Park Advisory Board Discusses Recovery Efforts at Palisades Recreation Center

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

Pacific Palisades Recreation Center Park Advisory Board met for the first time following the Palisades fire to discuss recovery, remediation efforts and rebuilding the evening of Tuesday, February 18, via Zoom.

According to the CAL FIRE Damage Inspection map, the small gym at Palisades Recreation Center sustained no damage in the fire, while the tennis center and large gym are noted as “destroyed,” meaning they are at least 50% damaged.

Veterans Gardens and Field of Dreams—features of the rec center—remained largely intact, according to PAB board members, with some vegetation and dugout areas burned.

The meeting began with updates regarding remediation and repairs to damaged and destroyed park facilities from Recreation and Parks General Manager Jimmy Kim, who was joined by LA City Chief Recovery Officer Steve Soboroff.

“The department is committed to rebuilding and bringing back [the] park as quickly and expeditiously as possible,” Kim said, stating that, as of the time of the meeting, RAP was still “actively working” to develop a “comprehensive restoration plan.”

The city’s Bureau of Engineering has been tasked by RAP to determine which portions of the still-standing buildings are structurally safe, which will help determine the course of action, including whether to demolish structures like the big gym or rebuild.

The intent, according to Kim, is to replace the Tennis Pro Shop and maintenance service building with prefabricated buildings, which will “speed up the process to bring amenities back online quickly.”

Palisades Recreation Center is currently being used as a staging area by Los Angeles Department of Water and Power as it works to restore utilities in the area. Kim said LADWP is aware of RAP’s plan to reopen the rec center as future repopulation efforts become underway.

At the time of the meeting, Kim reported that RAP was meeting with Hagerty group, which has been hired as the city’s recovery consultant, to determine FEMA reimbursement eligibility for the park buildings.

“The assessment by Bureau of Engineering and our meeting with Hagerty group will really help inform us as a department and the city on a timeline in terms of rebuilding not only the gym, but also the two others that were burned down,” Kim explained.

Previous funding of about $883,000 for the restroom renovation project at the small gym had been committed to the Palisades. Kim said there is also interest from donors to help rebuild.

“We intend to leverage that allocated funding, as well as donor funding, to reinvent some of the spaces and really rebuild the park better,” Kim said.

Soboroff spoke after Kim, stating that the park is a “symbol of the community”: “It needs to be first,” Soboroff continued, as well as Palisades Branch Library and other buildings in the area, to serve as a community center as rebuilding efforts continue.

When Kim began taking questions, PAB Board Member Rick McGeagh cited that in earlier meetings, the board had been told the park was awarded $1.1 million in Quimby funds, but that in later meetings, PAB learned the bid for the restroom renovation project was $883,000.

“I expressed my concern then and I am now, because we can’t afford to waste money, and those restrooms should be no more than $200,000,” McGeagh said. “If we allow them to be renovated for $883,000, then we don’t have $900,000 left over for the playground.”

Kim responded that the pricing in the public sector is “always greater” than the private sector, because city departments like RAP “have to go through specific contractual agreements, as well as prevailing wages and different types of things.” He said that in a “perfect world” funds from a FEMA reimbursement to do the big gym and money from donors would be applied to costs of rebuilding.

Soboroff, who spearheaded fundraising efforts for the last time the playground at the rec center was replaced nearly 40 years ago, asked Kim if it would be an option for Palisadians to obtain a right of entry and complete rebuilding work. Kim said money through a foundation or a donation would have less restrictions: “We’re able to move a lot quicker.”

PAB Board Member Bob Benton then posed a question about the donations coming in from the city and county, noting the importance of transparency when it comes to the destination of raised funds.

“Where are they going?” Benton asked. “Who’s controlling them? Is there a central drive?”

Kim said that monetary donations are being requested to go through the Parks Foundation, while donors who are talking with the mayor’s office are separate. Donations being made to the Palisades should be ear-marked as such, but not for specific projects, like the playground or small gym, because then if more money than is needed is received, it is restricted in its use.

“The way the Parks Foundation works is that if it’s allocated to Palisades, that’s exactly where the funding will go,” Kim said.

There is also a Palisades-specific nonprofit, with PAB Board Member Mike Skinner as president and Benton as vice president, where PAB suggested donations be made to support ongoing work at the park, including Field of Dreams improvements: Pali Community Center Committee.

PAB Board Member Rob Weber asked for a timeline of RAP’s meeting with Hagarty and when BOE would be assessing the structures. Kim said he would return to a future meeting, potentially as soon as the next one, to provide updates to PAB.

Later in the meeting Weber posed a question to Soboroff, asking what Soboroff can do to get a plan and timeline in place for reopening parts of the rec center, especially those that were undamaged, in the near future. Soboroff recommended using “positive reinforcement,” that the “system does not respond well to finger-pointing.” He also suggested getting “as many entry permits” to take on rebuilding work as possible.

“The city’s not entirely sure what needs to be done, and they’re working on it, and this will be a work in process,” PAB Chair Andy Starrels said later in the meeting of PAB’s role in the rebuilding of the park. “I will again call on this PAB: We need to be the conscience, the eyes, the ears and the voice for this community, and continue to press on [RAP], receive it and continue to press, quantify what needs to be done and get it started in the most expeditious way we can.”

When it comes to obtaining rights of entry to do the work at the park, Starrels said he thought the city would be “more than” receptive to the assistance: “If it’s restrooms, if it’s programming, if it’s whatever, if we can do [it] and use the community to step up, we need to seize upon that as many times .. to get these things done.”

Also during the meeting, Senior Facility Director Jasmine Dowlatshahi was applauded for her efforts to continue programming following the fire, including temporarily relocating the youth basketball program with 70 teams playing to Robertson and Oakwood recreation centers, and running camps for displaced residents in the weeks after the fire started on January 7.

Toward the end of the two-hour meeting, PAB voted to support two motions related to remediation and rebuilding, including supporting a council file proposed by Councilmember Traci Park, which relates to rapid soil testing of city facilities, including the rec center, and to support the prioritization of lot clearance by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineering in the area immediately surrounding the park.

PAB, which usually convenes on a quarterly basis, agreed to meet more frequently for the foreseeable future, with its next meeting slated to take place on March 18.