In a formal response to an Orange County
Superior Court judge, the city of Irvine mostly agrees with the findings and
recommendations of the grand jury report "Irvine Great Park: Legacy of
Hubris?" released June 30.
With only three exceptions, City Council
members agreed wholly or in part with the 14 findings and eight recommendations
but there was some heated debate on some of the issues.
City Manager Sean Joyce and his staff were
charged with drafting the recommended responses to be submitted in an official
letter to Superior Court Judge Glenda Sanders. Options of agree, disagree, or
further consideration were offered by staff for council consideration.
With the Great Park audit itself now under
scrutiny by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee in Sacramento, Assemblyman
Don Wagner (R-Irvine) and former assemblyman and state Sen. Dick Wagner both
attended the meeting. Each voiced support for the audit findings and the
current Republican council majority during public comments.
"I saw both an audit and a grand jury
report that essentially say the same things and essentially confirms, in my
mind, that there has been some problem and there has been some
mismanagement," Wagner said afterward.
Councilwoman Beth Krom, the only Democrat
among a 4-1 Republican council majority, used her time in discussion to
continue disputing the legitimacy of the audit and the grand jury report before
ultimately excusing herself from the dais.
"I think it's hubris on the part of the
grand jury to essentially take information that was in the audit, which was
largely what they cite and attribute it to Aleshire & Wynder (the legal
firm hired to conduct major portions of the Great Park audit)," Krom said.
Councilwoman Christina Shea responded to
Krom's remarks saying, "We can sit here and say it's all political, people
are being personally attacked because oh, they're really nice, they did nothing
wrong. Those just aren't the facts. We can argue in circles trying to make a
statement that nothing bad happened, but $250 million is gone and we don't have
much to (show) for it."
When the council got around to debating the
grand jury responses, the most passionate disagreement occurred between Joyce
and Mayor Steven Choi.
One finding the grand jury submitted was that
"an inordinate amount of funds" was spent on public relations, free
events, and the Great Park balloon. Choi objected strongly to the
staff-recommended response stating only partial agreement with the finding.
"That should say 'agree,'" Choi said
loudly. Joyce responded that the recommendation for partial agreement protects
the current council from some of the broad implications of the excess spending
referred to in the report. Choi eventually won the argument emphasizing the
word "inordinate" applied by the grand jury.
Shea, the chairwoman of the Great Park Board,
resisted the recommendation that the city consider dissolving the board. Shea
argued there are city regulations that may conflict with decisions made by the
board as it applies to corporate participation in park development.
Councilwoman Lynn Schott stated her view that
the board should be dissolved, calling it redundant, as it consists of the same
members of the City Council only in a different configuration.
Ultimately the remaining council members voted
3-0 approving the responses with stipulation that the dissolution of the board
needed further analysis. Krom left the proceedings before the vote and Mayor
Pro Tem Jeffrey Lalloway was absent from the meeting.
October 16, 2015
Los
Angeles Times
By
Matt Morrison
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