GRANT MONEY AIDS PRIVATE HEALTH CLUB : FEDERALLY FINANCED STORM DRAIN BENEFITS NEWHALL LAND PROJECT.Byline: Sherry Joe Crosby Daily News Staff Writer In handing a $3 million federal grant to Newhall Land and Farming Co. for its new hotel and conference center, the city also subsidized a private health club being built by the developer. The grant, awarded to the city after the Northridge Quake and earmarked for developments that generate jobs, would finance a storm drain storm drain n. 1. A storm sewer. 2. A catch basin. for the planned Hilton Hotel in Valencia and nearby Spectrum Health Club under construction at McBean and Magic Mountain parkways. ``I think this is a bunch of hogwash hog·wash n. 1. Worthless, false, or ridiculous speech or writing; nonsense. 2. Garbage fed to hogs; swill. hogwash Noun Informal nonsense Noun 1. ,'' said Councilwoman Jan Heidt who demanded that the developer reimburse the city for the cost of the benefit to the club and projects the system would serve. Heidt's comments came after learning that an agreement between the agencies did not disclose the storm drain would benefit other Newhall Land projects. ``It's a matter of perception,'' said Councilman Clyde Smyth, agreeing with Heidt. ``The memorandum of understanding A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is a legal document describing a bilateral or multilateral agreement between parties. It expresses a convergence of will between the parties, indicating an intended common line of action and may not imply a legal commitment. should have included language in it clarifying its intent. Now it looks like we're sliding something in there that wasn't there before. There's nothing illegal or immoral. We need to be more cautious so people don't guess the motivation.'' On Tuesday, the City Council voted 4-1 to approve $20,000 toward a $1 million water line that Castaic Lake Castaic Lake is a lake on Castaic Creek formed by Castaic Dam, in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, near the town of Castaic. The 323,700 acre foot lake (399,000,000 m³) is the terminus of the West Branch of the California Aqueduct, though some comes from the 154 mi² Water Agency is building in conjunction with the storm drain project. Combining the two projects would save the city and the water company time and money and would enable the hotel to open on schedule in 1997. Heidt cast the dissenting vote. Officials from Newhall Land and the city denied any wrongdoing wrong·do·er n. One who does wrong, especially morally or ethically. wrong  do ,
saying the storm drain is a public improvement that will benefit many in
the Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. .
``It's a public improvement to the public at large,'' said Newhall Land spokeswoman Marlee Lauffer. ``It was specifically for the hotel and confernce center but it ties into the whole public drainage system Noun 1. drainage system - a system of watercourses or drains for carrying off excess water system - instrumentality that combines interrelated interacting artifacts designed to work as a coherent entity; "he bought a new stereo system"; "the system consists of a . Whatever you do in one area effects areas downstream of it.'' City officials compared the storm drain to past deals in which the city has improved roads to attract businesses, such as Home Depot The Home Depot (NYSE: HD) is an American retailer of home improvement and construction products and services. Headquartered in Vinings, just outside Atlanta in unincorporated Cobb County, Georgia, Home Depot employs more than 355,000 people and operates 2,164 big-box and Price Club, in exchange for sales tax sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. sharing agreements. The city expects to receive about $32 million in taxes over 30 years from the hotel and conference center, planned for McBean Parkway and Town Center Drive. The $3 million subsidy is drawn from a $4.9 federal grant and has come under increasing attack by opponents who say the developer unjustly received the money over small business owners who were displaced by the 1994 quake. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: (ran in SAC only) ``I think this is a bunch of hogwa sh.'' Jan Heidt after learning that an agreement between the agencies did not disclose the storm drain would benefit other Newhall Land projects |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion