new hotel-conference center

Rumors are floating around about a change in the possible bond funding arrangements for the proposed campus hotel/conference center. Possibly, alternative bonds – presumably not tax-favored muni bonds – would be used, thus allowing commercial use of the hotel.  That step would put the hotel in direct competition with Westside commercial hotels, of course, raising the level of opposition from them.  Since the hotel would still be subsidized – free land, no property tax, donor gift – such competition would be controversial.  Would local hotel taxes be paid?  Parking for a full service operation?  Traffic flowing into campus for a…

And it should be noted that not all optimistic business plans work out in which case – one way or another – someone has to pay:[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTEpbIrYh-E&w=320&h=195]PS: 1959 – the date of this commercial – was the year the Faculty Center opened.

…can it?

It’s been over a week since Faculty Association Executive Director Susan Gallick offered to come over and get the business plan for the proposed hotel/conference center. As readers of this blog will recall, the Faculty Association has submitted a Public Records Act request for the plan and so far received no plan or any related documents.See her offer at http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2011/12/public-documents-request-on-hotel-we.htmlUnderneath any enterprise, there has to be a sound business plan. So can we peel back the pretty (but “conceptual”) drawings of the hotel and have the plan revealed? Perhaps this video will help set the mood:

The trade association representing hotels on LA’s Westside have been voicing concerns from the beginning about the proposed UCLA hotel/conference center. Yesterday, the association put its concerns in writing (fax actually). Obviously, the hotels are worried about loss of business from a publicly-financed hotel. They note the loss of tax receipts to the City of LA (and cc: local city councilman Paul Koretz). As this blog has repeatedly noted, there is no available business plan for the revised hotel/conference center plan. The hotel owners point to this absence. The UCLA Faculty Assn. has submitted a Public Documents Act request for…

The state attorney general has prepared a summary of the rules governing (timely) processing of Public Records Act requests. See below. As a prior blog post has noted, the Faculty Association has requested the business plan under the Act. See http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2011/11/waiting-for-plans-on-conceptual-hotel.html —————————————————- California Public Records Act CPRA (Attorney General’s Summary): Excerpts In enacting the CPRA, the Legislature stated that access to information concerning the conduct of the public’s business is a fundamental and necessary right for every person in the State… Records may be inspected at an agency during its regular office hours. The CPRA contains no provision for a…

Just to keep our blog readers up to date: The UCLA Faculty Association has filed a formal request for the business plan of the proposed hotel/conference center which so far has not been released. Since at the scoping meeting on the project, the architectural plans were described by the campus architect as merely “conceptual,” the Faculty Association is concerned that the business plan may also be in a preliminary stage. In any event, below is the formal request and acknowledgment from the university official handling such matters. ================================ Faculty Association at UCLA P.O. Box 33336 Granada Hills, CA 91394-3336 Nov….