It's not a loan. It's a grant.

Sunday's Trib included an article about the Washington Park property, a.k.a. the Zamagias property. Tax-increment financing poses big risks in Pennsylvania

The apparent failure of Longvue and a residential development in Mt. Lebanon highlight risks inherent in projects backed by tax-increment financing plans, and they could cost state taxpayers at least $7.3 million.

It is costing Mt. Lebanon taxpayers, as well. The Mt. Lebanon School Board and Commission must approve giving up a portion of property tax revenues when authorizing a TIF.   

Neither the municipality nor the school district lost any money on the project, Feller said. Both collect taxes on the value of the unimproved land; only tax money from any buildings would go into the debt service fund.

Zamagias controls the land, through several extensions Mt. Lebanon commissioners granted; the company bought the site from the defunct Mt. Lebanon Parking Authority. The board in January granted the most recent extension, lasting until December 2013.

After consolidating its properties along Washington Road and Kenmont Avenue, Zamagias cleared the site, which remains empty.

Yes, Steve Feller is correct. However, as it was pointed out in a previous comment:

The Mt. Lebanon Parking Authority (MLPA) purchased the property during the 1970's for around $200,000 that it sold to Zamagias in 2005 for $520,000. That $520,000 was based on an independent appraisal by a state certified appraiser and agreed to by both buyer & seller.

There are also some interesting questions about the consolidation of Zamagias property parcels, County assessments, reassessments and owner appeals that I would like to see addressed by Municipal officials. In reviewing the County 2013 assessment website for the Zamagias properties (i.e. 098-P-100), one wonders how 8 former parcels that Zamagias paid a total of $1,520,000 for, reportedly with TIF loan proceeds, can be shown consolidated into a single parcel now comprising 1.7115 acres, has a cost basis of only $520,000, a 2012 assessed value of $609,100, and a 2013 reassessed value of only $428,000 that Zamagias is appealing as being too high ?

Now you see, Anonymous, why I rail against this and expose Posti...? You wonder why you aren't getting the fundraising support that you need. These decisions are costing us money. Don't forget to sign the petition.  

Links:
Letter to the Editor: The Importance of Being Earnest UPDATED 2x
This is disgusting!
Mt. Lebanon developer may avoid repaying tax-aided loan

Letter to the Editor: The Importance of Being Earnest UPDATED 2x

The following letter to the editor was submitted by Blog reader and Mt. Lebanon resident, Bill Matthews.

Several years ago, the Municipality embarked on a second journey to develop the property on Washington Road, across from where I attended first and second grade. We began our trip with an RFQ (Request for Qualifications). The thought was that by seeking out an established developer with the demonstrated credentials to build on this site, we would avoid the delays and ultimate failure experienced with the site's predecessor project. It was a good plan and we in fact received a response and proposal from one such firm.

Then we picked the other one. 

Zamagias Properties showed no experience developing residential condominiums when the firm was first selected to develop this property and handed more than $1,000,000 in TIF loan proceeds. Following a review of their website this morning, it appears not much has changed. Please see the attached letter I sent to the Commission regarding this project, more than six years ago. My letter includes the firm's original submission to demonstrate their competencies. 

The Municipality's web site indicates there will be a "Zamagias update" on October 22. It is time for the Commission to move on with a developer who maintains a successful track record for developing first class projects appropriate for this site. If the Commission elects to continue its partnership with this developer, it must also insist on the developer making good on the TIF loan. 

Bill

Update September 23, 2012 11:00 AM In response to today's 7:25 AM comment, Bill Matthews felt it was easier to post the documents rather than try to describe the repurchase agreement and extension.
Zamagias - MLPA Sales Agreement The repurchase section is on page 15 of the agreement.
Zamagias Agreement 6th amendment Note: The seventh amendment was in January 2012.

Update September 24, 2012 11:59 AM Here is supporting evidence of the conflict of interest mentioned in Bill Lewis' item number three of his 6:05 PM comment. Ballon Conflict of interest Ballon was the vice chairman of the Parking Authority and remained so until dismissed in July 2011.

This is disgusting!

Remember how Zamagias planned to build $42.8 million worth of  luxury condos on the corner of Washington Road and Bower Hill Road and Mt. Lebanon agreed to a TIF in 2007? Well, it "ain't gonna happen."  

Downtown-based Zamagias Properties planned the $42.8 million Washington Park project for the corner of Washington and Bower Hill roads and Mt. Lebanon municipal and school district officials agreed in 2007 to a tax increment financing plan, or TIF, that allowed Zamagias to borrow money to buy the land and plan for construction. Part of the money from property taxes on the condos would go into a fund to repay the loans.

