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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCorrespondence - Non-Agenda Orozco, Norma From:Denise Colber <dcolber@aol.com> Sent:Monday, April 19, 2021 4:17 PM Subject:Public Comments I am writing to you as Orange County desperately needs your assistance to right an ongoing wrong! There is massive and ongoing fraud. In short: the public was promised that tolls on the 73 would cover that facility’s debt service and, after OVER 30 years (by now), what started as a toll road would become a freeway, i.e., a public road with no tolls. That promise has been broken. The insult to this injury is that presently there is no discernible earnest effort to do anything to rectify the situation. Indeed, the 73’s debt, which started below $900 million, now stands above $2.4 billion. Meanwhile special interests enrich themselves, bond holders enjoy a sweet deal... even as the traveling public continues to get stiffed. The upshot, given the rising tolls, is that traffic on the other public roads is more congested than it should be, notably traffic on the 405 and Coast Highway. Each day tens of thousands of vehicles, for example, drive twice through Laguna Beach, merely to avoid the tolls. There is a documented history of how the toll road agency — and its enabling partner agencies of Caltrans, OCTA and the County Board of Supervisors — has abused the public trust. Additional forensic audits may be in the offing. However, what does, what will it matter? I ask that question as none of this information has begun to provide a meaningful remedy. And any new insights will similarly fail to provide a remedy. The lone remedy is for the original public promise to be fulfilled — for the toll road to become a freeway. I am writing with hope you will consider helping to advance the righteous remedy. Honestly it’s hard to imagine — absent the involvement of someone like you, our elected official — how the debt, still climbing, can ever be retired. By way of background, below a link to the relevant Orange County Grand Jury Report of 2019- 2020. http://www.ocgrandjury.org/.../2020-06-29_GJ_Report_TCA.pdf https://www.ocregister.com/.../these-toll-roads-wont.../ https://www.lagunabeachindy.com/letter-toll-road-thoughts/ Please look into removing the City for the TCA Joint Power Agreement so they can finally commit to paying down the bonds. The numbers above are just for the 73 Toll Road and do Not Include the massive debt burden on the Foothill Branch. Thank you Marie C. 1 Orozco, Norma From:Zap <channelfrequency@gmail.com> Sent:Monday, April 12, 2021 1:44 PM To:eComment Subject:Corruption and Incompetence Dear Santa Ana City Council, With all due respect please investigate the Santa Ana City Council for decades of siphoning taxpayer money from the common residents of Santa Ana. The state of south Santa Ana is horrendous and the residents do not have access to adequate whole grain and their diets. Please build a dirt running track and a suburban farm for the residents of south Santa Ana. Although the Santa Ana Zoo and the Amtrak station is the only thing that is impressive in the city, please look into expanding the Santa Ana Zoo. I am seeing a lot of sad faces from Santa Ana residents after covid-19 and the city council does not do it's job for the Santa Ana people, dragging down the county with one of the least impressive and most blighted cities in America. Thank you, Ben Pickens, Huntington Beach 1 Orozco, Norma From:Donna Robin Lippman <donnarobin@verizon.net> Sent:Saturday, April 10, 2021 6:42 PM To:eComment Subject:Santa Ana should endorse the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Dear Santa Ana City Council and Mayor Sarmiento, Fossil fuels pose a threat not only to our planet, but to our community in Santa Ana. Study after study has shown that extracting, transporting, refining, and burning fossil fuels harms environmental and human health – and new evidence shows that toxic air pollution from fossil fuels also makes people more vulnerable to poor outcomes from COVID. The truth is, fossil fuel expansion is undercutting any other work we do on climate action and public health and safety, locking in decades of reliance on fuels dangerous to Santa Ana and the planet. I’m writing to you today to ask you to please pass a climate emergency resolution that includes a SAFE commitment and an endorsement of the global call for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. Passing this resolution will demonstrate your intent to keep our community healthy and safe. You’ll be committing to taking local action to explore policies that stop fossil fuel expansion and speed up the clean energy transition, while joining a powerful call for global action against the climate crisis. You can learn more about the SAFE Cities movement at https://www.stand.earth/safe and can view a sample climate emergency template with language demonstrating intent to pass SAFE policies and endorse the Fossil Fuel Non- Proliferation Treaty here: https://www.stand.earth/SAFEtemplate. As a member of the Santa Ana community, I’m asking: Will you show leadership on this critical issue and pledge to pass a resolution that commits our community to explore SAFE policies and endorses the global call for a Fossil Fuel Non- Proliferation Treaty? Together, we can keep Santa Ana and the planet safe from fossil fuels, speed up the shift to clean, renewable energy, and create good, long-term jobs. Thank you, Donna Robin Lippman, 10009 2 Orozco, Norma From:jayne mcgurrin-feshold <jaynefeshold@yahoo.com> Sent:Saturday, April 10, 2021 2:54 AM To:eComment Subject:Santa Ana should phase out fossil fuels and fast track clean energy solutions Dear Santa Ana City Council and Mayor Sarmiento, Fossil fuels pose a threat not only to our planet, but to our community in Santa