The Venice Business Improvement District (BID) will meet Friday, 10 am at the Mishkon Rephilio, 206 Main Street, Santa Monica.
This is the July report for the men and women in the clean and safe teams who work for the Business Improvement District.
Marlene Okulick reveals letter sent to Tara Devine and Board of Directors regarding the Venice Business Improvement District (BID).The Business Improvement District (BID) was passed twice by the City Council to provide private services for the Venice board walk and surrounding areas. It is an assessment for commercial and industrial properties, not residentially zoned properties. The map shows the areas in black covered by the assessment.
Dear Tara Devine and Self Appointed Board of Directors,
I am one of the property owners included in the Venice BID. I am very concerned about the self appointment of the Board of Directors. Who appointed you? I am very interested in being included in the meetings and decision making process.
Shouldn’t there be a vote among the property owners that are directly impacted ?Where is the oversight? Where is the budget? Where are the quarterly financial statements? Where are the minutes of the past meetings?
Why is there a cloak of secrecy around the forming of the BID’s Board of Directors and disbursement of funds?
I understand that in May-June of 2016 you have received almost $ 1,800,000. to begin the BID’s implementation.
We all have been billed the additional assessment for next year.
Why is this assessment on our property tax bill? Since this is not a property tax shouldn’t this be billed separately?
This violates Proposition 13 as it appears as a tax. It violates Proposition 218 that states that the assessment should be going to the specific property that is assessed. We have not seen any improvements.
Where is the community outreach and clean and safe programs? We do not know of any plans for implementation of this BID..
Most important, there are no scheduled meetings for the property owners that are paying for these services. We have not seen any services. I have a postcard asking for confirmation of my email and a vaguely worded flyer that tells me nothing.
No one answers the phone number provided to us. No one calls back. Why are the emails directed to Tara Devine? Is she hired by the Self Appointed Board of Directors? How much is she being paid?
There are rumors that the Self Appointed Board is paying transportation costs for the homeless to go away. We need to know what is going on.
I would greatly appreciate specific answers to my questions?
This is is forced Taxation Without Any Representation .
Sincerely,
Marlene Okulick
John Okulick of Hampton Drive has been an outspoken opponent of the Business Improvement District (BID), formed last year of commercial and industrial property owners near Ocean Front Walk to provide a “cleaner and safer boardwalk.
“The Venice Beach BID will help create a cleaner and safer boardwalk for everyone to enjoy,” said Councilman Mike Bonin. “BIDs are a commonly-used tool to help supplement public services for neighborhoods, and this BID will make it possible for us to expand the services that the neighborhood deserves. It is the kind of smart and effective public-private partnership we need.”
Okulick sent this letter to the Venice Update that was sent to him by Mark Sokol, president of BID. Okulick made the following comment with the letter:
Thought you might like to print this letter I received from Mark Sokol, self appointed Bonin representative that will recieve from the city of LA, $1.8 million dollars a year for 5 years with no benefits to the property owners or residents. This is truly a payoff to Mark Sokol who contributed $153,540.61 to Bonin from 2014 to 2016.
By David Graham-Caso
The Los Angeles City Council has voted to certify the creation of a Business Improvement District at Venice Beach, Councilmember Mike Bonin announced today.
In the special assessment district balloting, the BID was approved overwhelmingly, 77% to 23%. The City of Los Angeles, which has property in the BID area, supported formation of the BID, but even if the City had not cast its ballot, the BID would have been approved by a more than 2-1 margin.
“The Venice Beach BID will help create a cleaner and safer boardwalk for everyone to enjoy,” said Bonin. “BIDs are a commonly-used tool to help supplement public services for neighborhoods, and this BID will make it possible for us to expand the services that the neighborhood deserves. It is the kind of smart and effective public-private partnership we need.
“During the approval process, many people opposed to the BID, from inside and outside the assessment area, raised concerns about the BID. I have heard and respect those concerns, and I am committed to working with BID opponents to make sure that the BID is a vehicle that celebrates what it is special about Venice — its funky character, its diversity, and its tolerance of people of all walks of life.”
Bonin has advocated for the creation of a BID since he was a candidate for City Council, often citing the added services a BID would bring Venice Beach – one of the most visited tourist destinations in the world.