Leaky Police Station in Dire Need of Pricey Repairs

The Los Angeles Police Department’s 77th Street station in South Los Angeles is only eight years old, but the roof leaked profusely Monday in the building, in which the heating has failed and the doors of the lockup once opened all at the same time.

The city has already spent $730,000 on repairs, but City Councilman Dennis Zine said Monday the cost would jump to $2 million.

“You folks are patching the ship that wasn’t built right,� Zine told LAPD and city officials at the City Council’s Public Safety Committee meeting Monday.

Yvette Sanchez-Owens, head of the LAPD’s facilities management office, said work was underway to repair the problems in the 104,000-square-foot station. The department managed to prevent any escapes last year as it repaired the lockup doors.

“The city was delivered a big fat lemon,� Sanchez-Owens said bluntly in an interview. “There are numerous problems, beginning with the design.�

Zine, a reserve officer who served for decades with the LAPD, said the city should hold contractors who built the $41.8-million stationhouse more accountable.

Capt. Kenneth Garner, commanding officer of the station, said the problems never seem to end. “The AC doesn’t work in the heat of summer. The heat barely works in winter. The plumbing is on its last legs. It is so bad all the showerheads leak,� Garner said. “The rain is leaking in all over the place.�

Visitors to the station Monday saw blankets on wet floors, leaking window frames and yellow warning signs to beware of wet flooring. There were 341 calls for repairs in 2003 and 271 last year, records show.

The air duct system was so bad that the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health initiated a review after LAPD employees complained about a lack of ventilation, officials said.

Water has leaked to the lower floors, office spaces, the 180-bed jail and the atrium. There is no hot water in the jail wing and boilers need to be overhauled. The roof, Sanchez-Owens said, was meant to be good for 20 years.

Lt. Roger Murphy said the station recently experienced power outages, dead phones and elevator breakdowns.

“Very few people will ride the elevators here,� he said. “They really don’t make buildings like they used to.�

The station was built in 1997 by Morley Construction and designed by Kennard Design Group. Morley Construction officials did not return calls.

The council panel asked for a report on repairs in 30 days.

Times staff writer Tonya Alanez contributed to this report.