There are no Facilities and not enough Water to sustain the current Citizens of the Pass Area.
Mr. Spiliotis and Staff,
As there may be several issues put before LAFCO in the next few months, below is a quick update on Pass Area.
BEAUMONT 2015 AUDIT:
After 14 months the Auditing Firm of Van Lant Fankhanel released the City of Beaumont’s 2014/2015 Financial Statements on December 20, 2016: http://www.ci.beaumont.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/29120
The City removed the Auditor’s Report, but the Auditors confirmed that they Issued a Disclaimer of Opinion on the Audit. A Disclaimer is Issued when the financial statements are too forged and the staff is too corrupt to Issue an Opinion.
Note 9 Beaumont Financial Condition and Managements’ Plans listed the following Fund Deficits:
- Government Activities: Negative $89,979,209
- Business-Type Activities: Negative $2,786,155
- General Fund: Negative $7,188,931
- Sewer Enterprises: Negative $2,606,079
- Pension Liability is over $12 Million
In a normal setting; a Disclaimer of Opinion would elicit an emergency meeting and an immediate firing of the Finance Director and Staff. But Beaumont City Council ‘Approved’ forging the Sewer Financial Statements on July 5, 2016 Agenda Item 3.C: http://www.ci.beaumont.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/28480
Beaumont has yet to close their Books for Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2016.
$5 MILLION TRANSFER:
On November 10, 2016 LAFCO Approved the Annexation of 2014-20-05 ASM Beaumont Business Center. The Staff Report stated: “In September of this year, the City General Fund received a repayment of approximately $5 million, previously advanced to the Wastewater Enterprise Fund in 2014. This significantly improves the City’s negative fund balance position, which was estimated at negative $7.47 million in June of this year.”
The original Transfer of Money in 2014 was illegal and it would have been illegal for the City to transfer the money into the General Fund. The Auditors refused the Transaction on the 2014/2015 Financial Statements. Note 10 references the Transfer: “It is uncertain if the advance to the Sewer Fund of $5,069,509 is allowable under the various restrictions in the bond indentures for the Community Facility District Bonds.”
BEAUMONT SEWER PLANT
On August 25, 2016, The Santa Ana Water Quality Control Board Issued an Investigative Order against the City of Beaumont for Capacity Violation, Forging Government Documents, and it turns out the City has No Federal NPDES Permit for Commercial or Industrial Waste: http://www.ci.beaumont.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/28273
The Beaumont-Cherry Valley and Yucaipa Valley Water Districts attempted to work with the City after the FBI Raids, but nothing has changed in Beaumont. On November 7, 2016, the Beaumont City Council voted to ‘go it alone’ and construct a $95 Million Expansion that will NOT include Recycled Water.
Webb & Associates, Urban Logic Principal Ernie Eggers former Employee, wrote a Feasibility Study so skewed it’s ridiculous: http://www.ci.beaumont.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/28602
At the November 7th Council Meeting Brian Knoll from Webb & Associates told Council that “.. some of these [Title 22 Compliance] improvements may not be beneficial to the ultimate plant.”
In 1993 Beaumont’s Development Plan was approved for 2,212 houses on the contingency that a Title 22 Compliant Recycled Water Facility was built by March, 1995. There is something wrong in Beaumont’s Sewer Plant preventing the construction of a Title 22 Compliant Recycled Water Facility that goes beyond simple construction of a Facility.
Currently; 2/3’s of the water distributed by the Beaumont-Cherry Valley Water District is purchased from the State. Jeff Davis of the San Gorgonio Pass Water Agency is scheduled to return on January 17, 2017 with additional secured water or the BCVWD will issue a Water Shortage Emergency per Section 350 of the California Water Code.
The ‘bombshell’ of information that surfaced was when Morongo Tribal Chairman Robert Martin stated at the November 11th Workshop that the City of Beaumont had promised Recycled Water to the Tribe and they wanted it by the end of the year. [2016]
The City of Beaumont is not a Purveyor or Water, they do not own the Purple Pipes, and THERE IS NO RECYCLED WATER !!
BANNING SEWER PLANT:
The City of Banning also acquired a Bond to build a Title 22 Compliant Recycled Water Facility, but never built the Facility. The $42,734,000 Bond was issued in 2005 with Facility construction completed by 2010.
