HUNTINGTON PARK – It is being reported by the Southern California News Group that a member of the Huntington Park City Council called for an investigation into the aquatic center last month which is at the center of a corruption probe by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Councilman Arturo Flores spoke with SCNG telling them that after he raised concerns that millions of dollars have been spent on the project he calls “dead in the water” he was then served a recall petition by the nephew of one of the former councilmembers whose home was raided by the DA’s office on Feb. 26.
According to the San Bernardino Sun, the recent ousting of City employees in the Finance Department are tied to nearly $9 million in payments to the construction company awarded the bid on the project.
Four former Huntington Park employees have sued the city alleging they faced discrimination and retaliation for raising concerns about financial impropriety in connection with the aquatic center, said their attorney, Annette Harings.
The employees, all of whom had significant experience in City Hall, allegedly were replaced by “younger employees who did not have the same in-depth knowledge of how a finance department is supposed to work,” Harings said.
The complaint, filed in 2020, accused the city of going on a “spending spree” that included entering into a “no-bid contract to build an unnecessary public pool which will cost a staggering $40,000,000 that was due to be built on a closed landfill.
According to the Los Angeles Times, $9 million has been paid to JT Construction, despite no work being done. The City has so far only been able to account for $3 million.
Huntington Park entered into the original contract, initially valued at $23 million, with JT Construction in 2019. A resume provided to the city by JT Construction showed the company had not completed any projects similar to the proposed aquatic center in the previous 20 years.
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