The Department of Recreation and Parks Doesn’t Head the City Library

The “new” gym burned on January 9 and the “old” brick building needs massive infrastructure work.

RAP is proposing putting a building on the lower tennis courts.

 It has been a real puzzler why Recreation and Parks City Manager Jimmy Kim has been pushing for a library at the Palisades Recreation Center.

The Palisades City Library, which burned in the Palisades Fire, was adjacent to the Rec Center. Kim has led the charge to put a temporary library building on parkland at the Recreation Center.

He initially wanted to put a portable “library” building on the green lawn near the entrance, which would be half library/half Rec Center. When residents objected to taking away one of the few remaining green areas left after the fire, Kim said the building could be placed on Tennis Courts 7 & 8.

For the past three months, he and the city have been tone-deaf, as residents repeatedly asked not to have tennis courts/playing spaces taken away.

CTN contacted Kim and asked why he was “in charge” of the library. According to the Los Angeles City Charter, the Board of Library Commissioners are the legal head of the library department, not RAP.

The Charter gives the Library control of its own funds and the responsibility to design, construct, and maintain library buildings. The City Librarian John Szabo reports to the board of commissioners. He is appointed by the Mayor and his total pay and benefits are $347,000.

Kim responded about his role, “City departments often collaborate on projects, particularly during recovery phases of an emergency, to best serve the needs of the community.

“To that end, the Department continues working closely with the library and other relevant city departments to offer city services as the library and gymnasium are being reconstructed,” said Kim who was appointed RAP General Manager in September 2022 when Mike Shull retired.

Kim, whose total salary in 2023 with benefits according to Transparent California is $420,467, began his career with the department as a junior lifeguard through the Summer Youth Employment program in 1995.

He then went on to hold several other part-time positions before being hired full-time. He has held various roles within the department in the Aquatic Division, Lifeguard Academies, and served as the department’s Homeless Strategy Coordinator and Resilience Officer. Before assuming his new role, he served as the Assistant General Manager of Recreation Services, overseeing 184 recreation centers, 51 aquatic centers and 30 senior centers.

Kim’s park accomplishments may be tempered by how RAP is funded.

In a 2020 park survey of the nation’s 100 most populated cities, L.A. was ranked 49 out of 100, and in 2022 was ranked 88 click here. This past year, the top three ranked cities were Washington, D.C., Irvine, Ca. and Minneapolis, Mn. Los Angeles had dropped to 90^th, scoring 37.5 points out of 100 based on the five categories.

The study noted L.A. has “inadequate funding, which means maintenance, rangers and upkeep is limited. The creation of new parks is limited.”

How many taxpayer dollars go to parks?  The City Charter mandates that 3.25 cents of every 100 dollars in assessed property value goes to RAP.

But that meager amount is further eaten up because the City Council passed a law in 2008 that RAP needs to pay into the City’s General Fund for its employee benefits, Department of Water and Power  utilities and the Bureau of Sanitation refuse costs at parks.

This past year RAP allocated $145 million—equivalent to 40% of its total operating budget toward the mandatory payments: employee benefits ($112 million), DWP utility costs ($31 million) and Sanitation ($3 million).

In a Park Needs Assessment click here, it is explained that “The majority of the increase to RAP’s operating budget since FY 2009 has been to General Fund reimbursements rather than directly supporting park maintenance and services.”

The 1948 Palisades Recreation Center, prior to the fire, needed ADA bathrooms, heat, air conditioning, WiFi and new windows. The site lacked an ADA playground. Residents and the Park Advisory Board had asked for facility updates for years.

The 2025 Park Needs Assessment, done in all city parks, rated the Palisades baseball field and bocce courts good, tennis courts fair and the gym/buildings poor.(click here.)

It appears that with a third of all park funding going back into the City for employee benefits or to pay for DWP and sanitation charges, there isn’t enough money to run the parks.

Palisades facilities like so many in the city were not receiving the necessary maintenance and there is no projected money in the future unless more “taxes” are passed onto residents.

With the Steadfast/L.A. Strong Sports helping with the rebuild, the Palisades Rec Center will finally be done.

There has been an argument to save the old Rec Center. After seeing all the maintenance that needs to be done, and the budget the City has for its buildings, residents should be thankful that this area will finally have upgraded ADA facilities.