Cleaning of Cooling System at Parker Center Approved

A Los Angeles City Council panel Monday recommended spending $170,000 to clean up the air-conditioning system at the dilapidated downtown police headquarters, but said it is unsure where the money will come from.

Councilwoman Laura Chick, who chairs the Public Safety Committee, said the routine maintenance to change the filters and clean the ducts of the cooling system at Parker Center is essential to boost morale among Police Department employees and protect their health. Such work has not been conducted for nearly six years, she said.

Although the city has received numerous complaints from personnel regarding the temperature of the building and the system’s filth, no employees have filed worker’s compensation claims because of the air-conditioning, Chick said.

She said the city’s reserve fund appears to be the only potential source of funds for the repairs. Whether to allocate the money will be decided later this week by the Budget and Finance Committee.