Mayor Karen Bass taps Illinois consulting firm to support Palisades fire recovery
One month after the devastating Palisades fire, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced that she has selected a private consulting firm to assist with infrastructure restoration and environmental mitigation.
Illinois-based Hagerty Consulting will do "full project management, coordinating all of the different private and public entities," the mayor said Friday. The work of rebuilding public infrastructure will also fall under the firm's purview, Bass said.
Bass, while touring Pacific Palisades with Steve Soboroff, her recovery czar, nearly two weeks ago, said she intended to hire an outside consultant to represent the city's interests in the wildfire recovery process. She said a decision would be made by the end of that week.
It's not yet clear how much the firm will be paid. It will report to Jim Featherstone, whom Bass appointed to oversee the city Emergency Operations Center's recovery group, she said.
"We have selected Hagerty, a world-class disaster recovery firm, to provide expertise and operational support to facilitate our comprehensive recovery effort," Bass said during a news conference at which she provided updates on fire recovery and the city's progress in the month since the Palisades fire wreaked widespread devastation on the coastal enclave and surrounding areas, destroying more than 6,800 structures. At least 12 people were killed.
Hagerty Consulting, located in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, is an emergency management consulting firm that specializes in preparing for, responding to and recovering from disasters. On its website, the company has a "disaster discourse" blog where it discusses the latest wildfires, hurricanes and other emergencies.
Read more: A month after L.A. firestorms, essential questions still haunt Southern California
Bass also said that the city is still in discussions with global engineering firm AECOM about a separate contract, possibly to assist with cost recovery and ensuring that the city receives the federal funds it's owed.
Last week, Bass spokesperson Zach Seidl had said that the city was finalizing contracts with multiple firms.
In the days since Bass toured the Palisades with Soboroff, her search for a recovery contractor has been mostly shrouded in secrecy. The mayor, along with four council members and other city officials, heard presentations from three firms at a closed door meeting last week.
Hagerty, AECOM and the disaster recovery and response firm IEM gave brief Zoom presentations during the meeting.
"They had a little pitch session. They told us a little bit about themselves, but no decisions were made,' Councilmember Bob Blumenfield said.
Because Bass declared a state of emergency in response to the wildfire, she has the authority to award the contract unilaterally, without competitive bidding or a vote from the City Council, Blumenfield said. However, funding for the recovery contracts will require a council vote.
Councilmembers Traci Park and Katy Yaroslavsky and Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson were among those present during the meeting, as were Soboroff, City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo and Chief Legislative Analyst Sharon Tso.
Soboroff, a real estate developer and civic leader, was named to his post by Bass last month. On Friday, he declined to say how much he will be paid in that role, saying only that he was not taking public dollars and his compensation would be covered by an unnamed philanthropic organization.
Soboroff said he does not know who the organization is or where its money is coming from.
Bass said that Hagerty has also been performing work for Los Angeles County. And she left open the possibility that more private firms will be hired in the coming days.
AECOM, on its website, said that it has responded to more than 400 disasters around the world and has more than 200 "disaster resilience professionals" on its staff. The firm has worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for more than 40 years, according to the site.
"We repair and restore impacted communities by helping to expedite a return to normal daily life," the company said on the website. "We're typically on the ground performing these missions within 24 hours of an event and continue to support the recovery and rebuilding process for months, or even years, afterwards."
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
10 minutes ago
- New York Post
New Manhattan homes for menswear stores Charles Tyrwhitt, Tom Ford
London-based menswear store Charles Tyrwhitt is moving from 437 Madison Ave. to RFR Realty's 477 Madison, doubling its space in the process. Tyrwhitt signed for 3,800 square at the East 51st Street corner. The deal was handled for the landlord by MONA, a retail brokerage backed by RFR's Aby Rosen. Cushman & Wakefield acted for the tenant. Charles Tywhitt has a half-dozen Manhattan locations. Advertisement The building's offices are mostly leased. Recent signings include for Treville Capital and Fiera Capital. 477 Madison Ave. will be the new home menswear store Charles Tyrwhitt. One more Park Avenue office address has filled up. Advertisement Tom Ford Fashion signed a 10-year, 11,118 square-foot lease at SL Green's 500 Park Ave., bringing the landmarked, 201,000 square-foot building at East 59th Street to 100% leased. Tom Ford Fashion has signed a 10-year lease for 500 Park Ave., above. Brian Zak/NY Post Advertisement Other office tenants include The Georgetown Company, Vera Wang and Friedland Properties. Furniture store FRATO's flagship showroom is the retail tenant. Meanwhile, the former Hammacher Schlemmer headquarters building at 145 E. 57th St. can also boast 100% occupancy. Data Science Innovators took 5,067 square feet, landlord ABS Partners announced. Danish furniture maker Carl Hansen & Son replaced Hammacher Schlemmer on the retail floors.