When the suggested condo prices of $300,000 to $1.1 million prevented enough sales to begin construction during the recession, Zamagias withdrew the project in 2010. That meant no tax money going into the company’s debt service fund to repay the $1.79 million it owes by next year.

Neither the municipality nor the school district lost any money on the project, Feller said. Both collect taxes on the value of the unimproved land; only tax money from any buildings would go into the debt service fund.

Zamagias bought the land from the Mt. Lebanon Parking Authority. (Remember them?)

Mt. Lebanon developer may avoid repaying tax-aided loan

The Neverending List

Through a Right To Know request dated 8/24/12 asking for "List of vehicle registration plate numbers, vehicle make model and color, with unpaid parking tickets from January 1997 through December 2011.  Please include the number of outstanding tickets per vehicle and the amount of the original fine." I am uploading the 1,717 page document and it is available here.
I had been denied the list of names of scofflaws, but license plate numbers are public information. I just didn't ask for the right information. 

Former Assistant Director of the Mt. Lebanon Parking Authority Speaks Out

It is finally time for me to enter the rarified air of the blogosphere.  I would like to start with answering a few questions related to the $800,000+ ticket issue and who may or may not be responsible. 

• Didn’t anyone else know about the problem of unpaid tickets? – Most Authority employees knew there was little effort in collecting unpaid fines, but they had little recourse.  Since their supervisor and Board members were the problem, and there was fear of reprisal, you get the picture. 

• Payments made by cash in the ticket envelope and dropped in the fine box may not have been marked as paid. – I am unaware of any tickets not processed properly.  The clerical staff responsible for entering and processing these payments, were capable and honest individuals.

• Mr. Brumfield was a former Parking Authority Board member. – Commissioner Brumfield together with the other four Commissioners took over in the final days of the Authority when the Parking Authority Board was dissolved.  During this short period of time, the Commissioners did not have much time to look into the former Authority’s problems.  Commissioners Brumfield, Kluck, and former Commissioner Miller should be applauded for their efforts in the consolidation.

• Were the problem individuals retained by the Municipality? – The Board, Solicitor, and Executive Director were not retained.

• Try Multi-tasking and looking down the road.  Instead of always looking back to blame people, how about looking forward and figuring out how to PREVENT it from happening again. – Excellent suggestion and I believe this is already under way with the Municipality creating an ad-hoc board to provide advice on the future of parking needs in Mt. Lebanon.  As far as looking back, how else can we learn from our mistakes if we don’t investigate? 

If anyone thinks that unpaid parking tickets are the only issue, they are sadly mistaken.  Here are just a few of the other negligent acts of the former Authority.

• Lease at 794 Washington Road – Over $25,000 lost in rental revenue, together with payments for utilities.  When the Municipality vacated the old Tax Office at 794 Washington Road at the end of November, 2004, The Authority had many months of advance notice.  Unfortunately, the Authority failed to successfully negotiate a new lease with the remaining occupant (SHACOG) for nearly two additional years.

• Lease at North Garage office space (Pepperberry’s) – Lost over $20,000 in lease revenue due to procrastination over negotiations.  LaPomponnee’s finally came to the rescue and offered to lease the additional space.  

• 424 Washington Road rent – The Authority failed to pursue over $11,000 in rent and utility charges by a real estate developer.  This debt is still outstanding today.

• Academy Avenue Lot – Significant cost overruns from the original estimates (I believe in the area of $800,000) in excess of budget for acquisition of properties and construction of the Academy Ave. lot. 

• Meter rate increase – Rates were increased in 2001, then rescinded in 2003, and reinstated in 2006.  Unfortunately, the new rates were not charged until starting in 2010, and continuing through 2011.  For each year the new rates were not charged, an estimated $100,000 was lost annually.  This would equate to approximately $700,000 total meter revenue lost. 

The way I see it, the unpaid parking tickets are just the tip of the iceberg.  As I said above, these are just a few examples of the past negligent acts.  We need to investigate now, and get the answers so this never happens again.

I made an attempt in 2006 to inform the entire Parking Authority Board of the various negligent acts by letter, but I received no response.  I had also requested over the past two years at Commission meetings, that the Commissioners get a copy of the booting/scofflaw list.  This list with the $800,000+ in unpaid fines was unfortunately not made available to Municipal officials until after the consolidation of the Parking Authority.

Dave Egler  

List of names with outstanding parking tickets delayed - UPDATED

I filed a Right To Know with Steve Feller for the list of names of those with outstanding parking tickets. You know, the ones that came to over $800,000 which the Mt. Lebanon Parking Authority failed to collect?
I heard from Steve today.

Dear Elaine:

Please be advised that my office with the Municipality of Mt. Lebanon (the "Municipality") received your Right to Know request (the "Request") dated May 31, 2012.  The Municipality is in the process of obtaining a legal review of the Request to determine whether the records you seek are "public records" subject to access under the Right to Know Act.  The Municipality expects to be able to respond to the Request on or before June 29, 2012.

