Latest moves on the new school

[rmfan]

I just read the story on the dot com and man that Paul Frank is a good business man. He was threatened by eminent domain proceedings which would net him less than he desires. He then offers to donate the land, which I believe was not a serious offer. This delayed the school district long enough for Paul to get in bed with Murieta West and increase his property value. Now the district may buy his land at a much higher costs than they were going to originally pay.

Well done Paul. Next time I have a land deal are you available for hire?

[Martha]

I'm gonna risk my karmic standing here, but so be it. rmfan, I must respectfully disagree with your view of this matter. It's my opinion that you couldn't be further off the mark if you tried. I have reviewed the 4" thick binder that Paul has regarding correspondence between them and the District. I've even played 'devils advocate' with him when asking questions. Everything that he has said, all that I have read, and all that I have heard from attending meetings with the District, one LONG before the Franks even were thinking of buying their Stonehouse property are directly counter to your posts on this website.

You will note that not only did they donate to the church, that parcel now officially belongs TO the church. The church said "thank you" and have begun their capital campaign to move forward with the building of their new facility. All the District needed to do, 15 months ago, was draw up a donation agreement, abide by the requests that the Franks had (which weren't many, and none were unreasonable). But they didn't. They dropped the ball.

Paul is an easy guy to talk to. I would suggest that rather than be bitter about all of this that you give him a call and see if he is still willing to meet with community members to discuss this.

[3 fingers Jack]

Sorry for my ignorance here, but did the developer who donated the land place a provision on the church that they realign Stonehouse? I am uncertain that you can compare the land donations side by side that way. Not criticizing, just asking a question for clarification.

[Mr.Smith]

Martha, I've got your karma covered...

I don't believe the district plans on doing anything out here any time soon. Who in their right mind would turn down FREE land for a building project The church sure didn't...

[Mr.Smith]

Originally Posted by 3 fingers Jack

Sorry for my ignorance here, but did the developer who donated the land place a provision on the church that they realign Stonehouse? I am uncertain that you can compare the land donations side by side that way. Not criticizing, just asking a question for clarification.

If I remember correctly that was "put out there" as an option to make the school entry safer. I believe the church entry was to be off of hwy 16 in the original plan

[3 fingers Jack]

I'm sure that was part of it, however per Rancho Murieta.com - " The realignment preserved the Frank family's plans to develop about a dozen homes around the existing lake on their property, and provided access for the 20-acre site the Franks had already donated to the Rancho Murieta Community Church." All I am saying is that to compare the 2 donations side by side is not a logical or valuable argument. Am I thrilled by EGUSD? No, but neither am I necessarily enamored by the developer. A quote from a past article by the developer when he first purchased the land..."Paul Frank, who's in commercial development, has no plans to develop the property, which consists of four 55-acre parcels that have been on the market for years. The options as he sees them at this time are to keep all the parcels or possibly sell up to three parcels. "Several people have expressed an interest in buying," he explained. There could be a total of only four houses on the property -- one per parcel -- because "the zoning is not in conformance with the general plan," he said. That seems to be a bit different from development plans I have seen lately.

[Martha]

Originally Posted by Mr.Smith

Martha, I've got your karma covered...

I don't believe the district plans on doing anything out here any time soon. Who in their right mind would turn down FREE land for a building project The church sure didn't...

Thanks, Mr. Smith!

I have posted on rmdotcom and sent a letter to the editor of RVT that will "connect the dots" so I won't rehash it here. If history is any indicator, the District has been throwing a bone at this community for nearly 30 years! Kids have come and gone (just read Julie Rollofson's piece in the RVT about her stepdaughter who went to CRES and is now through dental school and a dentist!). We don't do class-size reduction at CRES. Yet our kids are there everyday getting the District the money they get from the state for attendance and, if memory serves me, we are their number one (or at least in the top 3) performing elementary school for STAR testing!

Anatolia has a brand-spanking new school that is on target to open this fall. Guess what? That's only one of two elementary schools, and I've seen where they (home builders in Anatolia) are offering $200,000 discounts on homes there because of the current housing market! Don't be surprised when EGUSD says, "ooops, not enough water on this site, no place else out here to build, water/sewer will be an issue, we're gonna bus your kids to Anatolia."

