Diamond Bar Stuck With Bill for Road Work

DIAMOND BAR —  Some members of the City Council-elect are upset with Los Angeles County after learning last week that $2.8 million in road repairs need to be done in their new city and that the county is planning to reallocate $400,000 that was to pay for a Diamond Bar park.

Council members, who were elected March 7 and will take office when Diamond Bar incorporates April 18, received these revelations during meetings last week with county staff members.

“It’s outrageous,” said Mayor Pro Tem-elect Paul Horcher. “They literally dropped a bomb on us.”

Cecil Bugh, the county’s deputy director of public works, gave the council a list of public works projects that will need attention during the next few years. The largest single project is widening the Pathfinder Road overpass across the Orange Freeway, estimated to cost $1.5 million.

Some council members angrily questioned why some of these projects had not been completed earlier by the county.

Earlier Developments

“Some of these projects date back to some of the earlier developments in Diamond Bar,” said City Councilman-elect Gary Werner. “There really is no excuse for that kind of public works deficiency to exist. . . . It reflects poorly on the handling of revenues for our community. As far as I’m concerned, this community has been getting the short end of the stick for years.”

Council members were also angered by a county Department of Parks and Recreation decision to reallocate $409,000 in grant money that had been earmarked for Sylvan Glen Park in Diamond Bar.

“We thought they were going to finish (the park) up” this year, Horcher said. “But once the incorporation movement got cooking, they sat on their plans.”

Council members said the money had been earmarked in state bond measures for development of the park.

However, Jim Park, the county’s head park planner, said the money was part of $2.8 million allocated by the state to develop parks in the county. With the incorporation of Diamond Bar, Park said his department decided the money could be better spent in an unincorporated area elsewhere in the San Gabriel Valley.

“There are certainly many unmet needs throughout the county and many unmet needs in the east San Gabriel Valley,” Park said.

Councilman-elect John Forbing said the information provided by the county staff is not set in stone. He said he hopes city officials and members of Supervisor Pete Schabarum’s staff can work out agreements on public works and parks.

“It’s up to the City Council to negotiate with the county and see what we can get,” Forbing said. “Schabarum’s the source of all funding.”

Werner said an agreement with the county on the park issue could be reached “when they agree to provide the funding” for Sylvan Glen.

Staff Discussions

At this point, negotiations on Diamond Bar’s contracting for county services have been limited to discussions among the county staff, the council and interim City Manager George Caswell. However, those on both sides hope that disagreements on the cost of services and related issues will be resolved in coming months.

“There’s always room for negotiation until the contract is signed,” Schabarum aide Ray Andersen said.

Also participating in the negotiations will be interim City Atty. Andrew V. Arczynski, who was hired by the City Council on Tuesday.