Well tonight the Library Board voted to set the stage to begin the end of the blessing of the 1962 endowment that Norton Simon and the Hunt Food & Industries Foundation donated to Fullerton. It was to be a building and park located in Southwest Fullerton, to the City on the condition that it is “used solely for a public library and public library park.” The donation became known as the Hunt Branch and is located at 201 S. Basque Avenue. Of course it has been City property since then and that means it is public property-our property. Looks like it is church property now,
Fullerton’s for sale ladies and gentlemen and it looks like Joe Felz, with our own property, is trying to buy off one of the political powerhouses in town with a sweetheart real estate deal right after Valentines day with Grace Ministries. An ambiguously worded agenda item, little to no details, a possible sole source bid down the line if coucil approves to not fund it and to sell it off, no appraisal-Has a backdoor deal already been penned waiting to go down?
Sean Paden’s campaign manager and Library board of trustees president Ryan Cantor along with trustee and former City Manager Chris Meyer, actually were working together to get the board to vote on taking what was given to the Fullerton residents to be a park and a library and set the stage for the possible sell off. You can’t do this with things that were given to the city for a specific purpose. This is completely unethical in a park poor, under served community.
Residents beware, you are now unauthorized personnell
Get this- They tried to do all of this without a complete description of the property, an appraisal, sufficient advanced notice to the public or other board members, details, or any written explanation confirming if this is even legal. The Library Board Agenda, put together by Felz, read ambiguously “Hunt Branch” with no description. What the heck was that supposed to mean? Yes they tried and succeeded to bamboozle the library board into voting to pass the buck to the rubber stamp hacks on the city council to cash this baby in for a song and a dance to one of the wealthiest non profits west of the Mississippi to take away a park and a library from an under-served area that so desperately needs it.
The agenda item and packet contained just one paragraph and the motion passed to send the decision to the council to find a whopping supposedly needed 1.3 million dollars to reopen the library or to sell it. It was cooked up with a ridiculously inflated 1.3 million dollars a year operating cost estimate with no documentation as to where this number came from to run and reopen a room full of inanimate books while almost all of the employees are still employed by the city leaving just lights and gas as books don’t eat, drink water or go to the bathroom. What a scam.
Yes and it appeared to be a carefully orchestrated attempt by Ryan Cantor and Chris Meyer to hoodwink the library board into setting the stage for disposing of public property in a most certainly immoral, unethical and possibly an illegal manner and set it up for Felz to get the council to sell it to Grace Ministries for a song and a dance. It is on hold for now until the council comes up with the 1.3 million, or denies the funding for reopening it and then they will try to rip us off one more time and short sale it to Grace Ministries where the grass is green and money flows in like the water flows out of Laguna Lake. Not if I can help it folks.
It appears that wireless danger denier Ryan Cantor library trustee and board president
Sean Paden’s campaign manager Ryan Cantor pictured here
Trustee and retired city manager Chris Meyer,
Chris Meyer -Your tax dollars at work $184,000 a year pension as he tries to ram through this deal for his pal Joe Felz. This …..even tried to sway council into not developing a bike path. Was it so it could possibly be gobbled up by his in law -the forced irradiatior in THE FSD JANNY MEYERS dad?-Is a bike path the very thing he needs more than the other 139,999 people in town?
and City Manager Joe Felz
Our City manager in the shadows of Mr. Meyer -If looks could ….
and Grace Ministries have no regard for the conditions of that original endowment much less the public in general and once again the Parks and recreation commission was bypassed on this one. Which council members voted to give Joe Felz an evergreen contract? Which council members voted to appoint Ryan Cantor and Chris Meyer to the library board? Why is Joe Felz so desperate to sell off Fullerton? Money and political favors or worse?
The Hunt Branch library served the community for decades until 2013, when it was closed ostensibly for safety concerns over a burgeoning homeless population. We all know the spike in the homeless population was a direct result of the Fullerton Police department murder of Kelly Thomas garnering worldwide attention and by defacto, allowed Fullerton to become sanctuary city USA for the homeless. The Hunt Branch library was now the scene of a new tent city.
