By: Libi Uremovic | Original Article at patch.com
Beaumont Must Produce Documents or Admit Pardee Lied and Violates State Law
Pardee Claims State Laws Follows, City Claims No Such Documents Exist
At the July 21, 2015 Beaumont City Council Meeting Mike Taylor from Pardee Homes stated that his developments follow all State Laws including submitting the work out to public bids, submitting the contract and certified payroll.
However; these documents have been requested from the City and the City has stated that they do not have any such documents.
Does Pardee submit the documents and the City just throw them in the trash?
Letter From City of Beaumont dated February 25, 2015:
“This letter is in response to your request for the following: All Contracts, Invoices, and Payroll from the contractors and subcontractors performing public works construction. The City of Beaumont does not maintain or retain developer contracts, payroll, or invoices. These records are between the developer and the construction company doing the work. These are not City contracted pubic works projects.”
Beaumont City Council Meeting July 21, 2015 Transcript: http://podcast.ci.beaumont.ca.us/CC_2015-07-21_agenda.htm
37:30 White: We’ve talked a lot about the credit reimbursements and the way the whole CFD process works. Is the City caught up in all the credit reimbursements it owes to Pardee on your current and previous developments?
37:50 Taylor: I guess I’m trying to understand the question.
White: Do we owe you anything from the reimbursement process.
38:00 Taylor: What we’ve done in the past is that we have sold, we have formed districts in Sundance and Tournament Hills that have already been formed. We have been talking with the City at lengths on selling bonds. But again, two years ago those improvement areas are not completely sold out, so we still had a ways to go in terms of selling homes. So when you ask me still owe us proceeds; from future bond sales that we’re anticipating ..
White: Ignore future bond sales. Right now; where do we stand with Pardee?
Taylor: There is likely still funds from prior bond sales that are still sitting in accounts that we are eligible to receive in reimbursement for the facilities. What I would say to that is;
39:00 Taylor: In the process that’s followed in every other city, if there’s money available in the Construction Fund to reimburse the developer for public improvements that have been constructed, there is a normal process that goes through that. We submit bids for the work. We submit the contract that we sign with the contractor to build the facilities. We submit all invoices for those. We submit a certified payroll that it was paid a prevailing wage. Then the facility has to be accepted by the City, by the Public Works Department. We have a number of facilities that are currently eligible for reimbursement. For instance; at Tournament Hills there’s a lift station out there on Oak Valley Parkway that was built almost 15 years ago. We haven’t gotten paid back on that sewer lift station.
40:00 Taylor: It’s an eligible facility. There are eligible public improvements that were constructed. We have bids, contracts, paid invoices, and those facilities have been accepted by the City. Part of our process in the past has been to work with the City to prioritize where those, what… When we sold bonds and there was money available; where those funds should go. That was always a negotiation and I can tell that you that’s no different than it is in a lot of cities. Because the Public Works Department does a Capital Improvement budget and has a list of facilities that are their priority. We’re asking and hoping that this Council will do with your Public Works Staff and through our facilities and credit agreements.
41:00 Taylor: List out the priorities that you feel are most important so that we earmark those funds. As we sell bonds, that those are the first facilities that we build and we can get reimbursed back or that we pre-pay fees and the City can combine that with other money that you have to do a public works project. It’s the way it works in every city that we do business.
41:30 White: Is there or has there been a recent reconciliation between the City and Pardee as to what ..?
Taylor: We’d love to do that.