And you know what? I'm fine with that! All I ask is that the District be honest with me/us. I don't feel that they have been. Just Monday I asked Dr. Ladd what the well put out (in terms of gallons per minute) at the current site. He talked around in circles and never gave me the answer to that. Instead, he said that if they were to expand the current site (an option way down on their list of possibilities), even though the well produces enough now, it might not be enough to fill a water tank (for fire suppression as well as other water needs). And you wanna know what got my attention? The answer to "what is the fire protection currently?" His answer was, "I don't know." A good answer, cuz it's honest, but a bad answer because my child and 523 other kids are there everyday, and now I'm wondering what would happen in the event of a fire? There isn't a fire suppression water tank anywhere that I can see!

IF the District finds water in the two additional wells they're drilling on the Franks property, there will be a 27' high water storage tank near the backyards of our Pera Dr. neighbors. There will also be a retention pond. Isn't anyone else thinking that our school district shouldn't be in the water/sewer business? Of course, if CSD could get their stuff sorted out, I wouldn't be surprised if there was some great deal presented by the owner of the Escuela site. Which is where a school ought to be, and the District could have had it for a dollar a few years ago. Now, they'd have to buy it from the son-in-law of Angelo Tsakopoulos (sp?). Now THERE is a developer for you! (btw, Paul Frank develops commercial office buildings, please don't confuse his work with what Mr. Tsakopoulos and the North Developers do).

As far as the church access goes, I haven't asked, but I will, the next time I talk to Paul. The Stonehouse Realignment was only brought up to make a safer access point and give the District a contiguous-to-RM site to build. If a school is not built there, nothing in the plans, as of the last time I spoke to Paul about all of this, hinges upon Stonehouse being realigned.

Hey Wilbur, where is that dead-horse smiley?

[Matthew]

Originally Posted by Martha

And you wanna know what got my attention? The answer to "what is the fire protection currently?" His answer was, "I don't know." A good answer, cuz it's honest, but a bad answer because my child and 523 other kids are there everyday, and now I'm wondering what would happen in the event of a fire? There isn't a fire suppression water tank anywhere that I can see!

Excellent question Martha! More Karma for you! I have never thought about enough water to deal with a fire at the current school. It's one thing to deal with roting floors in the bathroom and it is another to not have enough water to suppress a fire. Was Mr Ladd going to get back to you with an answer?

Originally Posted by Martha

Hey Wilbur, where is that dead-horse smiley?

Do you see the [more] link at the end of the displayed smileys? Click on it and you should see a pop-up with more (larger) smileys.

[3 fingers Jack]

I'm certain this developer is a great individual, however, development is development (and by the way, I am for a little more positive development here) - rmdotcom - "Plans for the Frank property include a church, school, offices with lofts on top, the 100-unit hotel, and expansion of the existing lake on the property to make it a competitive water ski and recreational lake." It will be interesting to see what Pera Dr. neighbors think of sound of boat motors on the weekend http://www.murietawest.com/plans/MWPA_West_3.0.pdf. It's the developers land and he can do what he wishes in the end. What I do know is that I am extremely happy with the staff and educators at CRES currently, but the facilities could use an upgrade for safety.

[chesbrojim]

I have been following this school issue and I want to make sure I have the facts right since it appears Mr. Frank is about to be elevated to sainthood by some members of the community.

First he "donated" some of his land to the school district. The district spent $1.5 million on site investigation. Then, before the district could close the deal, he took it back. How am I doing so far?

Now the best part. I quote from murieta.com: "(school superintendent) Ladd said he had met with property owners Paul and Cindy Frank several times recently and they have agreed to consider selling the property..." THEY HAVE AGREED TO CONSIDER SELLING THE PROPERTY.

This guy makes Trump look like an amateur. I bow in admiration. Like I said before, I do not condemn him for his actions. On the contrary, I am in awe of his deal making abilities. If I ever have land to sell, I will seek his counsel.