Pasadena City Council (File Photo – Mike Pashistoran).
The heat outside the Pasadena City Council was, at times, turned up inside the chambers as the Council voted to decide whom to award a nine-million-dollar, parking-garage contract.
By Garrett Rowlan
Two Department of Transportation studies had awarded the contract to LAZ Parking, a firm based in Boston that had already been operating in Pasadena, notably in the concession around Parsons.
The heat came on some officials of the LAZ Corporation because of an embezzlement settlement with the city of Boston to the tune of five million dollars. While the case had been resolved, questions remained in the eyes of some of the City Council, understandably shy to grant the award due to the city of Pasadena’s previous issue of embezzlement.
The heat
came on
…LAZ Corporation
because of
an embezzlement
settlement
with Boston
The LAZ officials, facing pointed questions from the council, blamed the theft on “rogue employees,” who manipulated shift reports for their nefarious ends.
Meanwhile, out in the audience, representatives for other companies bidding for the three -year contract, managing eight different lots around the city of Pasadena, were huddled in various enclaves of sizes ranging from the nine members of the LAZ contingent to lesser gatherings, who at times became vocally skeptical of LAZ’s explanations for the charges that were settled. In a couple of instances, the sergeant-at-arms stood to cast a minatory figure, lest the back-bench grumblings became too loud.
Some Councilmembers felt that contract should be awarded due to the two staff reports recommending LAZ and the streamlining of oversight in having just one company run the lots. Currently, there are two companies operating out of contract and on a month-by-month contract.
“The City of Pasadena wouldn’t qualify for this contract,” councilman Gene Masuda said. “We have to trust the staff.”
Others didn’t, or saw LAZ’s explanation of the crime and settlement as inadequate.
In the end, the Council opted for extending the current situation for another year, pending further review.
A poem and other business
Other business, considerably less time-consuming, involved a property variance, a consideration to insure that property to be set aside as a preserve wouldn’t violate private ownership, a proposal to streamline the voting process, and a reading of a poem about nature, having something to do with the change of seasons, though it still seemed like summer outside.
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