Wow. My first public disagreement with fellow School Board candidate Kathy Paspalis.
Generally, I agree with many positions Ms. Paspalis has regarding supporting Measure EE, the parcel tax, and our passion for our students.
However, when Ms. Paspalis was asked at the Linwood E. Howe PTA meeting about my proposal to sell the Culver City High School swimming pool to investors, she spoke out against my idea.
I don't know if she purposely misrepresented my position or if she misread my proposal. I don't believe she has even visited the Culver City High School pool known as the Natatorium. So she is making a judgment about a facility that she hasn't seen.
For the record, I will briefly summarize my proposal regarding the Culver City High School swimming pool known as the Natatorium.
The basic idea is common in commercial real estate transactions.
The School District would sell the Natatorium to investors who would refurbish it as a combination swimming pool and multi-use facility. The School District would use profits from the sale to pay off deficits and lease the Natatorium from the investors. The investors would be able to take a tax writeoff on the depreciation of the building plus get a cash stream from the lease. The School District would be able to have the use of a pool and multi-use facility complex, the general public could have access to the pool for a small fee after school hours. In time, the School District could have the option of buying back the Natatorium, once the investors have depreciated it for tax purposes. This would be a win, win situation for everyone.
Many commercial real estate brokers, support my proposal. In fact, Gary Haddock, a commercial real estate broker, spoke before the School Board. He said it was a good idea. He may be contacted at 310.578.0348 or Gary.Haddock@remax.net. Martin Feinberg, another Culver City realtor, attended the Board meeting and wrote his support for my proposal. At the moment, I am trying to get the School Board to approve the showing of the Natatorium to the real estate community so they can properly appraise the marketing value of the property and interest their investors in buying it.
So Ms. Paspalis, please get your facts straight when you talk about my proposals and criticize them.
Making a New Friend
The rain hampered attendance at the Linwood E. Howe PTA School Board Candidates Forum.
I got a chance to talk to former School Board member Madeline Ehrlich outside the school while she was pamphleteering for Measure EE and I was giving my own campaign literature to parents coming to the forum.
I found we had a lot in common. We both come from Chicago, and we seem to do things in the “Chicago way.” She was involved in nursing, and my mother was the chief psychiatrist at the Chicago state hospital, called Dunning.
We're both Democrats. We share many of the same positions. I really think our differences on oil drilling have been somewhat misinterpreted. Is she really against environmentally safe oil drilling? I have said, categorically, that I would not support PXP if they were to ignore environmental concerns mandated by the EIR, the environmental impact report, and other regulatory agencies.
I think it is important to have a dialogue. It seems such a shame that PXP has “lawyered up” and doesn't want to talk about anything because they are in the middle of lawsuits. These lawsuits are going to cost PXP and Culver City a lot of money.
I think PXP's public relations department has done a horrible job trying to open dialogue with the community. It is my feeling they have a siege mentality. And, as I have said, they have “lawyered up” . According to City Council members I have talked to, PXP has not talked to individual Council members about opening up a dialogue. This may be because they have had some talks with Carol Schwab ,the city attorney, and found her to be so biased that it wasn't worth talking to anyone.
I wish the lawyers would stop meddling in the issue. However, they're the ones making all the money, and it is not in their interest to have a productive dialogue.
Answering a Critic
In response to Ann Lidiot's question yesterday (Letters to the Editor) about the names of “investors” who would be willing to purchase the Natatorium, the answer is fundamental to anyone involved in the sale of real estate.
You have to be able to show the property to prospective investors.
That is the job of commercial realtors who have many clients looking for investment properties.
Gary Haddock of Re/Max is a commercial realtor, and he has dealt with many different kinds of commercial properties. He spoke to the School Board on Tuesday and explained how the concept of investors buying a property, fixing it and renting it back, is quite common. Gary Haddock can be reached at 310.578.0348 or email Gary.Haddock@remax.net.
I find it interesting that some of my opponents’ supporters are being used as surrogates to misrepresent my positions and to criticize any new initiatives that I bring forward.
How tacky.
Mr. Zirgulis, a candidate for the School Board in the Nov. 3 election, may be contacted at zirgulisr@yahoo.com
