is making with their downtown.

Plan and Zone change update:

Round one goes to the developers.

Time to begin round two!

I am trying to get the time limits and procedures to file appeals on the just passed Plan changes from the Planning Department. It is looking like there are none short of a law suit.


Here is the plan I propose:

Contact an attorney to get an idea of the process and cost..

Challenge the Mitigated Negative Declarations / SEQA documents for the errors and omissions.

File a complaint with Air Resources Board, Air pollution issues note addressed in Mitigated Negative Declaration, caused by doubling the number of homes.

Ask Fresno County Board of Supervisors to join in challenging the Mitigated Negative Declaration. Traffic and flood issues caused by the development reach far out of Clovis and into Fresno County land, but are not included in any study of impacts.

Round three

Before you can make changes to how the Council votes, you have to get their attention.

We as citizens were given our legally required five minutes to comment but It was painfully obvious that we were not heard.

Come election time candidates will be knocking at your door to ask for votes.

How many of those same candidates made an effort to find out how you felt about the Plan changes?

I and my wife met with Council members about the plan changes as soon as we found out about them.

Three listened and seemed to hear what we were saying.

Two immediately began showing us the error in our ways, and how wrong we were to not support the developers.

To this point Developers and their hundreds of thousands in campaign contributions have been landing some devastating blows.

It is time for the citizens of Clovis to pull out our big guns. OUR VOTES

If Council members will not listen to the people we need to replace them with representative who will.

I have most of the information collected to file for the recall of City Councilman Nathan Magsig.

Not only does Magsig get the most developer contribution his business will benefit by the recent Plan changes.

I have not been able to find one single developer proposed change to the Plan that was rejected. Or one that Magsig did not support

The Council has been killing the Clovis way of life with a thousand paper cuts.

Each cut just small enough to cause damage but not enough to stir up and real revolt.

Put them together and we have cumulative damage on a grand scale.

Organize all of the citizens injured in past bad Council decisions and we have a fighting chance to stop future problems.

Will the next change be to abandon the South East Urban Center and put in a Super KMART?

Information is our strongest tool.

Magsig voted for the super Wal-Mart soon to decimate Clovis small businesses.

If you know of anybody involved in the Super Wal-Mart fight, We need them to fight again.

Magsig voted for and advocated the club 500 expansion.

Magsig voted for our recent Plan and Zone changes.

Magsig voted for the apartment complex and higher density North and South of Ashlan near Locan

At every vote when the Clovis small town way of life was put against the wishes of big developer / contributors the Clovis citizens lost

Take a look at the attached excel document.

Item number one the $47 grand from the friends of Nathan Magsig will be researched and sent out to you, when I get the latest public records request for specific documents.

The information comes from official public records.

The data base covers only contributions of $250 or more.

As you read down the list you will find a who’s who of local and not so local developers and businesses (note very few Clovis addresses)with matters before the Council on a regular basis.

It is a long process to correlate contributions and project timing, but so far I have not found one proposal before the Council by a major contributor that Nathan Magsig has voted against, If he comes up with any votes against any of his contributors I will publish them in a future DOG Report.

It is nearly impossible to prove the what came first, chicken / egg controversy.

It is just about as hard to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, developers gave hundreds of thousands because he was a good man that would support their projects, or he came to support their projects because of the contribution.

Fortunately voters do not need beyond a reasonable doubt, and it does not matter all that much.

Put the voting record next to the contributor list and I am convinced we need a change.

Magsig has supported project after project in the best interest of developers but not in the best interest of Clovis.

After Magsig recall:

We need to have three viable candidates ready to run for the three seats coming open in 2011. Final filing will be in November.

How the system works is in the end the three candidates with the most votes will be the next three Council members.

We have some time before the campaigning begins so I have not taken the time to research the three Council members up for re-election in March.

Is there anybody out there willing to help with research or data entry?

I need some feed back on how you want to proceed and who is involved.

Please email with comments and suggestions.

Get your neighbors and friends involved, have them email suggestions and opinions to me.
NEWS item posted below is from ABC Channel 30 web site. It gives some insight into Mr. Magsig’s loyalties.
Clovis Mayor Under Fire for Lawsuit Against Air District
June 29, 2006 -- The mayor of Clovis is in the middle of a battle over home building and the air you breath. Clovis Mayor Nathan Magsig is spoke about the lawsuit he's involved with against the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.
Magsig says a rule to charge developers to clean up the air is unfair.
Just this week, another survey by the Public Policy Institute showed air pollution remains the number one concern for people in the valley.
It lays out a shaky political landscape for Magsig, who says the issue shouldn't trump the need for certain development.
Magsig says he's all for clean air, but he says the future of low income housing developments is why he joined builders in a lawsuit against the air pollution control district.
The air board recently enacted fees on new home developments that contribute to more traffic and more pollution.
"This rule was designed to reduce 10 tons a day of emissions, which is quite a bit," said Seyed Sadredin, from the air pollution control district.
But Magsig, who heads a non-profit affordable housing group, says the extra fees will drive costs up too high.
"Do you feel at this point, you're telling people you're going to have to pick between clean air and affordable homes? I believe air quality is just as important as affordable housing in the Central Valley ... I think both issues can co-exist," said Magsig.
But critics have openly questioned his motives.
Magsig has received more than $100,000 in campaign contributions from the building industry and major developers, such as Wathen-Castanos, Bonadelle and Robert McCaffrey.
"It's clear that he does have political aspirations, it's clear that he is interested in picking sides," said political analyst David Schecter. "He's chosen the side of developers against the air district ... I think in the long run, this'll probably hurt him."
It's a hit Masgig says he's willing to take, but says he does believe developers should pay their fair share.


Keeping Government Open Keeps Government Honest