In a tale of two cities, in such dark bitter irony, back dropped by abject poverty right at its doorstep, Grace Ministries International was just finishing up the $25,000,000 sanctuary to ostensibly worship God
The love of money is the root of all evil
while ignoring the plight of the less fortunate right under their noses. This appears to be nothing more than Joe Felz with the help of Ryan Cantor and Chris Meyer maneuvering the unsuspecting library board of trustees, into releasing control of the Hunt Branch into the hands of the council in a possible coordinated attempt to buy off the Grace Ministries’ massive Korean congregation’s political influence by setting the stage to get the council to hand over city property in closed session with a sole source bid at what could be a fire sale price.
Look at the price of this property when a church buys it from a city and look at what The Lark Ellen property sold for by a church to a developer? Why is the Hunt Branch not being reopened immediately to serve the community instead of being set up to possibly be sold in a sole source bid to Grace Ministries?
Look, I am a Christian ladies and gentleman and the behavior of this mega church corporation is not Christian and forget about Joe Felz and his sycophants like Meyer as well as the political operatives like Cantor . This church is in bed with the phony conservative Republicans like Royce, Kim, and Fitzgerald that are ruining what is left of our city and state as you slumber and elect these Trojan Horses. Instead of opening their doors to the poor, Grace Ministries is courting the money changers, refusing to engage the culture, refusing TO GET INVOLVED IN SOCIAL AND MORAL ISSUES, and locking out those in need while rolling out the red carpet to the Royce Machine and its phony RINO hacks like Young Kim and Jennifer Fitzgerald.
Young Kim on the altar of mammon at Grace Ministries
Young Kim at the feet of ……
The church, with its burgeoning number of money changers, I mean administrators, supposedly needed the Hunt Branch library for office space even though right now is just being used as a library for the church. The property looks more like a railroad magnate’s estate up at the Huntington Library in Pasadena and is probably one of the most pristine properties in Fullerton surrounded by people crammed into apartments with no parks and no parking.
a pastors life
And the city wants this so called non profit corporation called a church that is rolling in hundreds of millions of dollars with no financial transparency to have even more of our public property taken out of public use,
come to me all you who are heavy laden and I will call the police on you
There is more open space and office space on the Grace Ministries property than they know what to do with.
As the church wants to gobble up our library and possibly even Pacific Drive park, while the surrounding residents and their children have no where to go and nowhere to play.
The private enclave of Grace Ministries where the homeless are not welcome and neither are you or I
Enter Joe Felz seen here at the 2-25-16 Library Board of Trustees meeting. The lights are on Joe.
Back in 2013 , Joe Felz cooked up a lease for $1300 a month to Grace Ministries to rent the facility that the city council gladly passed which clearly violated the terms of the original endowment. $1300 a month won’t even get you a studio apartment south of the tracks.
What happened next is heartbreaking.
Now Joe Felze orchestrates the BYPASSING OF THE PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSION AGAIN and cooking up another land giveaway behind our backs with this latest land scam just like he tried to do with the Summit House lease a few months back.
Now assuming the council goes for this scam, the Hunt Library is rumored to be sold for a fire sale price in a sole source bid in closed session to Grace Ministries who already owns a 26-acre campus purchased in 2000 by the Korean congregation from ConAgra (formerly Hunt-Wesson Foods).
Here is the man on the library board that thinks the property needs to be sold because people can’t find it.
Chris Meyer
Amazing this library board trustee happens to be the retired Fullerton city manager Chris Meyer who is married to Janny Meyer, the forced irradiator of children in the Fullerton School District, FSD trustee Janny Meyer that made sure every last child in Fullerton has an iPad (infertility pad) that has google maps installed on them. Every kid in town could find this place but this this guy, no way.
The church is in bed with the state once again in Fullerton and like clockwork, when Felz shows up to a library board meeting with someone from Jones and Mayer’s office, you know someone’s getting hosed. Once again its the taxpayers.
So much for the church loving your neighbor. Looks like the church is once again ripping off their neighbor. What I see here is the church in bed with the State, and they are all crossing the line turning their backs on the poor and the taxpayers in lockstep disgusting harmony.
Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him,2and He began to teach them, saying:
3Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
This building at Grace Ministries in Fullerton looks more like a bank than a church. That’s because that is precisely what it is. MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF MONEY GO IN AND NEVER COME BACK TO THE COMMUNITY JUST LIKE CITY HALL.
Grace ministries doesn’t need more office space. They need to give it up to those who have nothing. They need to give up some of their “money for nothing ill gotten gain” and open their doors not to donors but to the needy right at their doorstep. While this massive Christian congregation remains silent on the issues of our time such as the nightmarish lies about how the children came from monkeys and rocks as the public schools continue the dumbbing down,brainwashing of school children, the sterilizing forced microwave wireless radiation in schools from the technology programs rammed down the kids throats that gets them all addicted to satanic video games, and the forced vaccinations The patron saint of Grace Ministries Young Kim voted for, we must not let them abscond with public property behind our backs even thought they have abdicated all their other responsibilities.
