BCHD's $30M Bond Bailout
Why it's a resounding NO!
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The BCHD Board approved a $30M bond measure for the November ballot. The measure would tax property owners in Redondo, Hermosa, and Manhattan Beach for up to 40 years.
THINGS TO KNOW
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The tax measure is BCHD’s attempt to salvage a"deal"with private developer PMB to build a 100% privately owned massive RCFE on public land. Through the measure, BCHD is attempting to impose costs agreed on, in writing, to be paid by a private developer, onto the taxpayers of Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach.
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If the bond is approved, BCHD says they will "renegotiate" the contract with PMB. This time with at least $21M of work the private developer had signed up in the contract to do paid for by taxpayers.
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The final measure language is substantially misleading.
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For allcove building construction that was previously touted as mostly"covered by grants", BCHD says the costs for a new allcove facility has gone up, tripling their previous estimate of the costs imposed by the bond for allcove from $3M to $9M.
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In the official bond language, they have shifted their focus from claims of dire need to demo the old hospital, to simply stating that it will allow them to “remove outdated facilities." Their own consultant reported that “best practice” for LA County allowed the building up to 25 more years of use. [Ref: BCHD CWG Presentation – Youssef 2018]
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They previously claimed they are creating “public open space”, but now the measure states that open space is “limited to” BCHD’s use for programming. The open space is not for general public use.
What BCHD doesn’t tell us
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Taxpayer dollars will benefit the private developer PMB.
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BCHD already receives $5 million in your property taxes annually.
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They've already spent $12.5 million in "Pre-Development" trying to move forward their wasteful project.
Bottom line: Taxpayers would subsidize key elements of the larger, damaging project.
CEO Tom Bakaly said in a recent Daily Breeze article.
”The allcove and open space project is part of phase one of the agency’s planned Healthy Living Campus. The other, bigger portion of the first phase, Bakaly said, is a planned senior assisted living and memory care facility. That facility comprises the majority of phase one’s $225 million price tag.”
This latest effort to tax beach cities’ residents for BCHD executives' own mismanagement is a resounding NO!
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Read the FACTS
Read about BCHD's proposed tax
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On Local Government: The “Save Their Butt” tax
SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR |MAY 15, 2024
by Bob Pinzler
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If all goes according to their plan, on the November 2024 ballot property owners in our three beach cities will be asked to approve a 30-million-dollar tax measure which the Beach Cities Health District (BCHD) is calling a “Health and Wellness Bond.” It should be called the 30-million-dollar fix for their screw-ups.
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Let’s break it down. Of that total, $8 million is dedicated to demolishing the antiquated South Bay hospital building. You might think, of course, it is going to take money to remove that facility. The problem is that when the District pitched its Wealthy Living Campus to us, that cost was to be included in the developer’s responsibilities. It was one of their bigger selling points.
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However, as the District and the developer could not reach a financial agreement, the District decided to take on that cost themselves and gift it to the developer.
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An additional $3 million is allocated to building a new allcove mental health center for youth. This would be fine except that the District already received a grant from the State to cover the building costs. But now the District wants to add new “bells and whistles,” which have nearly doubled the projected cost. The State will not cover these additions.
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Then, there is $7 million for the creation of open space. Ignoring the fact that the new open space would be just across the street from another Redondo city park, this type of facility is primarily used by people in its vicinity. Thus, open-space-poor cities like Hermosa and Manhattan Beach will be paying for a park in South Redondo. For up to 30 years.
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Finally, there is a provision for $5 million for planning, architecture, and engineering. BCHD has already spent over $12 million dollars on this project, for which it seems to have gotten nothing except vague plans and some pretty promotional materials. One would have thought basics such as those found in any project would have been done before asking the public for funds to cover their inadequacies.
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The only thing this request for additional money proves is that BCHD has not been a good steward of the many millions of dollars they have received from our property taxes. Having been provided a windfall when the last tenant left the hospital, BCHD has squandered it over the years, leading them to the existential panic, which has led them to this misbegotten position. This is not a “Health and Wellness Bond.” This is a “Save Their Butt” tax.
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It is time for BCHD to take heed of the warning sent to it by the Local Area Formation Commission, an organization that monitors special districts, of which BCHD is one. They said that BCHD had spread its influence outside the area it was created for. Both of the projects they are asking us to fund are primarily for the use of people outside the district. Why should we pay the mortgage for that? BCHD should withdraw its planned tax measure and fix its own operations before asking us for anything more. ER
