Bishop - This time, the park project gets funded

2-9-2008

For the second time in as many months, the Inyo County Board of Supervisors was faced with a park funding dilemma and the option of using Prop 40 grant money to rectify the problem.

But this time around, the majority of the board felt the problem warrented the use of Prop 40 funds, which could have been spent instead in Southeast Inyo.
Tuesday’s discussion turned into a debate when one supervisor pointed out that the board had already rejected a separate park project in his district, noting that the board had wanted to use the Prop 40 funds to fix the leaking Tecopa sewer pond.
According to Inyo County Parks and Recreation Director Chuck Hamilton, the Board of Supervisors and the county entered into a contract with Golden Landbuilders of Apple Valley last year in an effort to construct new restrooms at Dehy Park in Big Pine.
That project was estimated to cost $172,213, with the county furnishing the bulk of the money, in the amount of $101,000, and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power supplying the remaining $71,000.
A wrench was thrown into the works last month when the LADWP notified the Planning Department that it may not be able to supply its share of the funds for the new bathroom project.
“We have a dilapidated, old, crumbly facility there,” Hamilton explained to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday before four out of the five board members approved his request to use $71,000 from the county’s Prop 40 funds to move forward on the Big Pine project.

Inyo County Parks and Recreation Director Chuck Hamilton (r) addresses the Inyo County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, requesting permission to use Prop 40 funds to move forward with the construction of new restrooms at Mendenhall Park in Big Pine. Photo by Mike Gervais

Fifth District Supervisor Richard Cervantes was against the idea of using the Prop 40 money for Mendenhall Park in Big Pine, noting that the board, in January, rejected a request to utilize Prop 40 funds to complete a renovation project at the Lone Pine Park. At the time, the board said it would prefer to use the money to fix the leaking Tecopa sewer pond.
County Counsel Paul Bruce warned the Board of Supervisors that, because it had already entered into the work contract with Golden Landbuilders, if the county were to back out it could be “liable for damages.”
According to Bruce, Golden Landbuilders will have the option of seeking money from the county for any losses it may have incurred while preparing for the bathroom project.
Those losses could come from anything from purchasing materials in preparation for the work to turning down other contracts that could have conflicted with the scheduled project in Big Pine.
“Are there any other revenue streams?” First District Supervisor Linda Arcularius asked Hamilton in an attempt to avoid using the Prop 40 funds.
Hamilton responded that he was unable to find any other funding sources for the project.
“There is a very high likelihood that this money will be replaced” if the board elects to utilize the Prop 40 funds to complete the project, Second District Supervisor Susan Cash said. She added that the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power had committed, in writing, to supply the funds.
But, Cash said, to have any chance of receiving the money from the LADWP, the county must have the project completed by the May 1 deadline.
Public Works Director Ron Chegwidden noted that there has been a slight delay in the paperwork from the contractor, but, within about two weeks the county could issue a Notice to Proceed and work could begin on the project. He said he expected the work to begin the first of March, and that Golden Landbuilders has 90 days to complete the project.
If Golden Landbuilders takes the full 90 days on the project, it would be complete at the end of May, one month past the deadline.
The board motioned to request an extension on the LADWP-imposed deadline, and directed staff to follow up with Golden Landbuilders and ask the contractor how fast it can complete the project.
Cervantes voted no.
“This is ridiculous,” said Cervantes. “That sewer pond has been leaking for 21 years” and the board already decided not to use Prop 40 money to complete park improvements.
In response to Cervantes, Arcularius said that, unlike the proposed work on the Lone Pine Park, if the county uses Prop 40 money to fix the bathrooms at the Big Pine park, “there is a source to replenish” those funds.