I remember when churches used to build orphanages. Now the government rips children from their families through social services, bonuses the social workers for removal, places them in nightmarish foster homes where they are forcibly drugged for even more money for the foster parents only to have the churches finish the job by helping parental rights get terminated with their aiding and abetting the for profit adoption rings while these churches take all the money and build investment portfolios instead of women’s shelters and temporary housing for those in need.
I remember when churches used to care for the poor and now the government has created a welfare system that has destroyed the family by making it impossible for a dad to be in the home creating a multigenerational poverty trap nightmare that has destroyed the self reliant, moral fabric of our society while these churches take all the money and build themselves real estate empires and set up more phony non profits.
I remember when churches used to care for the homeless and now they count all the money and build massive buildings and parking structures that sit empty six days a week while people sleep in the gutter and get beat up and murdered on the streets by police and evil sadistic people just because they have no place to go.
I remember when churches used to build schools. Now the churches run schools that are set up as non profits that take in $20,000 a month per classroom and the teacher is making $30oo a month if they are lucky. These church run schools are so expensive and no one can afford to send their children there while they pay the teachers poverty level slave wages. Now the government has sucked in every last boy and girl into a secular humanist mind control system that has now turned into a sterilizing microwave matrix with iPads irradiating the reproductive organs of every last child in town where they are forcibly injected with up to 65 toxic vaccines just to get in and be taught there is no God, where they are taught bogus science that destroys the validity of The Word of God, where its ok to cross dress, have 2 moms or dads, that they came from animals and its ok to act like an animal while these churches count all the money and court the corrupt politicians and officials directly responsible for all of the aforementioned virtually ensuring it all continues in unabated in perpetuity.
I remember when churches used to do what the Great Commission required of it-that is to preach the Gospel, be salt and light, and win the world over to The Lord. Now these mega churches count the cash, water down the message, refuse to influence and engage the culture in any meaningful way and remain silent as our society is crumbling while being completely satanized and morally bankrupted by virtually every aspect of its culture that the church has abandoned for its love of money. You will know a tree by its fruit. What kind of tree is Grace Minisitries?
In a much needed about face, we urge Grace Ministries to work with the City Of Fullerton, donate and help restore the facility to serve the community, not for more office space so they can devise more ways to fleece the flock while turning their backs on the least of these, that is the poor and less fortunate among us literally lying on their doorstep. Ironically the homeless spend many cold nights on the cold hard floor of the armory in the shadows of this urban oasis that is off limits to anyone except their donors. As a Christian myself, married to a lovely Korean American, this was a hard article for me to write but one that had to be written, nonetheless. These bizarre dichotomies need to end, people need to live up to what they profess, and these churches need to start working in their own backyards instead of abdicating their responsibilities to the government. They are tax free for a reason. The reason they exist is to serve the needy both the spiritually and the physically needy.
As far as the City council, lets see how corrupt they really are. Lets see if they vote to fund the reopening of this library. Lets see if they vote to give this piece of public property away for pennies on the dollar in clear violation of the public trust and in clear violation of the original grant conditions just to plug the gaping holes in the budget that the Felz, Flory, Fitzgerald, and Chaffee cabal cooked up and passed. Lets see what their rubber stamp lackeys on the planning commission that passed The DCCSP will vote to go along with this betrayal just like they went along with the massive betrayal with the DCCSP that will ruin Fullerton forever. If they do, then maybe, figuratively speaking, we can bulldoze all their tents at city hall in November at the ballot box.
Joe Imbriano 4 City Council
#1 by Barry Levinson on February 28, 2016 - 1:23 pm
Question: Why was Ryan Cantor and Chris Meyer in such a hurry to recommend the sale of the Hunt Branch Library and surrounding property for what appears to be a very below market price?
