Showing posts with label LLC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LLC. Show all posts

Monday, February 13, 2017

Watch out Hallandale Beach taxpayers! Stop them before more CRA money goes into another foolish, sweetheart deal. Hallandale Beach CRA wants some people to make a profit while taxpayers & Small Business get to play the Bank and bear all the burdens and risks. Why would that be a good idea?



On Saturday afternoon, one of the nicest days weather-wise we've had in many weeks, I was able to spend a few hours with my friend and fellow civic activist Csaba "Chuck" Kulin driving around and looking at many places/problems in all parts of the city that he or I -or in many cases, most of you- have some very legitimate concerns about as it affects public policy or public money or, in the case I'm writing about today, BOTH!
(I'll get to those other concerns in future posts, with helpful facts and photos as usual to give you the context and nuance you need to make your own decisions.)
One of those concerns is actually going to be the focus of a 6:00 PM public meeting tonight of the Hallandale Beach CRA, Agenda item 10-A, that I strongly urge you to attend and ask some very hard questions about, lest money from the Hallandale Beach CRA once again be used to continue the many frustrating YEARS of unsound public policy and irresponsible financial moves under Mayor Joy Cooper when she and her Rubber Stamp Crew had a firm lock on deciding issues at Hallandale Beach City Hall, as both City Commissioners and Directors of the CRA.
Those days are now over, thank goodness, and a 3-2 pro-reform majority currently holds sway in Hallandale Beach, but there are still many stinky deals that are legacies of those previous bad ideas, and one of them will be discussed tonight.
Do I even need to tell you that the people who want your money will be well-represented to try to take it away from you, no matter how fiscally unsound their ideas will be for you and the larger community.

See the link to see how it's being portrayed by city staff.

17-451
https://hallandalebeach.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2954847&GUID=D4960F1D-E852-4741-AB9F-958E4F5AF01B&Options=&Search=

10 A. Resolution

A RESOLUTION OF CHAIR AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE HALLANDALE BEACH COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, HALLANDALE BEACH, FLORIDA, APPROVING THE EFFECTIVE DATE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE HALLANDALE BEACH COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY AND DONALDSON-WEST VENTURE, LLC; AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO EXECUTE AN AMENDMENT TO THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. (STAFF: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

