It took the Board of Commissioners of the Recreation and Parks Department just 16 minutes to sell out the public interest Monday and trash the City Charter at a special meeting with little advance notice..
Not bad for a few minutes work by the people who are supposed to be the citizen watchdogs on our elected officials and bureaucrats. 
The citizens themselves did no better in protecting their interests. Not a single member of the public was present to comment as the commissioners agreed to include the Pershing Square parking garage — property under the City Charter of Rec and Parks — in the basket of 10 garages being auctioned off to the highest bidder, or in this case as in most others, the biggest campaign contributor with the most influential lobbyist representing them.
In fact, the only person other than a staff member and the commissioners who spoke was mayoral aide Michael Mullin who was there to make sure the board caved in without raising any thorny issues.
The board complied meekly, raising nothing more than a plea that when the Pershing Square garage is leased for 50 years for a pittance that the operator be asked to make a good faith effort to reegotiate if possible in case anything changes in how the park is operated between now and 2060.
Even that sounded alarm bells to Mullin who wanted to make it clear in the record that the board was only asking for “reasonable good faith requests” to be taken into consideration and didn’t really expect to have any control over how its property or the park is actually run.
“Our job is to see that the parks work,” the commissioners said apropos of nothing since come Labor Day the parks won’t work very well anymore thanks to the mayor and Council regarding them along with libraries as the first services to be gutted.
Back in May, this deal was dissected here complete with a warning from the City Attorney’s Office that any effort to lease Pershing Square was likely to end in a lawsuit because it was deeded to Rec and Parks as a revenue stream and resource in perpetuity.
“We also advised that the potential consequences of violating the Charter are that an action for declaratory relief and injunction could be brought by any taxpayer. The likely result of such a lawsuit would be that payment to the RAP Fund would be compelled, with interest, and attorney’s fees and costs would have to be paid by the City’s General Fund,” the City Attorney said then.
“If an arrangement that would violate the Charter is included in the lease, the City Attorney would not be able to approve the lease. If an arrangement that would violate the Charter is included in a public report to the Board of Recreation and Park Commissioners or any other City body, the City Attorney would be compelled to comment on the Charter requirements.”
On Monday, the City Attorney’s Office offered no more concern about including Pershing Square in the garages lease proposal than to say the Commission has the sole discretion and authority to do what it wants — as if the public and the public interest is irrelevant.
The commission seemed quite content to expect no more from this deal than the same $2 million a year it gets now plus increases reflecting half a century of inflation.
In a report (pershing square.pdf) submitted by Rec and Parks General Manager Jon Kirk Mukri — a man fighting daily to keep his job in the face of the abuses and demands of the mayor’s offiice – the Pershing Square garage is the city’s most profitable and has the “greatest potential for future growth,” according to a report commissioned for the city.
“Because of the abundance of development slated for downtown Los Angeles, the location of the parking facility and the amount of excess capacity in the garage, the prospects for revenue growth from an increase in parking demand are very bright. The report indicates that as demand grows and the number of competing facilities shrinks, rate increases will provide another avenue for future revenue growth.”
In other words, Pershing Square is the plum in this deal that was supposed to bring in $150 million in a lump sum now plus future revenue but now is worth only $53 million up front, according to city estimates.
So why lease it out at the bottom of the market and expect no more than to keep pace with inflation when their own report says Pershing Square’s value will soar?
Why deflate its value by putting it in a basket with nine poorly managed garages that mostly lose money?
Why ignore the intent of the City Charter and sell out the public interest?
Don’t expect answers to these and other questions from your city officials. It will take a lawsuit that will tie up this deal in court to have any hope for answers.
Anybody know a good lawyer who cares enough about the quality of life in this city to take on City Hall.-
Ron, why do you refer to M. Mullin as Mayoral aide?
He works for Beutner!!!! Need say more?
Well, what do you expect when Rec and Parks’ released the “special agenda” at 10am this morning for a 2:30 meeting, and the board report wasn’t online until after 12pm.
Bet that’s a Brown Act violation or two or three.
Criminal, simply criminal.
“Does anyone know a good lawyer who cares enough about the quality of life in this city to take on City Hall?”
What about the lawyer who cared enough to drop a dime on Ticketgate with the city attorney.
Now, what was his name? Walter? Walter Something?
What a bunch of corrupt assholes? YOu would think with all the bad publicity these assholes have given the city and all the crap they approved they would get a conscience. Too bad it looks as if that will never happen. Never in the history of this city have we had such a group of low life thieves and crooks ruining Los Angeles. They just don’t “get it”. It will definitely take a FED inquiry or something similar to the uprise of the City of Bell to get these moron’s attention. Can they really be this stupid? And to think many of them are parents which should scare the hell out of all of us.
At least we know Wreck’n Parks does something quickly.
I’ve lost faith in the city. If LoGrande can be made Director of Planning, then it is clear, this city is run by thugs and noone cares.