Very possible answer: The city just learned that the College Town proposal was temporarily halted to a time uncertain because the citizens around the proposed College Town went to the planning committee meeting and voiced their opinion in unison that they do not want this plan. A cash cow in the form of almost 40 million dollars in park dwelling fees had just been put on hold. The city getting this news must have been in a panic. How are we going to fund all the goodies for the special interests we just passed? In a desperate need of additional short-term revenue to support their 2.8 million dollar budget deficit and the newly passed 6% police raises and additional payments for part of the police unfunded liabilities all costing the taxpayers many million of additional dollars, Joe Felz decided lets give away, he meant sell for a bargain price Hunt Branch Library and its property. Great idea he thought. They get at least some of the much needed cash the city desperately needs and at the same time they help out another special interest group.
There was no notices to the community telling them of the city’s intentions to sell the property. It was even a surprise for some of the Library Board members such as Zonya Townsend. One of the most if not thee most important votes by the Library Board and it is given no publicity or advanced warning to the community.
The first thing that an honest city government would do is to set up town meetings throughout the neighborhood getting feedback as to how the property should be used going forward. That is what an honest city does. But this is not an honest city lead by our City Manager, Joe (I want to solely control the approval of the high-rise developments throughout and along most of the major streets of Fullerton i.e. the DCCSP) Felz.
None of the following was provided about the potential sale of this property:
No proof was given at the meeting that this sale was even legal given that the land was donated with the requirement that it be used as a library and a park.
No appraisals of the value of the building and/or the land were provided prior to the voting.
No square footage of the building and no acreage of the property was disclosed.
No discussion prior to this meeting of the other uses for this very valuable piece of property in the underserved community of south Fullerton. The need for parkland is critical throughout Fullerton and especially in the south part of town. Apparently putting this on the Library Board agenda to sell, ignored such needs of the community.
No support provided for the value of the property. You know what they say in politics if you repeat something enough times people start believing it is true.
Conclusion: What is the sale of this property really about?
I believe based on all of the above that it is an unethical and maybe even an illegal attempt by the city to get their hands on some desperately needed short-term cash (that the city council with the support of Joe Felz) have created), by selling an extremely valuable piece of property without any regard for the needs of the immediate community.
Just another example of how broken and corrupt is the leadership of our beloved City of Fullerton.
#2 by Chris Meyer is a liar on February 29, 2016 - 8:48 am
p.s. Make sure to open the link and read the comments section… priceless!
Chris Meyer
March 29, 2013 at 12:04 pm
This is not the beginning of the end for Hunt . Rather, it is the first step in getting back control of a City facility that has suffered from budget cuts, a hard to find location, a hostile, and unsafe environment, and a need for its role in the community to be redefined, and funded accordingly. The Norton Simon Foundation has released its reverter clause in the gift deed, and the facility is now unfettered by its requirement to solely be a library, which opens up a wide range of services, including a library, and media access center, and whatever the community needs. It is my belief that after the homeless issue at the branch is addressed, and the City’s budget recovers, there will be an opportunity for a renaissance of the facility, and the adjacent park. To that end the Daltons, and Fullerton Heritage will be working to add the branch, and the main building on the Grace Ministries campus to the National Register to protect these significant architectural structures designed by William Pierra, as part of the City’s rich cultural history. This is not the beginning of the end, but rather the start of a new, and much more diverse role for Hunt in the southwest community.
Chris Meyer
Fullerton City Manager, Ret
http://fullertonrag.com/2013/03/29/the-beginning-of-the-end-of-the-hunt/#comments
#3 by Anonymous on February 29, 2016 - 11:08 am
Perry
April 2, 2013 at 9:36 pm
Chris, you need to get the heck out of Fullerton politics all together. You are a waste of space in a City that needs real people who care about saving the city.Not some former city mgr who only sits on boards to make sure his/her presence are not forgotten. As for Marlena Carrillo, well the majority know why she was put on the board. To keep her mouth shut! she is a false sense of reality. Get it?
#4 by The Liar on February 29, 2016 - 2:47 pm
The Liar
Deceiver, dissembler
Your trousers are alight
From what pole or gallows
Shall they dangle in the night?
When I asked of your career
Why did you have to kick my rear
With that stinking lie of thine
Proclaiming that you owned a mine?
When you asked to borrow my stallion
To visit a nearby-moored galleon
How could I ever know that you
Intended only to turn him into glue?
What red devil of mendacity
Grips your soul with such tenacity?
Will one you cruelly shower with lies
Put a pistol ball between your eyes?
What infernal serpent
Has lent you his forked tongue?
From what pit of foul deceit
Are all these whoppers sprung?
Deceiver, dissembler
Your trousers are alight
From what pole or gallows
Do they dangle in the night?