I leave it to Csaba to further explain the general particulars and remind you that his letter below is merely an overview of what the problem to be dealt with is, so please show up tonight prepared to become better informed as well as let your voice for logical public policy and fiscally-sound financial decisions be heard by people on the dais who have said they are for doing things now the right way in this community: with the maximum amount of accountability, transparency and common sense
Which is to say, qualities which have been all too rare the previous 12-plus years here.
Where the public's best long-term interests are protected and enforced rather than private interests getting first dibs on public monies, no matter how preposterous their scheme is.
We have to prevent a situation in future where HB residents and Small Business owners will be cursing themselves and the fact that on February 13th, 2017, they failed to wake-up to what's involved here -and what this bad deal represents- when this sweetheart deal can be killed if you simply let your elected representatives know that you are against more bad, fiscally unsound deals that benefit a few at the risk of the the whole community.
After all, since the November 2016 election that changed the direction of things in Hallandale Beach and set a course for a different direction, have you heard or seen people at City Hall like Mayor Joy Cooper and Comm. Anthony A. Sanders or their sycophants in the community who backed bad deals like this publicly profess any regret or remorse for championing bad deals that hurt taxpayers and the community as a whole, with precious little to show for millions of spent CRA dollars?
No, you have not, and for the simplest of reasons. 
They DON'T regret their votes for these bad deals and they don't have remorse for wasting millions of dollars.
Their regret is that they can not continue to approve bad deals because they no longer have the will and means to force that upon the community, even when everyone speaks out against it.
Now, things are different. 
But you still need to do YOUR part.
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February 13, 2017
RE: CRA February 13, 2017 Item 10 A Donaldson-West Venture, LLC
Chair Person, Vice Chair, Directors, Executive Directors and Staff,
The CRA received during the previous administration an unsolicited proposal from Donaldson-West Venture, LLC to build 10 townhouse units on Foster Road. The developer is asking for $90,000.00 “CRA Contribution” per unit, a total of $900,000.00. It is broken down to $184,000.00 the value of the three (3) CRA owned lots and $716,000.00 of CRA Gap Grant funding.
It is a typical Hallandale Beach CRA “Private/Public Partnership” project from the past administration. The CRA provides free land, the CRA provides grants to build the building and the CRA helps buyers to buy it. The CRA socialize the costs and privatize the profits. The “public” bears all the costs and the “private” gets all the profits.
I have three areas of concern and I hope I will be able to ask you about them Monday.
My first concern is the value of $184,000.00 placed on the three (3) CRA owned properties, it is unjustifiably low. Using the Broward County Property Appraiser’s value is not realistic. The CRA must hire its own appraiser and base the appraisal on recent transactions in the area, the size of the parcels etc.
The recent CRA purchase of the apartment building, across the street from the new fire station (Foster and N.W. 2nd Ave.), may be a good yardstick. How do the two properties compare as far as price the CRA paid per acreage or square feet? 110 N.W. 5th Street for $1,300,000.00 may be another good example.  
My second area of concern is the lack of information in the backup for the justification for the $716,000.00 CRA Gap Grant funding. How did Donaldson-West Venture arrive at that number?
We need an expert hired by the CRA to tell us if that amount is the right amount and if it is justified.
Is the $716,000.00 dollars the entire cost of construction? 
My third concern is that on top of the $90,000.00 “CRA Contribution” per unit there may be up to $50,000.00 in other subsidies (first time buyer etc.) for up to $140,000.00 per unit cost to the CRA.
Is it a prudent decision to spend so much money on one project benefiting so few people?
Does the CRA have so much money that it can afford to practically give a free apartment to 10 lucky people?
I hope the CRA Board of Directors will wait for an appraisal on the value of the land, get the justification for the Gap Grant funding and see if the CRA has the money now, before the completion of the upcoming audit. 
-----


Dave 


Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Hollywood's Johnson Street Beach Project Evaluation Comm. to hear Developer Presentation and Consultant Findings on Thursday morning at City Hall

I'll have more comments here later tonight about this
matter but wanted to post this basic info before 6 p.m.
just in case it caught someone's attention who had
forgotten it was scheduled for Thursday.

My comments follow the press release about Thursday's
very interesting foray into planning, economic development
and public policy, Hollywood-style.

It's the next step in a process of getting something in place
over at Johnson Street and State Road A1A that is appealing
and captures the imagination of both tourists and Hollywood
residents alike, creates jobs, is aesthetically attractive if not
iconic -and F-U-N!

FYI: The Margaritaville Casino Resort project in Biloxi,
Mississippi, backed by Harrah's Entertainment, is currently
on hold

http://www.grandcasinobiloxi.com/casinos/grand-biloxi/casino-misc/margaritaville.html

See what their Orlando complex looks like:
http://www.universalorlando.com/Citywalk/Restaurants/jimmy_buffett_margaritaville.aspx
-----

The Evaluation Committee meeting for Johnson Street Beach Stage II Detailed Development Proposals has been scheduled for Thursday, March 4, 2010 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Hollywood City Hall, Room 219. The public is invited to attend, but not speak at this meeting.

The meeting will be taped and later aired on the Government Channel 78 and also on the City's website at www.hollywoodfl.org. RSVP's are not required to attend either meeting.

A Community Forum has been set for Monday, March 15, 2010 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Hollywood City Hall, Room 219. Developer presentations to the public followed by a
Questions/Answer session. Refreshments will be served.

Please be advised the "Cone of Silence" remains in effect preventing Developers from communicating with Members of the City Commission and most City Staff.

