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LA County CEO refutes reports of $290M retrofit project at county office building
Ex-OC Supervisor Andrew Do owes government $878,230
By City News Service
By Paul Anderson, City News Service
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The Gas Co. Tower, second skyscraper from right, is a fixture in the LA skyline. | Photo courtesy of Slice of Light/Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
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os Angeles County's CEO assured members of the Board of Supervisors Tuesday that the county was not embarking on a nearly $300 million seismic retrofit of its recently purchased highrise office building, and she agreed to report back to the board on plans for occupying the facility. The county purchased the Gas Co. Tower building last year for $200 million to become the new home of the county's administrative offices. The purchase was billed as a cost-saving move for the county, eliminating the need to lease office space while also moving its staff into a more structurally sound building than the current Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration in the Civic Center. But questions recently arose about the possibility of the county spending more than $290 million to have the Gas Co. building seismically retrofitted to make it safer in the event of an earthquake. The building already meets
seismic safety standards, since it was built to meet the requirements that were in place at the time it was constructed. The county Department of Public Works, however, recently obtained estimates for additional seismic retrofitting of the building, putting the cost of such work between $290 million to $297 million. That number raised eyebrows among some board members. "I was surprised to learn that we would be spending over $290 million to retrofit a skyscraper that cost us only $200 million to purchase," Supervisor Janice Hahn said during Tuesday's board meeting, calling for more transparency around the costs of the building. But County CEO Fesia Davenport was quick to correct the record about the project. She clarified that no such project was in the works and no money was being spent on seismic retrofitting of the office tower. She said no project of that magnitude
would be undertaken "unless this board approves it." Davenport said that during discussions with the board last year, county staff believed the board wanted to receive a comparison of possible costs for retrofitting the new building versus the current county Hall of Administration. As part of that process, the county Department of Public Works solicited some estimates for the work, which resulted in the nearly $300 million figure for the Gas Co. Tower. But she said the county has not finalized any bidding process for such work, and "even if it were finalized, we would have to come to the board to get the board's approval." Concern among the board members about the supposed retrofitting work prompted Supervisors Hilda Solis and Lindsey Horvath to introduce a motion during Tuesday's meeting calling for an immediate suspension of any work
relating to a seismic retrofit of the building pending a report on how the work would be financed. The motion also called for a report in 60 days on the county's plan for moving departments into the building. Davenport assured the board Tuesday that no money was being spent on seismic retrofitting, and she said she would report back with an occupancy plan for the new building. County staff noted during the discussion that the cost of doing a seismic retrofit on the current Hall of Administration would be about $700 million. Board members said that given the county's tight budget, the county should be as transparent as possible about money being spent on the move to the new building. "I think we need to be better planners ... and be forthright with all our public because it does make me feel we need to have more infor-
See Retrofit project Page 31
federal judge in Santa Ana Monday ruled that former Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do owes the government $878,230.80 for his conviction in a bribery scheme. Federal prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed in court papers filed last month that Do should have to pay between $800,000 to just over $878,000 in restitution for his bribery scheme. County officials filed a motion seeking $10.2 million, the full amount of money granted to the nonprofit accused in the scheme. Do, who was sentenced to five years in federal prison in June and is expected to begin serving his term Friday, faced a restitution hearing Monday before U.S. District Judge James Selna, to determine how much the defendant owed the government. Do did not appear for the hearing as there was an agreement beforehand that he could skip it, but Selna delayed a ruling on the hearing so his attorneys could put it in writing. Federal prosecutors argued that Do should repay $868,612 for the money he and his family took in the scheme, plus $9,618.80 in legal fees for the county. Do's attorneys argued their client should repay at most $802,692, receiving credit for some of the work Do's daughter, Rhiannon, did for the Viet America Society, the recipient of the bribes. Kevin Dunn, an attorney representing the county, See Andrew Do Page 31
argued that Do should have foreseen that the contracts for which he got kickbacks would not be executed legally. Dunn said Do, a former state prosecutor and public defender as well as an elected leader, should have understood that the federal grant money would not be spent on its intended purpose. But Selna said it was "significant to me" that Do only pleaded to conspiracy, which would limit his liability in the scheme. "That's a strong fact," Selna said. Prosecutors largely agreed with Do's attorneys, though they quibbled over whether his daughter should receive credit for work done for the nonprofit. "In this case, defendant used his position as supervisor for the county of Orange to steer millions of dollars in contracts to his co- conspirators, in exchange for more than a half million dollars in bribes," prosecutors said in a brief. "From 2021 to 2023, defendant steered and voted in favor of more than $10 million worth of county contracts and grants to his co-conspirator's organizations, including Viet America Society, a nonprofit that was supposed to provide meal services to the elderly and disabled, among other services." County Supervisor Janet Nguyen issued a statement following the ruling. "I'm disappointed in the judge's ruling, however there