Irvine council OKs Great Park audit, ends contracts, cuts board

[elgringo]

The new city council is starting to make some changes.  Here's a good article in the OC Register:
http://www.ocregister.com/news/park-382892-great-agran.html

 

[socal78]

This park is emptier than a Kardashian's head. I want to know why. I read international news daily but not very much local. I haven't kept up on this issue and wish I had. What is taking so long and where have the funds gone?

 

[locolocal]

Not-so-great park

Voters in 2002 agreed to turn the raw landscape of Marine Corps Air Station El Toro into America's next great municipal park rather than an international airport as county supervisors wanted.

The military sold the land for $650 million to Lennar Corp., then one of the nation's largest home builders. As part of the deal, Lennar paid $200 million in development fees to Irvine and in 2005 transferred 1,347 acres to the city in exchange for the rights to surround it with thousands of homes and businesses.

Once in the city's hands, the money went quickly.

In all, $90 million was poured into planning and designing the park but just $38 million was used for actual construction, a Times analysis shows. Some $29 million went for administrative costs and $28 million toward operations. An additional $16 million paid for publicity and free events -- concerts, pumpkin harvests and anniversary celebrations. Nearly half the money paid to contractors was awarded without competitive bids.

One of the largest expenditures went to New York-based landscape architect Ken Smith, who won an international competition to design the Great Park.

The landscape designers, planners, architects, engineers and public relations consultants that Smith selected, some paid as much as $250 an hour, cost more than $47 million, records show.

Communications and strategy firm Forde and Mollrich for years was paid an annual $1.2-million retainer fee for public relations work, an amount that was cut in half last summer. Two balloon pilots and a hostess have for years been paid $380,000 a year to operate the park's signature attraction. A six-piece band was paid $2,300 to play for the ride's 2007 unveiling. Roughly $18,650 was spent trucking in more than 100 tons of snow for a 2010 "snow day" event, plus $5,000 for gloves.

 

[elgringo]

I think the Great Park may have been an overreaction to the matter of preventing a commercial airport at El Toro. 

 

[ttl]

Are those tax-payer money? My blood is boiling. Honey, where is my 325mg aspirin?