Letter was sent to the City of Beaumont by RCTC Requesting Consideration of Re-purposing Funds.
On August 16, 2016 Beaumont City Councilmen, Staff, and Consultants made several fraudulent statements regarding the Potrero Interchange Project.
Page 9 of the Slideshow lists $13,443,000 in Grant Funds Available. The money is no longer available for Potrero.
The letter from Anne Mayer, RCTC Executive Director, dates July 21, 2016 states:
Given the project delays, local match uncertainty, and that the city does not have Caltrans approval to act as lead agency we are recommending deprogramming the STP discretionary funds that the Commission approved, which includes:
Multi-funding Call for Projects allocation (2013): $6,523,000
Old Federal TEA funding (2005): $1,416,000
Caltrans Demo fund trade/expired (2006): $ 990,000
Total Commission STP Discretionary funds: $8,929,000
Funding that the Commission has not allocated to the project will remain programmed in the Federal Transportation Improvement (FTIP), which are:
*Federal Demonstration SAFETEA LU (2005) $1,440,000
Section 129-Surface Transportation Priorities (2008) $1,470,000
Section 125-Surface Transportation Priorities (2009) $ 885,000
Surface Transportation Program (2010) $ 750,000
Total Federal non-RCTC discretionary funds: $4,515,000
*Letter was sent to the city requesting consideration of repurposing funds.
We strongly urge the city to work with Caltrans and develop a plan for the non-Commission discretionary funds to prevent funds from lapsing. We also support working with the city on identifying future funding of the Potrero project with the project is ready for construction.
Councilmen Orozco and Condon made several ignorant and false statements in order to push their agenda:
Orozco: “The fact is that there’s $11 Million that we already spent on this Project. Raise your hand if you want to throw that money away.”
$13 Million has been funneled out of the city under the guise of ‘Potrero’. $11 Million went to Urban Logic alone. Raise your hand Orozco because the money was ‘thrown away’ the minute it was passed to Urban Logic.
Condon: “not one dime of this money can be used to pave one street or to fix one sidewalk in the City of Beaumont. This is strictly for this Project or we don’t get it at all. If we don’t use it we lose it.”
RCTC has urged the City to repurpose the funds for other roads in Beaumont as the letter clearly states: *Letter was sent to the city requesting consideration of repurposing funds.”
“We strongly urge the city to work with Caltrans and develop a plan for the non-Commission discretionary funds to prevent funds from lapsing. We also support working with the city on identifying future funding of the Potrero project with the project is ready for construction.”
There were lots of circular talk about financing and in typical Beaumont fashion; everything is ‘free’.
Peter Helfrich: “The cost of this initiative to the taxpayers is zero. It’s funded by Federal Grants, which we saw. And it’s also going to be funded by a special assessment that’s levied to the property owners that we’ve agreed to.”
Della Condon: “we can build a Potrero Project and EVERY DIME OF IT WILL BE RETURNED TO US.”
2:18:30 Condon: “We’ve heard over and over again that anything that is expended on this Project will come back to the City. This isn’t going to cost us anything to have an opportunity to recover.”
Warne: “You advance funds from particular sources and then you get, POTENTIALLY, you get reimbursed.”
The reality is that Beaumont taxpayers will pay for every penny wasted under the gulse of Potrero, just like the taxpayers paid for the last $13 Million funneled out of the City.
And then there is the ‘benefit’ to Beaumont. To date; Beaumont has spent $13 Million for Potrero and has nothing to show for it. If the City did spend another $70 Million and complete the Potrero Interchange the City would have no asset on their financial statement to balance the expense.
Construction Cooperative Agreement between the Department of Transportation and the City of Beaumont dated January 27, 2012, Item 34:
“Upon OBLIGATION COMPLETION, ownership or title to all materials and equipment constructed or installed for the operations and/or maintenance of the SHS within the SHS right of way as part of WORK become the property of CALTRANS.”
After the Potrero Interchange the Assets will be transferred to Caltrans because it will be part of the State Highway System, not an asset of the City of Beaumont.
TO THIS DAY the City can not produce Audited Financial Statements for Fiscal Years 2014, 2015, or 2016 because the City does not have enough Assets to balance out their hundreds of millions in Liabilities.
If the Beaumont City Council would spend money on things like Fire Stations, Roads, and Recycled Water the City would have Assets to declare on their Financial Statements. Money spent on things like Potrero, Lawyers, and Consultants is just wasting the taxpayers’ dollar.