Thank you

Steve

Stephen M. Feller

Municipal Manager

Personally, I think they should be public information particularly since the Municipality has made basic facts about it known to the public already. Perhaps they may be holding out to see what response they receive from the amnesty letters mailed giving scofflaws contacted from June 1 - June 20 to pay the original fines outstanding. My hope is that they don't want to release names now to allow a first response to avoid public embarrassment for those who comply. Only time will tell.

Update June 10, 2012 3:24 PM This was emailed to me and provides more information and background regarding the Parking Authority. I removed some information to protect this person's identity.

I wanted to give you some info about the parking authority, but I don’t want to personally put it on the blog. If you want to put it out there from a source feel free. Some of the things people have written are way off base and I am disappointed that they have been allowed to post them anonymously. There are so many miss truths on the last couple of blog about the MLPA I don’t know where to start.

First all of the stuff about Raja’s influence on the MLPA is crap. He had none... And Al Frioni could not have done things on his own. There were 5 members of the board. 2 were members of the Republican Committee, 2 I am not sure of party and 1 was on the Democratic committee... And at other times there were additional D’s, 1 a former commissioner and 1 a former candidate for Mt. Lebo treasurer. So for people to make this a R’s vs. D’s thing is a mistake. When you ask where the D’ were when all of this happened the answer is they were at the table. But no one seems to want to mention that on your blog.

The reason why Al, Raja and Joe were against the consolidation...into the Muni is that if you look what the MLPA paid its staff it was much less then what they are making now. The MLPA was non-union. So the maintenance people made much less then the Muni employees. The Muni would even have the MLPA do work to help save money from time to time. Also the MLPA did not have a pension plan. It had a Defined Contribution plan. That is why if you look at what the employees retirement plan was when it was shut down it is very small. They do not receive cash payments for the rest of their lives like the Muni employees. Now that they work for the Muni they will be entitled to a pension. So it actually costs the tax payers more money.

The MLPA never took tax payer money from the Muni. It operated on collection rent and fines. That is it. So no tax payer dollars were touched... The MLPA did have the Muni as a “Co-signer” on its bonds. But it never needed the Muni to step in...

As for the 800k in reserves that you somehow connected to the missing fines. That 800k came from the sale of property. So there is no connection between them.

As for Dawn Morrison’s hiring. There have been some really mean things said about her. First she did nothing wrong. She was hired as a part time employee. To a position that at one time had been eliminated but the board felt needed to comeback as the current staff was no longer able to complete all of its duties without additional staff. Her title does not reflect what she did. She was a Liaison to the store owners. Going out and talking to them and finding out what questions and concerns they had. She also interacted with the Muni so we had an open line of communication. In addition she was what I would call a floater. She filled in for other staff members when they were on vacation or out sick. After about a year it was determined that part time was not enough time to complete all that was involved so it was turned into a full time position. Now when it come to having to advertise the position, I frankly don’t recall why we were told it was not necessary to do. Just that it wasn’t. You would have to ask the solicitor about that.

Now the big question the 800k in fines. First let me tell you that I did bring up the question of fines on multiple occasions. I even asked about booting and towing... I can tell you that I was never told that there was this much in fines outstanding. If I had been, I would have done something about it. I can’t imagine the... board members knew either. The thing everyone needs to remember is that the board meets once a month. It relies on the Executive Director and the staff to run day to day operations and the Solicitor and Auditors to make sure that it has all of the needed information to make decision. How this got past the Auditors is beyond me. They had been the Auditors for several years so I would have thought that they would have noticed this kind of discrepancy. The board can’t act on information it is not given. I know it is an excuse, but it is also a fact. I also know that the Muni received a copy of the financial every month. So it got by them too. I am as interested as anyone in finding out what happened. If for no other reason but to clear the name of those...who were on the board.

Parking Authority overlooked over $800,000 in parking tickets

Say what? Yes, since 1997, the Mt. Lebanon Parking Authority failed to collect over $800,000 in parking tickets.  I was at the commission meeting when the Parking Authority was dissolved and it reported by Marcia Taylor.  To say the least, we were shocked.

Marcia Taylor, Mt. Lebanon's assistant manager, said there are more than 20,000 outstanding tickets, although some people have multiple tickets -- including one person with 159 tickets -- and some, just a few.

I emailed the commissioners yesterday, asking for the list of names so that I may publish it here. I don't know if I will be asked to file a Right To Know. It should be interesting.

Read more: http://triblive.com/news/1864441-74/parking-tickets-authority-lebanon-brumfield-department-ticket-unpaid-800000-charge