After $14 million in expenditures, Huntington Park will not build the Aquatic Center at Salt Lake Park

While many Huntington Park residents are still waiting for the construction of the Aquatic Center at Salt Lake Park, Vice-Mayor Eddie Martinez confirmed during Monday’s council meeting the center was “coming to an end.”

After six years, $14 million spent, and an active investigation by the Los Angeles County District Attorney, the City confirmed to CALÓ News that the project in its original state no longer exists.

All councilmembers agreed the residents deserve to know what is going on with the center, despite years of planning and millions spent. However, they have different opinions on why they haven’t openly announced it through the council meetings or social media. 

“With the ongoing investigation known as Operation Dirty Pond, it’s clear we need to pause and fully understand where the money went before moving forward,” said Councilmember Jonathan Sanabria.

Martinez said he was frustrated keeping the community in the dark but the Aquatic Center project was a closed session item which prevented them from talking about it publicly.

“But now that everything's out, and with the DA investigation, I do strongly advocate that we provide some type of information to the community,” he said. 

The DA’s Operation Dirty Pond is investigating the misuse of millions of dollars allocated to the Aquatic Center. On February 26, 2025 the Bureau of Investigation executed search warrants in 11 locations, including Huntington Park’s then-Mayor Karina Macias, Councilmember Martinez and City Manager Ricardo Reyes’ homes, among others. 

In 2019, The initial estimate for the Huntington Park Aquatic Center was $24 million. It was proposed as a state-of-the-art building with an Olympic-size pool, a gym, conference rooms and a football field, among other amenities. The City spent about $14 million, with Reyes saying that approximately $9.2 million went to the builder, JT Construction. 

Some of the money was used for demolition, to excavate and to build a football field. However, there is still $6.4 million unaccounted for. 

Where is the money?

Reyes said late last 2024 he wanted to know where the money was and initiated an audit. 

Councilman Martinez said while there has not been an official announcement from the City to the residents, he has been updating the community through his social media pages. Martinez joined the council in 2020, after the project had been voted in by the majority of the council.

Back then the council members were Karina Macias, Manuel “Manny” Avila (deceased), Graciela Ortiz, Johnny Pineda and Marylynn Sanabria. 

Martinez said from the beginning that he realized the project was very problematic, starting by the fact that it didn’t go out to bid to different contractors as well as the environmental issues related with the park, which used to be a landfill. 

“After four or five years we [the current council] came to consensus that this project is just being more problematic, and we made a decision to stop it and kind of reimagine the park,” said Martinez.

There are different versions of how JT Construction came to be the construction company selected, the process in which it won the contract, and the company that allegedly still has about $6.4 million. 

Mayor Arturo Flores said after the City entered into an agreement with JT Construction in 2019 without a bid, the city was sued by the Construction Industry Force Account Council (CIFAC). 

As a result there was a call for bids and in 2021 JT Construction won, but the contract was never ratified because the city manager and city attorney never signed off on it, according to Flores and Reyes.

“Despite this, subsequent payments continued, creating a complicated and unclear contractual relationship that became the subject of further legal and financial scrutiny,” said Reyes. 

In December 2024, the council asked for a legal opinion since everything was so confusing, according to Flores. After the initial results, the city canceled the project and requested JT Construction to provide an account for the missing amount. The company had a deadline for mid-February 2025 to return all funding and unused material related to the project.  

“It's my understanding that they have failed to meet that deadline until this day. They have not returned any of the money. They have not returned any of the material that they claim they purchased with the funds that they were given,” said Flores. 

However, Councilwoman Karina Macias has a different version. She said there was a lawsuit by CIFAC against the city but the city prevailed and determined the process to award the project was legal. She said JT Construction was selected for being the lowest bidder with a contract not to exceed $23,994,426.13.

“Mr. Flores was not present for all this process that was taken. After the vote in 2021, no other vote took place to either award a new contract or terminate this contract,” said Macias.

CALÓ News tried multiple times to obtain a comment from JT Construction owner, Edvin Tsaturyan, and his attorney Garabed Kamarian but hasn’t received a response yet. 

Hopes for the future of the Aquatic Center

Macias, who was the Mayor until last month, said she reassured the community during the February 28, 2025 meeting that the Aquatic Center was still happening because she truly believed it could continue. 

“I still do,” she said. “What the public needs to understand is that there never was a public vote or public discussion to end this project.”

She said the project can’t be terminated based on a close session discussion because there is a lack of transparency. When there is a change order for a city project, it must be returned to the council for a public vote and discussion due to financial implications, she added.

“While my colleagues deem this project to an end, I still believe it can happen if there is support. If they don’t want to support it, then they need to say that clearly,” said Macias. “The project ended in their perspective because they all said it ended, not because there was a formal process.” 

Trying to gain the residents’ trust

Flores wants to tell the residents there is a new mayor in town focused on cleaning up the city. He said former Community Development Director Steve Foster, who was in charge of overseeing the Aquatic Center project, was recently fired and that it is very likely that more people will be held accountable in the upcoming days. 

Sanabria said he shares the community’s frustration but he’s committed to rebuilding trust by demanding transparency and ensuring future projects are delivered responsibly. 

Macias rejected any corruption accusation against her from residents and the council and said she has been serving for 12 years and is always open to talking to the community.

“The only way to continue my work with the community is to do what I have always done, put their needs first and continue to address their concerns,” she said. 

While the investigation continues, Reyes said he is recommending that the City proceed to construct an outdoor recreational pool with a cost of approximately $1.5 million which would be part of the Salt Lake Park Recreation building rehabilitation project.

“If the council does decide to move in that direction, that'll be part of the second phase,” said Reyes.