Forbes
10 minutes ago
- Forbes
Los Angeles Protests: National Guard Troops Arrive In Los Angeles (Photos)
Hundreds of National Guard members have been stationed across Los Angeles after President Donald Trump pledged to send 2,000 troops, despite objections from city and state officials, to quell protests across the city that broke out in response to Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. June 8, 1:30 p.m. EDTAbout 300 members of the National Guard have been stationed across Los Angeles so far, The New York Times reported, the first soldiers as part of the 2,000 Trump has promised to station across the city as more protests are expected to take place this afternoon. 1 p.m. EDTLos Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told the Los Angeles Times said she tried to talk to the Trump administration to 'tell them that there was absolutely no need to have troops on the ground here in Los Angeles,' stating the protests on Saturday were 'relatively minor' and 'peaceful,' with about 100 protesters. 3:22 a.m. EDTBass appeared to rebuff Trump's claim the National Guard did a 'great job' in the city, stating in a post on X that the National Guard had not yet been deployed at that time in Los Angeles, while praising Newsom and local law enforcement. 2:41 said in a late-night Truth Social post the National Guard did a 'great job' in Los Angeles, while slamming Newsom and Bass and the 'Radical Left' protesters and stating protesters will no longer be allowed to wear masks: 'What do these people have to hide, and why???' 12:14 slammed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for 'threatening to deploy active-duty Marines on American soil against its own citizens' as 'deranged behavior.' June 7The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said it had arrested two people Saturday evening for alleged assault on a police officer, stating multiple officers had been injured by a Molotov cocktail, the Los Angeles Times reported. 10:34 exhibited 'violent behavior' toward federal agents and local law enforcement, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in a statement, while clarifying it is not involved in federal law enforcement response and is instead focused on crowd and traffic control. 10:22 a post on X, Newsom said the federal government is taking over the California National Guard and deploying soldiers in Los Angeles solely to create a 'spectacle.' 10:06 announced in a post on X the Department of Defense is 'mobilizing the National Guard IMMEDIATELY to support federal law enforcement in Los Angeles,' stating Marines are standing by for deployment in case of violence. 9:17 House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Trump would deploy 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles to address 'lawlessness,' citing protests targeting immigration officers. More protests are expected to take place Sunday, in what will be the third straight day of demonstrations against immigration raids in Los Angeles. Protests broke out Friday and Saturday in Paramount and Compton, cities adjacent to Los Angeles, over immigration raids conducted by ICE, during which the agency detained 44 immigrants Friday and 118 immigrants Saturday, the Associated Press reported. Police and protesters clashed over the weekend, according to local reports and videos on social media, with law enforcement using tear gas and flash grenades to break up the crowds while some protesters threw rocks and lit vehicles on fire. Trump reportedly said in a memo he is invoking Title 10 of the U.S. Code on Armed Services, which allows the federal government to deploy the National Guard if the United States is 'invaded or is in danger of invasion by a foreign nation,' or if there is a 'rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.' Vice President JD Vance said in a post on X on Saturday night the influx of immigrants, which he called 'Biden's border crisis,' amounts to an 'invasion,' rebuffing critics who have questioned whether Trump had the authority to deploy troops. Trump's move has faced some pushback from constitutional scholars. 'For the federal government to take over the California National Guard, without the request of the governor, to put down protests is truly chilling,' Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California Berkeley School of Law, told the Los Angeles Times. The legal issues raised by Trump sending the National Guard to L.A. (Los Angeles Times)
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Developer seeks flexibility for design of affordable housing project
Jun. 8—ROCHESTER — A Santa Monica, California, developer is seeking support for deviating from Rochester development code standards to construct a 149-unit apartment complex along Fourth Street Southeast, just east of the Bear Creek Bridge. Lincoln Avenue Communities is proposing a 360-foot-long building, with a decreased rear setback along the river trail south of the site. The proposal exceeds length standards by 60 feet. "The length of this new building should not have any adverse impact on any abutting lots," Scott England, a principal with Minneapolis-based DJR Architecture, stated in a letter with Lincoln Avenue. "The building's length is broken up by multiple vertical architectural components that visually provide for pleasing visual breaks in the façade." Staff from the Rochester Community Development department are supporting the request, pointing to the ability to add downtown-adjacent parking with infill development across five lots, as well as efforts to provide an active use for the site that sits on a transit corridor. "The applicant has worked closely with city teammates to ensure compliance with the unified development code and district design standards," Rochester planner Elliot Mohler stated in a report to the Planning and Zoning Commission. "This includes street activation strategies such as benches, raised planters, additional plantings and bike parking." Lincoln Avenue Communities, which specializes in constructing and managing housing with rents below market rate, plans to lease apartments at rates considered affordable for households earning 60% of the area median income. "For a single parent with a few kids, this equates to $60,000 to $70,000 per year for income to qualify for housing, so it really is true workforce housing," Sarah Robbins, an associate with Lincoln Avenue Communities, told neighbors in April during a required informational meeting. Current state guidelines would cap potential rents at nearly $1,700 for a two-bedroom apartment under the tax credit program Lincoln Avenue seeks to utilize. The project is slated to feature 41 one-bedroom apartments, 77 two-bedroom units and 31 three-bedroom apartments, as well as one level of underground parking. While a site consolidation and a development plan for the project remain under review, the Planning and Zoning Commission will be asked to determine whether the construction variance will be allowed. Before making a decision, a public hearing on the issue will be held during the commission's meeting at 5 p.m. Wednesday in council chambers of the city-county Government Center. If development plans are approved, the apartment complex could be added to more than 150 Lincoln Avenue Communities properties throughout the nation. Company Vice President James Riley said the goal for the company's first Rochester project is to start construction in early 2026, if required development and financing approvals are obtained. Meetings scheduled to be held during the week of June 9 include: Rochester —City Council study session, 3:30 p.m. Monday in council chambers of the city-county Government Center, 151 Fourth St. SE. The meeting will livestream at and be available on Spectrum cable channel 180 or 188. —Police Policy Oversight Commission, 3:30 p.m. Tuesday in room 164B of the Development Services and Infrastructure Center, 4001 West River Parkway NW. —Sustainability and Resiliency Commission, 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in room 104 of City Hall, 201 Fourth St. SE. —Planning and Zoning Commission, 5 p.m. Wednesday in council chambers of the Government Center. —Citizens Advisory on Transit, 4:30 p.m. Thursday in room 104 of City Hall. Olmsted County —Housing and Redevelopment Authority, 4 p.m. Thursday in board chambers of the Government Center. Rochester Public Schools —School Board study session, 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the boardroom of the Edison Building, 615 Seventh St. SW.
