Updated on 10/15/15:

A task force created by Los Angeles City Councilman David Ryu, 4th District, to review discretionary funding met for the first time on Oct. 8 and began reviewing approximately $600,000 in allocations made by Ryu’s predecessor Tom LaBonge during the final weeks of his tenure.

Councilman David Ryu will not provide $50,000 from his office's discretionary funding account for a project involving Miracle Mile cultural institutions and the Miracle Mile Chamber of Commerce. (photo by Edwin Folven).

The task force reviewed three allocations –  $50,000 for a collaborative project between the cultural institutions of Museum Row and the Miracle Mile Chamber of Commerce, $25,000 for the Independent Shakespeare Co., and $2,500 for the Petersen Automotive Museum.

The nine-member task force recommended providing the funds to the Independent Shakespeare Co., which stages plays in Griffith Park and had already spent its own money on productions last summer in anticipation of being funded by the city, according to Ryu’s communication’s director, Estevan Montemayor. The task force postponed making a recommendation on the allocation to the Petersen Museum pending further review, as Ryu’s office is awaiting more information about what the money will be used for.

With the $50,000 for the Museum Row project, Ryu said on Monday that the funding was for a traffic consultant for the project, and he said that the money had already been spent. The original motion put forth by then-Councilman LaBonge states the $50,000 is for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). According to John Rice, marketing director for LACMA, the project is an equal collaboration between Miracle Mile institutions including the Craft and Folk Art Museum, the Academy Museum, the La Brea Tar Pits & Museum, LACMA and the Petersen Museum, as well as the Miracle Mile Chamber of Commerce.

Miranda Carroll, communications director for LACMA, said the funding would be for a consultant for a project aimed at rebranding and promoting the Miracle Mile and Museum Row as a cultural destination, and it had not been spent.

On Wednesday, Montemayor said the council office is not moving forward with providing the funding, even though the task force recommended that the money be provided.

“We heard from the task force and from members of the community and we will not be moving forward [with the funding]. We are happy to talk to them about it,” Montemayor said. “[It] wasn’t exactly clear if they had used the funding or not used the funding. [Chief planning and land use deputy] Renee Weitzer, who had been involved in the process before and understands the details was able to provide more context.”

Carroll said museum officials will consider how to proceed.

The task force will review all discretionary funding in the 4th District, but started with the $600,000 committed by LaBonge during his final weeks in office. Council offices receive approximately $1 to $1.5 million per year in discretionary funding.

The funding for the Museum Row project, the Independent Shakespeare Co. and the Petersen Museum are among 27 allocations ranging from $2,500 to $50,000 to organizations and entities within the 4th Council District. Montemayor said the task force will meet at least monthly. The next meeting date has not been set.

Ryu said he is pleased with the task force’s progress and that it will be an important tool in determining the best way to use the council district’s discretionary funding.

“I am very excited about it. It went very well,” Ryu said. “It’s about coming together and coming up with a framework about how to spend the funding. I’m looking forward to hearing their recommendations and moving forward.”

Montemayor said it will likely be a long process to address all the allocations made by LaBonge because the council office is in the process of determining specifically how the funding will be used. He said records on some of the allocations were undocumented or lacked adequate explanation.

Nick Greif, director of policy and legislation for Ryu, said alternative funding has been found for some of the projects on the list. The city’s bureau of engineering will fund $25,000 in sidewalk repairs in Larchmont Village, and the department of recreation and parks will fund $18,330 for an extension of operating hours at the Griffith Park swimming pool, as well as $10,000 for repairs to a wall in Griffith Park.

Montemayor said alternative funding sources will be sought for additional projects. Still under review is funding for projects at Los Angeles and Hollywood high schools, the Korean Cultural Center, Hollywood Heritage, the Los Angeles Historical Society, the Ford Theatre and the Hollywood-Wilshire YMCA, among others.