By Mike Bodine
Register Staff
12-11-2008

After decades of work by elected officials and staff alike, the City of Bishop is steps away from attaining the long-term lease for the City Park and the freedom the document represents.
Bishop is about to enter into a 40-year lease agreement with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power for the land occupied by  Bishop City Park.
As City Administrator Rick Pucci explained to the Bishop City Council Monday, the length of the lease agreement is just as significant as the control the lease gives Bishop over decision-making and planning concerning the park, “so Bishop can set its own destiny.”
The difficulty with the lease for the last 20 years, Pucci said, is that any infrastructure changes or plans the city may have wanted to undertake at the park first had to be approved by LADWP. He said that the approval  process could be lengthy, interfering with Bishop’s attempts to secure funding for long-term projects.

In July 2009, the City of Bishop will enter into a 40-year lease for the 44-acre City Park. Photo by Mike Bodine

Pucci said the primary difference between this lease and the existing lease is that the new lease has been designed not only to allow Bishop to plan for and put in place approved infrastructure and programs, but the lease is long enough to allow Bishop to seek outside funding.
Bishop had first sought to buy the land outright from LADWP, but decided that it could achieve what it wanted with a long-term lease.
Mayor Martin “Smiley” Connolly said that this new lease “should open a lot of doors” for things the community has been asking for, like a community or performing arts center.
Councilmember Jeff Griffiths called the timing of this lease fortunate as Proposition 84 funds are now becoming available for community projects.
“This allows the community to do whatever it wants to do, as long as the money is available,” Griffiths added. 
The rent will remain the same at $1,000 a year for the 44-acre park, Pucci explained, calling this a “momentous event” but not necessarily a momentous moment as the lease still needs to be signed by L.A. officials.
Pucci expects the signing to be a large affair involving LADWP department heads and even L.A. County supervisors.
Pucci also said he was “extremely pleased with the support Bishop has received in this very important matter from LADWP staff, General Manager David Nahai and the staff in Los Angeles and local LADWP staff Clarence Martin and Gene Coufal.”
The lease is expected to go into effect in July 2009.