The need to support a stronger local workforce and create a pathway for future laborers overshadowed the Pasadena City Council’s discussion of a construction contract related to the city’s massive Central Library project.

On Monday, July 21, City Council unanimously approved an $8.6 million contract with PCL Construction Services as part of the $195 million bond supported seismic retrofit and renovation of the Central Library. Councilmembers Jason Lyon and Steve Madison were absent.

The approval of the contract, originally planned to be approved with other items considered routine, was moved to the regular agenda for questions.

And from there, the issue of ensuring that local workers get a fair shake on the project emerged.

Councilmember Tyron Hampton led the questioning of PCL about how the company planned to use local workers, businesses and materials for the work.

“My people need work now,” Hampton said. “They don’t need work tomorrow, they don’t need to go to a class, they’re ready to work today.”

Breana Weaver, PCL manager of diversity, equity and inclusion, said 10% of the contract value will be an investment in the local Pasadena economy, in the form of first-source prioritization of local subcontractors, vendors and workforce. In addition, Weaver said PCL would support education opportunities for workers.

PCL’s U.S headquarters are in Denver, Colorado, but it has offices across the United States, Canada and in Australia and the Caribbean.

Councilmember Rick Cole said the city should do more to set up a year-round program to get prospective workers trained and in the pipeline, rather than waiting on large-scale projects like the library to work on that issue.

Public Works Director Greg de Vinck said the agreement with PCL is open book, meaning the city will be able to review all contracting decisions made by PCL during the project.

Ronald Matthews, CEO and local hiring coordinator with RKM Construction, said during public comment that the city needed to make a stronger commitment to local hiring requirements in the contract before moving forward.

“This project is more than seismic safety. It is about honoring public investment and ensuring Pasadena residents, including those displaced and still living here, are participants and not spectators,” Matthews said.

Established by a city ordinance, the first-source hiring program incentivizes private developers to hire Pasadena residents to fill construction jobs.

The city attorney’s office said Pasadena’s first-source hiring ordinance would not apply to the library project because it is a city-led project. The ordinance is meant for private developers that receive financial assistance from the city.

“We’re limited by the ‘privileges and immunities’ clause of the Constitution with respect to ability to require certain things for local residents,” City Attorney Michele Bagneris said. “There are limits to that.”

The Central Library, at Walnut Street and Garfield Avenue, was home to 300,000 items in its collection and served about 1,000 daily visitors. During the closure, Rose Palace on Raymond Avenue has been used to store a large portion of the collection, according to the city.

Last year, voters approved a $195 million bond measure to fund the Central Library project. The library, which was built in 1927, has been closed since May 2021 after an assessment of the building’s condition in 2020 found unreinforced masonry with walls not fastened to the building’s foundation and not reinforced to the concrete floor beams.

PCL’s contract will be for pre-construction and selective demolition. City officials said the next phase of the project will be back to the City Council in January.