As Los Angeles began his long and laborious job of recovering from the devastating Palisade fire, Mayor Karen Bass tapped many people inside and outside the city hall to coordinate his efforts.
What’s even more difficult to identify is how all consulting companies, nonprofits, and city council members, along with Bass appointees, fit their work.
Three weeks ago, Bass nominated longtime civic leader Steve Soboroff as the restoration emperor, came up with a comprehensive strategy for reconstruction, and said he would work closely with urban institutions to lead the first phase of recovery .
However, on Friday, the base suggests that Soborov has a more limited role, primarily in the historic business district and local libraries, parks and recreational activities of Parisades, primarily in the historic business district and local areas. I was in charge of rebuilding the center.
“He is focusing on reconstructing Palisade Village, the historic Palisade village,” Bass said. “But I consider Steve to be Pallisard’s general ambassador.”
Soboroff is a man who earns $500,000 in three months, all of which have been paid by charities – his role has not been changed, and he has also had the US Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Emergency Management Agency and other government agencies. He said he continues to cooperate.
Faced with criticism of stab wounds for its early fire performance, Bus chose Hagerty Consulting, an Illinois company specializing in disaster response, on Friday to provide “full project management” for recovery. This has been announced. The company will report to Jim Featherstone, who returned to the city’s labor force after the fire, she said.
Featherstone, which ran the agency from 2007 to 2016, is currently in charge of disaster recovery groups overseen by the agency, and according to the city manager’s office, he paid a salary of $200,343.60 a year. Masu. In the wake of an emergency, it is standard practice for city leaders to create such formal recovery groups to oversee long-term planning.
Bass said Hagerty will be tasked with “coordinating all of the various private and public institutions” that are working on the recovery. She didn’t say how much haggerty would be paid, or how long it would be paid.
She also suggested taking global engineering giant AeCom to tackle the time-consuming paperwork that must be assembled to seek a refund from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for wildfire-related costs. .
Bus, who was on a diplomatic mission in Ghana when the fire broke out on January 7th, faces great pressure to bring in solid recovery efforts. This task is more challenging in areas where county officials and federal agencies have greater influence than cities in issues such as removal of debris and cleaning dangerous waste.
Last month’s wildfires sparked a Palisade fire in Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades district, burning up the unintegrated strip of Malibu and county, with little respect for jurisdictional boundaries. The entire area is represented by Lindsay Horvath, LA County supervisor. He is deeply involved in recovery efforts.
And while the bass is completely interested in the aftermath of the Pallisard fire, county officials, particularly supervisor Kathryn Berger, also focuses on the devastating Eaton fires in Lartadena and Pasadena.
Beyond government, many other entities aim to shape the path ahead.
Developer Rick Caruso, who lost to Base in the 2022 mayoral election and has been extremely critical of her since the fire, launched a foundation led by a collection of business leaders this week to focus on recovery. Gov. Gavin Newsom convened a group of his own business leaders to advise on the reconstruction.
Miguel Santana, who heads the California Community Foundation, recently established a reconstruction initiative called the Angels Division, along with Snapchat co-founder Evan Spiegel. Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Snaion said he will be convening his own Leadership Council.
In addition, Taresi Park, a councillor representing Pacific Palisade, is heading to the five-person AD HOC committee of the city council, which took place for five hours on Thursday and held for a five-hour reconstruction strategy.
Asked about the complex combination of city consultants, politicians and political appointees, Bass revealed on Friday that he was at the top of the organizational chart for the reconstruction of the Pacific Pallisard.
“Let’s explain. The person in charge is here. I. That’s the person in charge,” she told reporters.
Councillor Monica Rodriguez, who serves on the Ad Hoc Wildfire Recovery Committee, said he found the web of appointments and consultants confused. For example, it is not clear whether Hagerty will direct city employees or be directed by them, she said.
“I don’t functionally understand how it works,” she said.
Zev Yaroslavsky, a former LA County supervisor who spent nearly 20 years on the city council, needs Bass and other city leaders to put all citizens and political leaders in the area into a “united order.” He said there is.
“From the outside, it looks a bit confusing,” said Jaroslavski, who represented parts of the San Fernando Valley during the 1994 Northridge earthquake.
Soborov, 76, said he insisted from the start that he would not be paid in taxpayer dollars.
“With these charities gathered, I am extremely grateful that Steve Soborov can drop everything and ensure that taxpayers don’t leave tools on the shelf without paying taxpayers.” said bass spokesman Zach Seidle.
Seidl praised Soboroff for his long city record, developed Playa Vista, brought the Staples Center (now Crypto.com Arena) downtown, serving on a committee of police commissioners.
Bass and her team refused to identify specific sources of the Charitable Fund. Sources with knowledge of arrangements that are not permitted to speak publicly said $500,000 would come from three foundations.
Randy Johnson, a longtime real estate executive who worked on the development of Soboroff and Playa Vista, reports to him about his recovery efforts, which he received $250,000 from the charity over the same period.
Asked about the mayor’s remarks on Friday, Soborov said he doesn’t think his role is in any way diminished.
“I do exactly what I was doing with the same lack of authority,” he said.
Soborov, who raised his family in Pallisad, said that he has no formal authority, but he is not an employee of the city, so he has the trust of the community.
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