On August 15, 2016 the City of Banning announced high levels of Chromium 6 found in 11 out of 24 of the City’s pumps: http://www.ci.banning.ca.us/Do…
“The City of Banning’s potable water distribution system is comprised of 21 active groundwater wells and 3 wells co-owned with BCVWD … Nine of the City’s wells are impacted by Cr6 as well as two of the co-owned wells.”
POTRERO INTERCHANGE:
Since 2010 over $13 Million has been funneled out of the City of Beaumont under the guise of ‘Potrero Interchange’. On January 4, 2017, the City held a Workshop on the Project: http://www.ci.beaumont.ca.us/D…
The Staff Report claimed that the $54 Million Interchange would be paid with $13 Million in Grants that RCTC has already revoked and $5 Million Developer Contribution that turns out to be Bond Debt. The Developers have no intention of putting up their own money. There was no provision to fund the rest of the construction and the cost estimate didn’t include the three (3) parcels that must still be acquired.
The Beaumont Council ‘Approved’ the Interchange on the condition that the Developers pay the entire cost themselves. City Staff have until February 21, 2017, to prove funding from sources outside of the City or the Project will be cut.
S.E.C. BOND LOCKOUT:
On November 14, 2016, Brian Forebath, Beaumont Bond Counsel from the Law Firm of Stradling Yocca Carlson Rauth, admitted that the SEC has completely locked the City of Beaumont out of the Bond Industry.
The City can not Acquire Bonds, Refinance Bonds, or Access the Bond Fund Account money the City currently has.
Beaumont has continued to allow housing developments and promises Bond Debt in exchange for Mitigation Fees. Pardee Homes continues to build, but has filed a $2.8 Million Claim against the City for reimbursement of Mitigation Fees: http://www.ci.beaumont.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/28353
WESTERN RIVERSIDE COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENT TUMF JUDGEMENT:
The TUMF Judgement has been stayed until Mid-January, but the Appeal is over and the City of Beaumont lost. The City has no contingency funds set aside to pay the debt nor was the Liability mentioned in Beaumont’s Budgets or ‘Work out Plan to Sustainability’.
BEAUMONT’S CEQA EIRs
An Audit comparing CEQA EIRs Filed with Developments Built in Beaumont reveals that there are 11 Developments with a total of 3,489 Houses that have no CEQA EIRs filed with the State Clearinghouse.
A Negative Declaration was filed for the Oak Valley Development with over 3,200 Houses.
Notices of Preparation or Determination were filed on four (4) other Developments with a total of over 4,600 Houses.
The City of Beaumont also filed a Notice of Preparation to upgrade the Sewer Plant from 4. to 8. MGD’s in 2010 but never filed additional documents.
UPCOMING DEVELOPMENTS IN THE PASS AREA:
60,000 people have moved into the Pass Area, but Fire Stations, Roadways, and Recycled Water Facilities were never built. The entire Pass Area is already heavily dependent on Imported Water, yet Boards and Councils continue to approve developments:
Rancho San Gorgonio Specific Plan:
3,385 Houses Located South of Hwy 10 in Banning
Butterfield Plan:
4,862 Houses Located East of Highland Springs in Banning and Riverside County
Sunny Cal:
497 Houses Located in Cherry Valley
San Gorgonio Crossing:
1.8 Million sq. ft. Warehouse Located in Cherry Valley
Hidden Canyon Development Area #4
2.89 Million sq. ft. Warehouse Located in Beaumont
NEG DEC Filed 2007
Heartland Development Area #5:
955 Houses Located in Beaumont
NOD Filed 2006
Four Seasons Development Area #7
Unknown Number of Houses being Built Located in Beaumont West of Highland Springs, North of I-10
NOD Filed 2005, NO EIR
Sundance Development Area #8
Unknown Number of Houses being Built Located in Beaumont West of Highland Springs, South of I-10
EIR Filed 1990, NOD Filed 2005
Fairway Canyon Development Area #19
Unknown Number of Houses being Built Located in Northeast Beaumont, West of I-10
No CEQA EIR Filed
There are no Facilities and not enough Water to sustain the current Citizens of the Pass Area. It is unknown how many houses are being built in the City of Beaumont. The Number of Houses in each Development has been removed from the Plans, but the Plans are still Approved by Beaumont Planning Commission and City Council. The City refuses to disclose the number of houses being constructed nor is the City maintaining any records of the Construction as required by State Law.
I hope that LAFCO Staff will take this information into consideration when Pass Area Projects are brought before LAFCO. Please let me know if there is additional information or backup documentation needed.
Thank you,
Libi Uremovic