COUNCIL TO DECIDE FLOAT ROLE; `PARTY' CONTROVERSY WAS 1ST TIFF.

Byline: Lee Condon Staff Writer

After this spring's controversy over Glendale's Rose Parade Float entry, the Glendale City Council members are going to consider pulling themselves out of the selection process altogether.

At their Tuesday meeting, the council will discuss three options: They will retain veto power over the float entry, hand over the veto to the Parks and Recreation Commission or let the nonprofit Glendale Rose Float Association pick the float on its own.

Councilman David Weaver, who is also a longtime member of the Rose Float Association, said he favors letting the association pick the entry.

``I'd like it to be up to Rose Float Association and not have it come to Parks and Recreation or the council for approval,'' Weaver said.

But Councilman Rafi Manoukian said that because the city foots the bill for the float, the council should have some say in its design. The city is contributing $60,000 to this year's $90,000 float.

``If we're making a big investment in the float, I'd like to have the last word,'' Manoukian said.

After more than 80 years of picking Rose Parade floats without problem, Glendale found itself this spring in the middle of a major disagreement over the local float association's pick for the New Year's Day Tournament of Roses Parade.

A majority of the association's board voted for the ``Party Animal,'' a sad-eyed basset hound in a party hat with a party favor hanging from his mouth. But Marilyne Wiechmann, the association's president, led a minority opposition movement against the concept.

Wiechmann and her supporters argued that the hound appeared hung-over and that television viewers nationwide would think poorly of a city whose representative in the parade was a boozy dog.

The anti-hound group managed to convince the city's Parks and Recreation Commission to reject the ``Party Animal'' float. Ultimately, the council decided to keep the dog, but changed its name to ``Havin Fun Yet.''

That, however, happened after the council endured weeks of float debate. Some staunchly defended the ``Party Animal'' name, while others came up with ways to politically correct the dog, such as adding a cat.

Others wanted to add children of different races to the float and relate the theme to people living in harmony in a diverse city.

Wiechmann said she is ambivalent about whether the council should be involved in the selection process in the future. Still, she leans toward supporting the council's right to review the design.

``Since the city pays for a major part of the float, it's only natural that the council should have a say in the choice,'' Wiechmann said.

To her, the most important issue is that the city continues to support the float financially, saying it would be impossible for the float association to raise the money on its own to pay for the entry.

Last year, the city asked the association to come up with a larger contribution and to plan to wean themselves of city funding.

``It's an awful lot to ask a volunteer organization to raise $60,000,'' Wiechmann said.

Garry Ackerman, vice president of the Rose Float Association, said he thinks the association should pick the float and just run it by the parks commission and the council.

``That way if we come up with something totally offensive, they could vote it down,'' Ackerman said.

According to a survey conducted by the Glendale Parks, Recreation and Community Services Division, other cities have a variety of ways of funding and approving their floats.

Over in Burbank, the local float association kicks in $25,000 and the city pays $65,000. The Burbank City Council picks the final float design.

In Alhambra, the city picks up $100,000, but leaves the float selection up to its float association. In La Canada Flintridge, the local Rose float association contributes $100,000 and the city only pays $10,000. The association picks the La Canada Flintridge float.

The Los Angeles float is picked by the Convention and Visitor's Bureau. The bureau pays $50,000 and the city pays $100,000.