The Pasadena City Council voted 6-2 Monday night to delay approval of a $177.5 million construction contract for the Central Library seismic retrofit. Councilmembers refused to move forward until contractor PCL Construction Services Inc. produces a written local hire and procurement plan after learning that few if any Pasadena residents worked on the project’s first phase.
The delay was driven by pointed questions from Councilmembers Justin Jones and Tyron Hampton about the lack of local workforce participation. Jones told the council that when he toured the project site, the foreman said there were zero Pasadena residents working on the job.
“This is an economic opportunity for our community,” Jones said. “And it’s an opportunity for folks to obviously get employed, to work on this, work on a project that they could be proud of in their own community.”
Breana Weaver, PCL’s diversity, equity and inclusion manager, reported that approximately 7% of Phase 1 spending — roughly $500,000 out of $7.8 million — went back to the local economy through a combination of local suppliers, trade partners and workforce. When pressed by Jones for the number of Pasadena residents actually hired, Weaver said she would need to pull that report.
PCL is projecting 11 to 12% of Phase 2 contract spending will go to the local economy, exceeding its contractual commitment of 10%. Weaver described this as a forecast based on conversations with trade partners, market analysis, and partnerships developed during Phase 1.
Hampton appeared unpersuaded, telling the council he could not vote on a contract approaching $200 million without seeing a concrete local hire plan.
“What is your plan? Do you actually have a plan that you could present to the council along with this contract?” Hampton asked. “Without this information, I can’t make a decision on a $200 million project.”
PCL detailed its community engagement efforts, including a citywide construction opportunity survey that generated more than 100 responses, more than 20 community touchpoints, a recent outreach event at the Flintridge Center and partnerships with the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce and local unions.
The company also announced plans to launch an internship program with PCC’s new trades program and establish an ACE Mentors chapter at Pasadena High School for Phase 2.
The council was being asked to authorize City Manager Miguel Márquez to amend the city’s contract with PCL to add $177,533,815 for Phase 2 construction services under a construction manager-at-risk delivery model.
If approved, the total contract would rise to an amount not to exceed $186,186,155. The project is fully funded by the voter-approved Measure PL $195 million bond, with no impact to the general fund.
The Central Library has been closed since May 2021 after structural evaluations found the 1927 landmark did not meet modern seismic safety standards.
The voter-approved project is designed to strengthen the building against earthquakes while upgrading fire-life-safety systems, modernizing electrical, plumbing and climate infrastructure, improving accessibility and restoring historic architectural features.
During the multi-year closure, library services have been shifted to branch locations and alternative service models.
The council also heard from Ronald Matthews, a local workforce advocate who spoke during public comment. Matthews said he had arrived in support of the project but changed his mind after hearing the discussion.
“Local participation must be a required outcome of this project, not simply a stated intention,” Matthews told the council. “The current staff report only describes outreach. It does not report results.”
Matthews, who said he has worked on local hire issues for 30 years, warned the council that approving the contract without written commitments would produce the same disappointing results he has seen on past city projects.
“My history tells me that if you approve this without something in writing, you’re going to get nothing,” Matthews said
Councilmember Steve Madison argued against the delay, cautioning that holding up the project would cost time on a critical path toward a July 31, 2028 substantial completion date — just before the Los Angeles Olympics arrive in Pasadena.
“Two weeks becomes four weeks,” Madison cautioned.
Councilmember Rick Cole ultimately made the motion to bring the item back in two weeks with two requirements: a written plan from PCL detailing how it will meet its 11 to 12% local economic impact target through local hiring and procurement, and a response from the city manager on how the city will internally track local hire performance on this and future projects.
The motion passed 6-2, with Madison and Councilmember Gene Masuda voting against. Mayor Victor Gordo, Vice Mayor Jess Rivas and Councilmembers Cole, Hampton, Jones and Jason Lyon voted in favor.
Gordo drew parallels to the city’s experience with a previous Parsons construction project, where he said the council moved forward without written local hire goals and was disappointed by the results.
“If it’s not in writing, we’re not going to get the outcome,” Gordo said. “We wished and hoped and prayed for it, but in the end, I thought it was a mistake.”
The library discussion also prompted Gordo to announce he would agendize a broader discussion on adopting a citywide Project Labor Agreement, noting that PCC and the Pasadena Unified School District have already adopted PLAs for their construction projects. Lyon said he would support bringing that discussion directly to the full council.
Public Works Director Greg de Vinck presented the council with an overview of work completed to date.
Phase 1 and Phase 1A, totaling $7.8 million, included the development of a guaranteed maximum price and selective demolition. de Vinck said the building has been thoroughly gutted, with hazardous materials removed, mechanical and electrical systems taken out, and historic wood millwork carefully cataloged, barcoded, placed in protective crates and shipped to a climate-controlled warehouse for later reinstallation in its original locations.
de Vinck explained that the guaranteed maximum price structure means PCL bears the risk if costs exceed the agreed-upon amount. The contract includes a 3% contractor-controlled contingency with a 60-40 split of unused funds favoring the city, and a separate 10% owner-controlled contingency that returns entirely to the city if unspent.
Cole asked whether the project required significant value engineering to fit the budget, noting that the total project cost came within $452,000 — or 0.23% — of the $195 million bond. de Vinck said no major compromises had been made, explaining that the price gradually came down as PCL refined its subcontractor bids and finalized negotiations.
If the contract is approved in two weeks as planned, de Vinck said Phase 2 construction could begin almost immediately.
The project schedule envisions structural work, mechanical and electrical installation, interior finishes, site work and commissioning proceeding on overlapping tracks through substantial completion on July 31, 2028, followed by a move-in period that includes placing more than 300,000 books on new shelves.
Márquez told the council that the Division of Economic Development has been working to centralize local hire tracking and that the city uses an LCP Tracker system.
He committed to reporting back on both the internal resources needed and the tracking mechanisms for local hire performance.
Councilmember Lyon, who supported the delay, pushed back on the framing that the vote had to happen Monday night. “When you’re asking us to spend $177 million, you should anticipate that we might want to have some questions and to think about it and to bring it back for further work,” Lyon said. “It’s never appropriate to say to us, ‘You have to do it tonight.'”
The item is expected to return to the council for a vote on Feb. 23.
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