20200707 Regular City Council Meeting - Agenda (4)July 7, 2020
Item - Public Comment
I'.,' • P. Corselli Peter J. Corselli
•••• Lineage o Director, Project Development
Pcorselli(d)lineagelogistics.com
213-494-2030
July 6, 2020
RE: Wind Farm Development
Dear Vernon City Council,
`Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.' (George Santayana-1905)
In 1932 John Leonis undertook the building of Vernon's power plant to provide electricity to
"his" customers at a lower rate than was available to surrounding City's .
This allowed Vernon to develop and grow into the industrial hub that it is today.
The current electric rates, along with fees and licenses, relative to other municipalities, do not
compare to what we had when I started working in Vernon over 25 years ago.
A series of very bad decisions (made by the Council) has brought Vernon to a point where the
cost of doing business is, at best, on par with many other municipalities.
The Council made these poor decisions because they were advised by a steady stream of
"consultants" who profited off the backs of the Vernon businesses; the businesses were left to
contend with higher rates which stretched long past the presence of Vernon's consultants.
These deals are still in place today.
These deals did not reflect good governance; they were concocted, without scrutiny by
consultants and lawyers that walked away with millions; leaving the businesses to pay.
And what came of it? In 2011 the City of Vernon was threatened with dis-incorporation.
The State attempted to take away the Vernon City Charter.
The business community came to the rescue of Vernon, City employees and the City Council.
Countless hours and millions of dollars were spent to preserve what was considered to be the
business friendly City of Vernon. We won, that time.
However, we are, again, at a crossroads. Consultants with a less than impeccable reputation and
even some of the same names as before are pressuring the Council to make decisions that will
not be in the best interest of the business community (which pays all the bills of the City and
employs most of the City's residents).
Consultants are imploring that the Council enter into a development deal, avoiding the
appropriate RFP procedure. Proposing untested (unknown) technology. Proposing "something
for nothing" but that nothing is agreeing, in advance, to bury the businesses in utility rates that
are three times the going rate for electricity.
Who benefits? Not the business community or the residents. I know that.
Wind farms are expensive. They are intermittent. They are a nightmare from a maintenance
standpoint. They are not environmentally friendly even in best case scenarios.
Your land will be even more difficult to develop.
Vernon is an industrial City, please do not condemn the businesses with more bad decisions.
Remember that you are the stewards of Vernon- Business Friendly Vernon!
Thank you, Peter
LINEAGE LOGISTICS
3141 East 44th Street, Los Angeles. California 90058
www.lineagelogistics.com