The March 4, 2010 Evaluation Committee Meeting sequence was determined as follows:

Margaritaville Resort at Hollywood Beach, LLC
Presentation from 9:15 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.
Consultant Reports and Question/Answer session from 10:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Lunch Break 12:15 p.m. - 12:45 p.m.
Hollywood Beach Partners, LLC
Presentation from 12:45 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.
Consultant Reports and Question/Answer session from 1:45 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.
Evaluation Committee will begin deliberations and rankings at 3:45 p.m.

The March 15, 2010 Community Forum Agenda:
1. Introduction and Opening Comments
2. Oral Presentations from Proposers:
Hollywood Beach Partners, LLC
20 minute presentation
20 minute question and answer session with the Public
Margaritaville Resort at Hollywood Beach, LLC
20 minute presentation
20 question and answer session with the Public
3. Adjournment
We look forward to seeing you at these very important meetings!

----------
And this related bit of news from Terry Cantrell, President
of the Hollywood Lakes Section Civic Association


http://www.hollywoodlakes.com/

NEXT HLSCA MEETING:
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010.
Time 7:30 p.m. at the Hollywood Beach Community Center,
1301 S. Ocean Drive.

Guest speaker: Asst. City Manager Cathy Swanson-Rivenbark
on the Johnson Street Beach project and other important issues.
Refreshments will be served.
For info, call 954-923-1940.

Free parking.

ALL RESIDENTS are always WELCOME!

----------
I hasten to add that Terry Cantrell has been a great friend
to the concerned citizen taxpayers of Hallandale Beach even
while we have been sold-out by our own mayor and
Commissioners Ross and Sanders and most of the
Hallandale Beach business establishment, such as it is,
led by HB Chamber of Commerce head Patricia Genetti,
a woman who has continually spoken publicly in favor of the
Diplomat's absurd and incompatible proposals for turning
this small ocean-side city into a pinball machine, with multiple
towers towering over residential neighborhoods and plunging
them into near-permanent darkness
, while their thousands
of additional cars make the current gridlock even worse.

As if that was possible.
But we all know it is.

Here's the statement put out by HLSCA

-
Lakes Residents:

The Broward County Planning Council heard the Diplomat Golf and Country and City of Hallandale Beach request for a land use change to Local Activity Center (LAC) on Thursday and voted 12 to 4 to approve the plan despite the Council's Staff recommendation of denial. The plan consists of 950 new condo units in a number of high rise buildings (from 20 to 27 stories) spread out along the perimeter of the existing golf course. The golf course would remain as is. In addition, a new hotel would be built for approximately 500 rooms. The HLSCA as well as many Hallandale Beach residents and condo associations urged the Planning Council to deny the application due to incompatibility with the surrounding neighborhoods as well as a potential increase in traffic and congestion. The Planning Council vote of approval is based upon the applicant working with the City of Hallandale Beach to further refine the plan by lowering the building heights and creating a workable traffic plan. The plan will ultimately come before the Broward County Commission for final approval in late March.

It should be noted that the City of Hollywood Dept. of Planning and Development also supported the Planning Council's Staff recommendation of denial. The HLSCA thanks our City's Staff for their support. They recognize that this project, if and when if ever gets built, will, indeed, increase traffic through the Lakes neighborhood. Currently, many Hallandale Beach residents use the Lakes streets to cut through to the north as no one wants to drive on the very congested Hallandale Beach Blvd.

The HLSCA would like to recognize the well organized United Condo Association of Hallandale Beach led by Luis Paredes for all their hard work on this issue. They are truly a force in Hallandale Beach and deserve respect and admiration for strongly advocating on behalf of their membership and all the residents of Hallandale Beach.

We will continue to monitor this project as it, hopefully, morphs into an acceptable development that will not negatively impact the surrounding residential neighborhoods. Stay tuned....

www.hollywoodlakes.com