City officials lobbied for the fund transfers, saying the projects were in dire need of the money that could be redirected to Sacramento if Brown gets his way. They also pointed out that the city had already started allocating money to the projects.
But Councilman David Gordon, who was the lone vote of dissent, warned the rush to reallocate the money could come back to haunt Burbank.
“The whole motivation for making these findings for continuing these projects is to get funds out of the redevelopment pool, which may come back to haunt us if the state says, ‘You can't do that, the projects have to end because they weren't initiated,'” Gordon said. “I know they may have been planned, but I don't think there have been shovels in the ground for some of these.”
The $5-million Johnny Carson Park renovation — which would include new LED lighting, a new irrigation system, new play structures and an expanded picnic area — still needs about $2.6 million, even after the City Council on Tuesday allocated an additional $500,000 to the project.
Work on the North San Fernando Boulevard and Victory Boulevard corridors would include transit, pedestrian and bicycle improvements and landscaped islands.
But in order to move forward with the proposed Lundigan Youth Center — a joint venture between the city, the Boys & Girls Club and Burbank Housing Corporation — the council must hold a public hearing because the project is outside the redevelopment area.
Officials recommended scheduling the public meeting in order to allocate $5.8 million from an account for youth programs.
