Council to Probe Bond-Use Proposal

The Los Angeles City Council will hold a hearing Friday to investigate a controversial proposal that calls for the use of park bond money to settle a lawsuit involving the Hansen Dam Equestrian Center.

Councilman Richard Alarcon, one of the most vocal opponents of the proposal, said he hopes the hearing will end with a council vote to ban the use of Proposition K money to settle the suit.

Proposition K, approved by voters in November, was intended to expand and improve city parks by creating a citywide assessment district that will raise $25 million annually.

The dispute comes only weeks after school officials were harshly criticized over a plan to build a new school in downtown Los Angeles using money from Proposition BB, a bond measure to pay for repairs to dilapidated schools.

Alarcon said he heard Deputy City Atty. Marcia Kamine and some recreation officials suggest using park bond money to settle the suit. He tried to quash the proposal to no avail.

“I said, ‘No way, Jose, I don’t want any consideration of Prop. K funds,’ ” Alarcon said.

To ensure that the proposal is dead, Alarcon introduced a motion Wednesday calling for a hearing on the matter and recommending the council vote to ban the use of the bond money for the settlement.

But the issue may be moot. Several other city officials, including the head of the Park and Recreation Commission, said there appears to be little, if any, support for using the bond money to settle the case.

“Proposition K was for projects for kids, and not to pay litigation claims or settlements,” said Steven Soboroff, president of the city’s Recreation and Parks Commission. “This won’t get anywhere.”

The money was proposed to settle an $18-million lawsuit filed by Eddie Milligan, the operator of the Hansen Dam Equestrian Center in Lake View Terrace. About six years ago, Milligan began refurbishing the equestrian center, which is on land the city leases from the Army Corps of Engineers.

Milligan sued the city last year, claiming it has failed to provide him a 30-year permit to operate the center, as he was promised.

City officials say the permit has been delayed pending the completion of an environmental study of the land by the Corps of Engineers.

Councilman Joel Wachs said a settlement of the suit may not even be needed.

“They’re talking about a multimillion-dollar settlement here, and I think we can avoid any payment if they would just make good on their original promise to give him a 30-year lease,” Wachs said.