Posted by: thepinetree on 06/29/2008 12:08 PM
Updated by: thepinetree on 06/30/2008 01:13 PM
Expires: 01/01/2013 12:00 AM
:
Calaveras County Taxpayers Association Endorses the Trinitas Project~Video Enclosed (Updated With CCTA Press Release)
Valley Springs, CA...The Calaveras County Taxpayers Association took a tour and met with the Developers of the Trinitas Olive Orchards & Golf Course for several hours on Friday. They reached the conclusion that the Trinitas Project deserves their support. The CCTA is the second community organization to stand behind the project publicly in less than a week. The Calaveras County Deputy Sheriff's Association started the ball rolling last week with their endorsement. We have also heard...
Mike Nemee & CCTA Board Members Bob Mulvaney, Bruce Tallakson, Steve Fairchild, Kyran Enzi, Al Segalla
that there may be more endorsements in the near future. In speaking with numerous parties the last few weeks it seems that with the worsening financial condition of the county several groups will be increasing their pressure to get projects like Trinitas open and bringing in revenue. In the opinion of the DSA & CCTA the county's continual road blocks and bowing to special interest groups for projects like Trinitas has the potential to severely damage the county's fiscal future and continue to harm the workforce of Calaveras County. The Complete and Unedited Press Release From the CCTA is below
TAXPAYERS ENDORSE TRINITAS PROJECT
The Calaveras County Taxpayers Association (CCTA) urges the county to quickly complete the review process, which has been delayed far too long, according to Al Segalla, President.
CCTA has completed a review of the objections to the project and inspected the site. “We have also reviewed letters of project support by neighbors of the development,” Segalla said. “Some of these letters are shocking in that they indicate a massive fraudulent campaign is underway to kill the project.”
“We found that the project owners appear to have consistently followed the requests of the county and followed the rules from when the project was a private golf course to the present more significant public agri-tourist project.”
“There seems to be no problem with ground water. We did see evidence of fraudulent claims about detrimental affects on neighboring wells.”
“Trinitas is one of the largest Ag products producers in the west end of the County and from our observation, this project has a wonderful balance of Ag, Open space, Oak Tree Preservation, Wetlands and Wildlife Habitat Enhancement, plus Water Conservation and Reclamation. Relative to other possible agricultural uses, the project will not produce any significant noise; odors or traffic and it will raise property values of the whole area. The improvements blend into the natural landscape and are very pleasant to see.”
“We found that significant improvement is proposed to Ospital Road as part of the project at a cost of $350,000 plus $150,000 of Road Impact Mitigation fees.”
“The Trinitas project will have significant economic benefits to our county and the taxpayer, such as $39,000,000 in project construction of which $20,000,000 is to be spent locally and 48 full time jobs with $1,500,000 annual payroll.”
“Present property taxes have been increased by the assessor due to the current improvements.Estimated annual Transit Occupancy Tax is $60,000, which would be a 12% increase for the whole county. On-site sales tax is estimated annually at $160,000 -- a 6% increase for the county.
Property tax is estimated at $380,000 annually, plus $250,000 in permit fees go to our schools.”
Segalla further said: “Trinitas and the Nemee Family should be recognized for Land Stewardship and should not have had to suffer the years of process delay and significant losses caused by unwarranted attacks. Like all human beings in our free society, they have property rights which should be recognized and respected.”.
From the CCTA's Website. "We are a non-partisan citizen's advocacy group committed to promoting lower taxes and efficiency in the administration of public business. We keep a watchful eye on City, County, State, education and special district issues in an effort to promote the most economical use of our tax dollars. We recognize the human rights to liberty and property in a free society.
Our goal is to work cooperatively with government officials to achieve a strong, balanced economy for Calaveras County. We network with, and support, the Howard Jarvis California Taxpayers Association, the National Taxpayers Union and other organizations of similar purpose."