Editor's note: This story is part of an ongoing series that tracks the city's expenditures appearing on upcoming Santa Monica City Council consent agendas. Consent agenda items are routinely passed by the City Council with little or no discussion from elected officials or the public. However, many of the items have been part of public discussion in the past.
CITY HALL - City Council will consider more than $11 million in spending tonight in what would be the most expensive consent agenda so far this year. Most of the money would go toward new buses.
New buses
City Hall wants eleven new 40-foot-long buses that will cost $6,763,405. Big Blue Bus currently has 99 buses, 37 of which have reached the end of their useful lives. The buses will run on compressed natural gas and the contract will likely go to Gillig LLC.
Lincoln Corridor
The Lincoln Neighborhood Corridor Plan (The LiNC) aims to improve traffic and pedestrian usage along Lincoln Boulevard. Community Design and Architecture will likely get $395,000 to build the plan.
Oil and water
City Hall's second largest drinking water aquifer, Olympic Well Field, has been impacted by contamination from several former-manufacturing facilities in the area. ICF International will likely get $1,732,500 to implement a plan for monitoring potential future contamination. City Hall monitors groundwater at 19 locations in the field, four times a year. They plan to install five more monitor wells. City Hall monitors the water carefully, city officials said in a report, and they believe they've found the primary contributors to the problem.
If they do find more contaminants, ICF can act quickly to identify the cause. ICF would work to make sure City Hall is appropriately compensated for the damages.
Alleys
Six alleys need repaving and City Hall will likely pay All American Asphalt $543,944 to do the work. Fifth, Ninth, and 21st courts, along with Hill Place North, Pico Place North, and Pearl Place South will be repaved. They would remain in a functional condition for at least 10 years, city officials said.
Beach bathrooms
The construction company tasked with building the beach restrooms at 2400 Ocean Front Walk needs another $35,000 because they pulled out some asphalt to deal with problems involving underground telephone and power connections. Additionally, per a suggestion from the community, the bathrooms will now connect to the bike path, adding additional cost. They should be done this summer.
Warehouse
City Hall wants to renovate the Public Works warehouse, which was traditionally used for storage and has been closed since 2012. The renovation would provide space for City Hall's Print Shop, Facility Maintenance, and Architecture Services. DLS Builders is slated to get the project to the tune of $1,119,713. Currently, the Print Shop is located on Lincoln Boulevard in a space that's leased at $100,000 per year. Construction could begin in July and take about four months.
Wage monitoring
City Hall relies on experts to make sure it's in compliance with local, state, and federal wage regulations. In order to continue to monitor the wages paid to construction workers on affordable housing projects, Comprehensive Housing Services will likely get $54,000.
Planning consultant
Planning & Community Development is currently without an assistant director. City planners believe the position will be filled by August, but in the meantime Management Partners is filling in. City Hall has already paid nearly $100,000 for their services and, assuming council approval, they'll pay another $50,000.
Safe Routes To School
The design firm tasked with planning the grant-funded overhaul of the area around Santa Monica High School needs an additional $15,000. The extra cash is required because the design now includes a traffic light and curb design not envisioned in the original project. The Safe Routes To School grant allows City Hall to make the area around the high school more pedestrian-friendly.
Expo station consulting
AECOM, the consultants tasked with analyzing the area around the last stop of the incoming Expo Light Rail needs another $338,663 to look at the connectivity between Downtown and the Civic Center, which are separated by the Interstate 10 freeway.
"The success of the Downtown and Civic Center relies on the strength and connectivity of pedestrian, vehicle, bicycle and transit networks," city planners said in a report.
dave@www.smdp.com
