CORRESPONDENCE - 75E - Laserfiche WebLink

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14. The Developer is trying to buy his way into approval of this project as is. Several of the neighbors who live on Spurgeon Street have reported that the Developer has contacted them on several occasions asking what it would take to get them to support the project, including offers of repairs and upgrades to their property. At a recent Planning Commission meeting the Developer admitted to the plan to pay the Discovery Center over $1,000,000 to help them with their planned parking structure project if they indicate support of the 2525 North Main Street project. The Developer is promising to spend $1.41M for park improvements, however as the project management team has documented, the Developer in lieu of giving the City $1.41M and allowing the City to make the improvements, have the option of making the improvements themselves with the variation of allowing them to spend "up to" $1.4M for improvements. This would allow them to spend significantly less money on improvements to which the project management staff has agreed. The Developer has stated that they would provide 24 hour security surveillance for the Park Santiago neighborhood for 55 years, however with the yearly option of ceasing this service. Also the area for surveillance does not encompass the entire Park Santiago community, instead stopping short at Santiago Street. It is true that the Developer has more substantial financial resources that can be used to help influence the City Council to decide in their favor while the hard working residents of Park Santiago do not. What we are hoping is that the members of the City Council listen to their constituents and understand our concerns and reject this project as currently planned with the request to develop a workable solution that all parties can support. Mayor Pulido, I sincerely want to thank you for your time in reviewing my letter and the concerns of the Park Santiago community. I invite you to take a ride or a walk through our lovely neighborhood, talk with some of the residents and get a good feeling of the charm and uniqueness of Park Santiago. I believe that you too will be convinced that the community is special. Thank - you.