BURNING OUR MONEY; CITY HAS $70 MILLION PARK HYDRANT PLAN.

Byline: Patrick McGreevy Daily News Staff Writer

Backed by powerful City Hall officials, a $70 million plan to replace the water system in Griffith Park and add high-pressure fire hydrants is on the fast-track to approval despite serious questions about the need, the haste and the loan to finance it.

Two City Council committees voted without discussion during a three-minute meeting last week to recommend the project, as well as to increase the water rate for agricultural users by 60 percent to cover the cost of revenue bonds to pay for the project.

Only three months ago, a City Administrative Office report suggested $1 million would cover the cost of needed work in Griffith Park. That was raised to $20 million within weeks, and now City Administrative Officer Keith Comrie has gone along with Council President John Ferraro and Chief Legislative Analyst Ron Deaton for a $70 million complete renovation of the water system.

Critics said the project is principally intended to please Los Feliz hillside residents and that the city has numerous other, more important projects that are more urgent.

``We don't need to accelerate the project,'' said one high-level official, speaking on condition of anonymity. ``We waited all this time to replace this system and now they create this hysteria that it has to be done immediately, which means they have to issue bonds and hire contractors.

``The mistake they're making in doing it that way is there is a cheaper way of doing it,'' the official said.

But with political clout behind it, the project has raced through the political process. The matter was set for a vote of the full council on Tuesday.

``As a practical matter there was no committee meeting,'' said Councilman Mike Feuer, who was in attendance but said he did not vote and was not able to get some questions asked.

Feuer heads a third council committee that had previously endorsed only $10 million of the work, asking that more study be done.

``There is no question there is an enormous need to make improvements to the park, not only from a perspective of water quality but also fire prevention,'' he said. ``But I do have questions.''

Feuer said he might be persuaded to support the proposal, but first he wants more information. ``I obviously have a strongly held belief that we should only incur debt when we have to,'' he said.

Supporters say the plan is necessary to protect the city's biggest park and some well-known L.A. landmarks, as well as human lives and private property nearby. But critics say the plan's backers are too eager to borrow money for a project far larger than needed now, while exaggerating the fire risk and worsening the city's borrowing binge.

Assuaging residents

One city official charged that Ferraro is pushing the project with the help of Deaton to appease some neighbors of the 4,200-acre park, who have been complaining for some time that the Depression-era water system is not sufficient to guarantee water quality and fire safety.

Ferraro said the neighbors' complaints are justified and the project is warranted.

``The park is the finest and largest such municipal facility in the nation,'' Ferraro said. ``It was a gift to the people of the city, and I'm very pleased to see this project move ahead to ensure that the park will continue to serve future generations.''

Marilyn Bush, a Los Feliz homeowner leader, said the cost is worth it ``for the safety'' of 10 million park visitors each year.

``It's crucial to the whole city,'' Bush said.

Spending questioned

However, Jeff Brain of Valley Voters Organized Toward Empowerment, which is seeking a study of cityhood for the San Fernando Valley, said his examination of the project raises deep concerns about wasteful spending.

Brain said the city could fulfill its long-delayed promise to rebuild Van Nuys City Hall, which is still fenced off, just with the $35 million in interest it will spend to expedite the park project.

``It's just a matter of priorities,'' Brain said. ``There are a lot of things we need that are a lot higher priority than running fire hydrants through Griffith Park.''

The last Griffith Park fire that destroyed a home was 40 years ago, and the blaze started outside the park.

Newest area

Some officials say the most expensive portion of the expedited project isn't needed.

``Really, that ($16.3 million third-phase) system doesn't need to be replaced right now, but they are saying, let's just do it all at once because the DWP will pay,'' the high-level official said.

Another official, the DWP's project manager for the Griffith Park plan, said that the system targeted by the third phase is not now a problem and is relatively new, with the oldest sections 30 to 40 years old.

``That is the newest area of the park,'' said project manager Martin Adams. ``There are less problems there than in other areas we identified. There are more problems that are possible, but there have not been any actual legal problems (with water quality).''

Adams said that the alternative plan of delaying the third phase and saving $35 million in interest on a scaled-down project might be sufficient, but he said as long as there is the political will to do all the work now, he supports the plan.

``If it was strictly our money and we had to compare it with other priorities, there are probably some places in city streets that have piping needs that rival the park,'' he said.

While any system more than 30 years old could have major problems at any time, ``engineering-wise, it's unlikely'' in the next six years, Adams said.

``If you look at the odds you can't say that two years is going to make a difference,'' he added.

Adams said the city also has to consider the cost of continuing to maintain a system that will be replaced soon anyway.

The Fire Department has endorsed the expedited, four-year project, and the testimony of fire officials is likely to carry a lot of weight with the City Council this week.

Fire officials cite a section of the CAO report that said the Griffith Observatory, Greek Theater and Boys & Girls Club camps ``do not have adequate water for fire protection.''

Officials say about 20 percent of the fire hydrants in the park don't work. The Fire Department has agreed to shelve, for more study, a proposal that would have added an additional $30 million to the cost of the project by installing water sprinklers and fire hydrants in the rugged interior of the park.

That proposal was questioned by Comrie because some fire hydrants were proposed for dirt roads inaccessible to fire trucks.

Fire Marshal Jimmy Hill said he supports the project approved last week to deal with the perimeter of the park.

``The issue of fires in the park has been longstanding with the Fire Department,'' Hill said. ``The lack of water pressure limits the ability of the Fire Department to make an aggressive attack on fires. It is crucial for the Fire Department.''

Deaton defended the cost of using bond financing, saying a pay-as-you-go plan would be inadequate.

``If you wanted to do the job over 30 years, it wouldn't cost $35 million,'' Deaton said. ``It would probably cost $70 million.''

However, a critic of the project said the $50 million that could be saved is a lot of money for political expediency meant to satisfy an elite constituency.

``The Los Feliz community has made such a stink about it, that Ferraro just wants it taken care of,'' the city official said. ``There is a much more thoughtful way to do it.''

The proposal calls for raising the water rate for agricultural users to pay for the project. About 70 percent of the agricultural-rate revenue is paid for by the city of Los Angeles, which uses water for its parks and golf courses. Other large users include the school district, the county and nurseries.