Panel Seeks OK to Negotiate for 911 Center Site

City officials took a small step Wednesday toward negotiating the purchase of a San Fernando Valley site for a long-awaited new 911 dispatch center.

A City Council committee, known as the Board of Referred Powers, voted unanimously to ask the full council to approve talks aimed at buying land owned by Coast Federal Savings in West Hills. Mayor Richard Riordan’s office, which suggested the site, has estimated that its purchase could cost at least $4 million.

Meanwhile, in the wake of a Times report Wednesday on delays and problems with upgrading the city’s antiquated emergency dispatch system, sentiment at City Hall appeared to be building for the appointment of a czar to shepherd capital improvement projects approved in city bond measures.

Riordan and Councilwoman Laura Chick said the Los Angeles Police Department, which administers the 911 system, should not be solely responsible for constructing new public safety facilities.

“They’re there to be law enforcement experts, not land use experts and contractors,” Chick said.

The Times reported that various bureaucratic snags mean that the system--approved by voters as Proposition M in 1992--will not be operational until after the turn of the century, several years later than some officials believe appropriate.

Councilman Michael Feuer, who says a quick upgrade of the 911 system is essential, is seeking to establish a new bond construction office so that there is “one central accountable entity in city government” to ensure that the will of voters is carried out.

The November 1992 approval of Proposition M authorized $235 million to finance the construction of two new LAPD communications dispatch centers. However, the city has yet to determine the site for the San Fernando Valley facility and has not yet approved a contract to develop a computer system that would link the two facilities.

Meanwhile, a record-breaking number of emergency calls--nearly 200,000 through September--went unanswered last year by 911 operators, even though the total number of calls made to the 911 center declined about 10%.

Initial plans had called for the new Valley facility to be constructed next to the West Valley police station, but LAPD officials now believe that that site is too small and are concerned about opposition from neighbors averse to parking congestion.

The Coast Federal site, at Roscoe Boulevard and Fallbrook Avenue, was referred to the Board of Referred Powers after being pulled off the Police Commission agenda last month. The commission was concerned about a potential conflict of interest because a Riordan-appointed commissioner, Edith R. Perez, works for a law firm that represents Coast Federal.

At Wednesday’s council meeting, Riordan and Police Chief Willie L. Williams made a rare dual appearance at the podium to participate with council members in a municipal disaster drill. During 45 minutes of playacting in response to a pair of fictional earthquakes, the city leaders did not discuss Los Angeles’ real-life 911 emergency problems.

Afterward, several council members, who had hard hats by their sides during the council meeting exercise, expressed regret that no questions were asked about the real-life emergency issue.

“Perhaps there’s a pulling back on the part of city government from the real complicated and difficult problems,” said Chick, who chairs the council’s Public Safety Committee. “We know we have a 911 system with problems. We don’t know fully how to fix it . . . but that’s no reason to [shy] away from fixing the situation.”

Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, a vocal critic of the mayor, said, “It just goes to show you what we’re dealing with--the hypothetical rather than the actual. We signed up to deal with the real.”

Before the meeting, Riordan indicated no alarm about the 911 system upgrade.

“I think the City Council has acted responsibly as I believe my office has,” he said, “but essentially it’s a very complicated thing to find the best state-of-the-art communication system.

“I believe that now the chief and the Police Department are on top of the situation.”