CITY WON'T PAY FOR ROSE FLOAT.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

LANCASTER - City officials said they won't help pay to complete a partially finished Antelope Valley float for the Tournament of Roses Parade, stating the city has other priorities in budget-tight times and that they were not provided with an update of the project's progress.

A motion by Vice Mayor Henry Hearns to bring the issue up for council discussion and a vote died for the lack of a second at the council's meeting Tuesday night. The council had tabled the request for $15,000 at its Nov. 23 meeting, stating it would reconsider the item if the Antelope Valley Rose Parade Association could show progress in raising funds.

Council members said they had anticipated the group would provide them with a progress report prior to Tuesday's meeting but never heard from the group.

``They should have come in,'' Mayor Frank Roberts said. ``Without their input, we couldn't do anything.''

Council members also said they were irked by a newspaper advertisement Tuesday that read in part that ``the association is currently working with the Lancaster City Council on its potential assistance,'' which council members said implied the city was already involved with the project.

``That bothers me,'' said Councilman Ed Sileo. ``That doesn't create trust.''

Mary Rainwater, a Lockheed Martin employee who has been trying to get an Antelope Valley float into the parade for three years, said she did not know how the council would reach such a conclusion on the ad.

``To me when you say you're working with someone that means there's back and forth going on. That doesn't mean they agree with you,'' Rainwater said.

Bill Graham, a member of the group, said the lack of a progress report was the result of a misunderstanding. The group thought that they were to discuss their progress at Tuesday's City Council meeting.

``They (the council) never said come to us before the meeting,'' Graham said. ``I thought it would be on the agenda.''

Since appearing last month before the council, the group got a commitment from a Valencia company, National Band Saw, for a donation of $10,000.

``It's a gamble, obviously,'' said Harley Frank, the company's president. ``This could be a great benefit to the Antelope Valley. The advertising is dramatic.''

The float has been constructed by a professional float-building firm, but flowers for it have not yet been purchased. The float, called ``Where Family Dreams Take Flight,'' depicts three stealth aircraft against a desert landscape.

The group states it has raised over $50,000, about half of what the float costs. That funding includes a $15,000 contribution from the city of Palmdale. The group said it is working to line up other contributors and has a benefit planned for this evening.

``We're still full steam ahead and we can pull it off,'' Graham said.