In a report on lessons learned on the failed
attempt to orchestrate a series of major events for the 100th anniversary of
the Panama-California Exposition, the grand jury recommended that the report
receive a full airing before the City Council. The council members should then
discuss how not to repeat the mistakes that were made, the grand jury said.
The auditor's findings went before the Audit
Committee, which accepted the document last October but didn't forward it to
the full council. Reports from the auditor are frequently heard by both the
committee and the full council.
A statement from council President Sherri
Lightner's office said the issue was also heard by the Environment Committee.
Between the two, there was sufficient public comment and media coverage, and
neither committee recommended it to be forwarded to the full council since it
was considered to be fully vetted, the statement said. Her office also said
Lightner agreed with the committee members.
The grand jury said the city should revamp
the way future civic projects are carried out under memorandums of
understanding or contracts with nonprofit corporations.
Oversight of celebration planning, which
started four years ago, was "virtually absent" until it was too late,
the grand jury opined. The result is a "diminished" acknowledgement
of the 1915 event that first brought international attention to San Diego,
according to the panel.
The city formed Balboa Park Celebration Inc.,
a nonprofit run by volunteers to set up a yearlong series of celebratory
events. However, the group failed to secure sponsors and disbanded.
The city and Balboa Park Conservancy took
over planning and have staged only one major event outside the annual December
Nights festival. The "Garden Party of the Century," held May 9, ended
up being a nice event but was nowhere near the scale initially envisioned.
The biggest attractions have been put on by
the Balboa Park museums and other cultural institutions.
The city has made some physical improvements
to the park, such as better lighting and wireless Internet coverage, and
installing tables and chairs in the Plaza de Panama to make it more of a public
gathering spot.
The grand jury report says BPCI's governing
documents were "ambiguous," and that oversight by city officials was
minimal. BPCI's efforts were also undone by political shakeups in the mayor's
office, which changed the scope to a more national and international event, the
report says.
The grand jury issued six recommendations in
hopes of preventing similar occurrences in the future. Among the others:
• an
MOU or contract should define all objectives of the project and the means to
achieve them
• an
MOU or contract should contain an executable project plan, detailed schedules
and funding agreements
• a
single city department should be designated to oversee contract performance
• reporting
responsibilities to the City Council or a council committee should be enforced
May 20, 2015
KPBS
By
City News Service
No comments:
Post a Comment