Los Angeles: Tyranny of a Bankrupt City
by Lawrence Meyers
The City of Los Angeles – you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. Slowly, ever since the departure of Mayor Richard Riordan in 2001, the parade of inept mayors and spineless city councils have dragged the city into a morass
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has always been an empty suit, a smirking, glad-handing fool of epic proportions with a history of questionable ethics. Besides successfully lobbying President Clinton to commute the sentence of a convicted cocaine trafficker, Villaraigosa pulled a John Edwards by allegedly fooling around while his spouse was undergoing cancer treatment. Add to this the L.A Times report that the Los Angeles Ethics Commission accused him of 31 violations of campaign finance and disclosure laws during his 2003 City Council campaign. Toss in the report that Villaraigosa was a member of MECha, a Hispanic separatist organization, while at UCLA, and attended an unaccredited law school in Los Angeles that allegedly promoted illegal alien causes (He failed the bar exam four times).
This is the Mayor of Los Angeles, and Angelenos have gotten what they deserve. They re-elected a man who has shown absolutely NO leadership in times of crisis.
http://biggovernment.com/lmeyers/2010/05/23/los-angeles-tyranny-of-a-bankrupt-city/
No matter all the chattered about Wendy Greuel wanting to be the next Mayor. She is at least putting it out there and is going to post online the salaries of all city employees so Angelenos can see what the City of Bell didn’t for years.
Read her letter to the Failure of a Mayor yesterday. I’m sure he doesn’t want this and some in council offices should be squirming.
http://www.laobserved.com/assets/citysalaryletter.pdf
I give a lot of credit to Krekorian. He’s the only one that has made an effort to help the budget crisis. He not only cut his staff but there is only ONE city car for all of them. I think the other council offices have as many as 5 cars for staffers. We should find out how much gas all those council city cars are costing, plus the taxpayers pay for car insurance and everything else.
Rec and Parks is doing what they are told in a political climate that could cost them all their jobs/positions if the Mayor or henchmen are simply a little too hung over one morning.
The crime here is being perpetrated by ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA and his chicken-shit entourage.
While a great many of us have been trying to make the city a better place for all L.A. citizens, this mayor and many elected city council members have been quietly lining their pockets. It’s business as usual, the business of selling this city to the highest bidder (large developers with deep pockets). By the time the electorate wakes up to the problems created by these players, L.A. will be gone. Seeing as this city has failed to collect millions in monies owed, I imagine this “shameful act” will add nothing to the coffers except more cobwebs.
It boils down to, we always get the representatives we deserve…
Yeah, all you people commenting here about your outrage — where were you at the meeting? You get what you deserve when you don’t show up.
Two things regarding Trutanich (and I’m one who had high hopes for him):
1. Trutanich made two contradicting statements when he first started office and meet with community groups in the Council Chambers – He stated he represents and works for the people. That he represents the Elected officials and Department heads who are his clients.
So if there is a conflict or if an office holder or Department has done something against “the people” it is his duty to represent his “clients” (the elected officials and City Departments, not the people).
2. This article shows two sides taken by the City Attorney’s office:
1st: “Back in May, this deal was dissected here complete with a warning from the City Attorney’s Office that any effort to lease Pershing Square was likely to end in a lawsuit because it was deeded to Rec and Parks as a revenue stream and resource in perpetuity.”
2nd: “On Monday (8/2/2010), the City Attorney’s Office offered no more concern about including Pershing Square in the garages lease proposal than to say the Commission has the sole discretion and authority to do what it wants — as if the public and the public interest is irrelevant.”
So I have lost any hope that the City Attorney will come to the rescue or at least weigh in if something is wrong because he wants to protect his “clients” even if they are criminal.
We have to depend on the City Attorney’s friend Cooley who will probably confer with Mr. Trutanich if a complaint is filed with the DA.
Hey jackass-knowitall at 11:13pm – read the second comment for your answer.
By Anonymous on August 2, 2010 4:20 PM
Well, what do you expect when Rec and Parks’ released the “special agenda” at 10am this morning for a 2:30 meeting, and the board report wasn’t online until after 12pm.
Bet that’s a Brown Act violation or two or three.
We have a City Attorney who represents his clients only; City Council and Mayor, who control his budget. It should not be an elected position, since he is staff to these entities. He does not represent the people.
This is just another sneaky, under closed door, under the carpet, let no one know whats going on at Pershing Square situation. For years Rec. & Parks has been getting millions of dollars from the Pershing Square garage but no one knows where that money goes. Certainly it’s not reflected in the care of the facility that has no lighting, minimal care, bad security, and homeless sleeping all over the grass area. No one is able to give an accounting of money received or money is spent on a yearly basis even though these questions are asked regularly.
The sale of garage was most likely a relief to the Rec. & Parks people who supervise the money at Pershing Square because now no one has to be accountable for all that money.
No one was at that meeting because they made certain no one could find out about the meeting.
And they will next try and claim they put up a posting at some bulletin board at City Hall – but there was nothing up even that afternoon at any of the bulletin boards.
But they will still lie and say there was and they will get away with it – again.
Next they are going to try and do an end run around the intent of the city charter by laundering the money through different accounts and giving a phony accounting number as to how much of the revenue is coming from the give away of Pershing Square.
A law suit needs to be filed now on this violation of the Brown Act and then have one ready to file when the City Council votes on the illegal RFP.
There is a story to be told about the selling of Pershing Square Garage. Better to get rid of the money than have to explain how it was used.