Ana. Study after study has shown that extracting, transporting, refining, and burning fossil fuels harms environmental and human health – and new evidence shows that toxic air pollution from fossil fuels also makes people more vulnerable to poor outcomes from COVID. The truth is, fossil fuel expansion is undercutting any other work we do on climate action and public health and safety, locking in decades of reliance on fuels dangerous to Santa Ana and the planet. I’m writing to you today to ask you to please pass a climate emergency resolution that includes a SAFE commitment and an endorsement of the global call for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. Passing this resolution will demonstrate your intent to keep our community healthy and safe. You’ll be committing to taking local action to explore policies that stop fossil fuel expansion and speed up the clean energy transition, while joining a powerful call for global action against the climate crisis. You can learn more about the SAFE Cities movement at https://www.stand.earth/safe and can view a sample climate emergency template with language demonstrating intent to pass SAFE policies and endorse the Fossil Fuel Non- Proliferation Treaty here: https://www.stand.earth/SAFEtemplate. As a member of the Santa Ana community, I’m asking: Will you show leadership on this critical issue and pledge to pass a resolution that commits our community to explore SAFE policies and endorses the global call for a Fossil Fuel Non- Proliferation Treaty? Together, we can keep Santa Ana and the planet safe from fossil fuels, speed up the shift to clean, renewable energy, and create good, long-term jobs. Thank you, jayne mcgurrin-feshold, 89014 3 Orozco, Norma From:Shelly Abraham <Shellybearslove@gmail.com> Sent:Wednesday, April 07, 2021 7:48 PM To:eComment Subject:Make Santa Ana SAFE Dear Santa Ana City Council and Mayor Sarmiento, Fossil fuels pose a threat not only to our planet, but to our community in Santa Ana. Study after study has shown that extracting, transporting, refining, and burning fossil fuels harms environmental and human health – and new evidence shows that toxic air pollution from fossil fuels also makes people more vulnerable to poor outcomes from COVID. The truth is, fossil fuel expansion is undercutting any other work we do on climate action and public health and safety, locking in decades of reliance on fuels dangerous to Santa Ana and the planet. I’m writing to you today to ask you to please pass a climate emergency resolution that includes a SAFE commitment and an endorsement of the global call for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. Passing this resolution will demonstrate your intent to keep our community healthy and safe. You’ll be committing to taking local action to explore policies that stop fossil fuel expansion and speed up the clean energy transition, while joining a powerful call for global action against the climate crisis. You can learn more about the SAFE Cities movement at https://www.stand.earth/safe and can view a sample climate emergency template with language demonstrating intent to pass SAFE policies and endorse the Fossil Fuel Non- Proliferation Treaty here: https://www.stand.earth/SAFEtemplate. As a member of the Santa Ana community, I’m asking: Will you show leadership on this critical issue and pledge to pass a resolution that commits our community to explore SAFE policies and endorses the global call for a Fossil Fuel Non- Proliferation Treaty? Together, we can keep Santa Ana and the planet safe from fossil fuels, speed up the shift to clean, renewable energy, and create good, long-term jobs. Thank you, Shelly Abraham, V0J1E0 4 Orozco, Norma From:Michelle Schumacher <schumacherfamily@me.com> Sent:Sunday, April 18, 2021 11:38 AM To:Michelle Schumacher Subject:Public Comments for the Next Meeting I ask for your support in reducing a significant tax on all residents that often times goes unnoticed. Are you aware that the Transportation Corridor Agency (“TCA”) has taxed OC homeowners to the tune of $754 Million Dollars since is was established in 1987. This tax comes in the form of Development Fees that are assessed on new residential & commercial properties built or remodeled in OC. The TCA Formed in 1987 with the explicit purpose of constructing the Toll Roads. At the time that the TCA was established bonds were issued to pay for construction of these the Toll Roads. The promise made by the TCA at the time was that the debt taken on by the TCA for construction of these new Toll Roads would be paid off through a combination of Development Fees & Tolls collected. 100% of the debt was to be paid off and the Toll Roads were supposed to become Freeways after 30 years. The TCA has horribly mismanaged & squandered these silent taxes paid for by your constituents. Not only are the Toll Roads not Freeways, but the TCA is still owes over $4.7 BILLION for construction. This is a dereliction of duty & a travesty for OC Taxpayers. By the time the bonds are repaid it will cost 11 Billion - the debt is going in the WRONG direction. The TCAs new Vision Plan demonstrates serious mission creep and is trying to become a regional bank. It is time to the TCA solely focus on paying down the bonds, instead of driving up housing & the cost of business with these empty toll roads. 1 Please make them pay down the bonds and get traffic moving. OCTA & Caltrans can do what is needed there is no need for this redundant wasteful agency. Tax payers deserve better. The TCA spends hundreds of Millions of Dollars regularly on contracts outside of our state, if they want Orange County Tax payers to be able to afford the ever increasing tolls they need to be more mindful and keep the money in California. Stop the hemorrhage to taxpayers with these economically discriminating toll roads. Thank you 2