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 Manager Rod Gould will seek approval at the City Council meeting Tuesday night to negotiate a license agreement that would bring Cirque du Soleil back to Santa Monica for a three-month run beginning in January 2012.
Cirque approached City Hall when it released a request for proposals for the 2011-12 event season. The group would be presenting its new production “Ovo,” a performance set in the world of bugs.
Under the terms of the agreement, Cirque would pay $981,253 for the use of 719 spaces in the 1550 PCH parking lot, a 30 percent increase from rent paid for the 2009 performance of “Kooza.”
The agreement also includes parking provisions, later performance dates, promotions for Santa Monica Pier businesses and other perks to appease pier tenants that felt unduly impacted by the loss of parking spaces in 2009.
Cirque’s “Kooza” performance brought an estimated $16.7 million to city government and businesses.
The remainder of the items on Tuesday’s consent calendar add up to a whopping $7,435,085 in additional expenditures.
Big Blue Bus security, transmissions
The Big Blue Bus system will be contracting with a new security firm and transmission remanufacturing vendor if the council approves two contracts Tuesday.
Staff recommends ABM Security Inc. to provide 24-7 security services for the Big Blue Bus facility for a cost of $1,514,469 for the first year plus three one-year renewals.
City Hall received 40 bids for the contract, which were evaluated based on overall pricing. The top 10 vendors were then interviewed by a panel consisting of two police officers, a motor coach supervisor and a transit maintenance manager.
If city personnel tried to provide the service, it would cost $680,610 in the first year, or 48 percent higher than ABM Security Services’ bid, according to a staff report.
The bus system’s current vendor for Allison brand transmissions no longer meets the standards of an authorized Allison dealer.
Working with authorized dealers gives BBB security — it insures that only Allison parts are used in repairs and that the repairs maintain the warranty.
Of the six companies that bid on the contract, city staff chose Western States Converters and Transmissions Inc. for a contract cost of $760,000.
Bike mobility centers
The bike transit mobility center, currently under construction at Parking Structures 7 and 8, will be run by Bike and Park, LLC if the council signs off on the $120,000 contract Tuesday.
The company’s experience includes operating the McDonald’s Cycle Center in Millennium Park, Chicago, as well as on-site operations in Washington D.C.’s Union Station bike center.
Proposed services include maintaining and staffing the center, bike rental and repair, attended bike parking, guided tours, a bike share program for local employees and ongoing bicycle education and outreach programs.
Bike and Park would include several local businesses and organizations, including Perry’s Cafe & Rentals for bike renting and tours and Urban Motion Inc. for Segway tour opportunities.
The company will actually pay City Hall rent of $17,500 as well as 15 percent of revenues for rentals and tours above $250,000. The $120,000 put up by Santa Monica will go toward initial furniture and equipment costs for the center and additional services over the next two years that the company will do in support of Bicycle Action Plan draft programs.
Water main replacement
City staff recommended that the council approve two contracts totaling $2,672,380 for construction and management services for a water main replacement project.
MNR Construction Inc., a California-based company, is recommended for a $2,429,735 construction contract to replace 11,700 lineal feet of existing ductile iron water mains in the city. City staff evaluates pipes for replacement based on age, condition and capacity demands.
MNR was one of 65 contractors that requested bid packages, although only 13 responded with official bids.
Construction management firm Black and Veatch beat out 30 other firms for the $242,645 contract. It will manage the budget and scheduling of the project, if the contract is approved.
Gas extraction
City staff is recommending hiring ICF International to provide operation, maintenance and monitoring services for the landfill gas extraction system at City Yards for a five-year total of $871,776.
The system collects and treats landfill gases generated from the former landfill under portions of City Yard and Stewart Street Park, and has done so since 1998.
Permit and operational conditions for a gas extraction system require City Hall to submit monitoring reports to both the South Coast Air Quality Management District and the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.
ICF International, then ICF Consulting Services, has worked for City Hall to provide these services since 2002.
Refuse containers
The council is likely to approve a $755,000 expenditure on solid waste, green waste and recycling containers for residents.
The contract, negotiated with Toter Inc., ensures the purchase and delivery of refuse containers for a four-year term.
City Hall plans to replace 3,200 containers annually using the new stock.
Toter was selected because of the large footprint and aerodynamic design, which makes them less likely to fall over after being placed back on the street.
Software maintenance
Payroll and human resource software used at City Hall needs extra maintenance and support services, which will cost $345,712 over the course of the next two fiscal years, according to a staff report.
Although the software licenses purchased in 1998 and 1995 respectively needs no renewal, the software needs ongoing updates and support to stay in compliance with federal and state payroll regulations.
Office furniture
City staff requested a purchase order for $204,748 of office furniture to install in the newly-retrofitted portions of City Hall.
The order is part of tenant improvements that will be coordinated with the seismic retrofit work in progress at City Hall. Workspaces, private offices, conference rooms and file systems for the expanded Human Resources and City Clerk’s offices — as well as a minimal amount of furniture for swing space during the interim — will be ordered.
Swing space, or temporary offices used during construction, will be furnished primarily with existing furniture.
City staff recommend the company Systems Source based on past performance and pricing.
Pool chemicals
Who knew it cost this much to keep a pool clean?
The current vendor that supplies and delivers pool chemicals for use at the Swim Center will likely get a contract renewal at the upcoming City Council meeting.
Commercial Aquatic Services Inc., a California-based company, was originally hired in July 2010 for a one year contract with renewal options for three more years. That contract would cost city coffers $185,000.
The original bid was awarded without council approval because the $86,000 contract did not break the dollar threshold necessary to involve the City Council.
Reed Park planning
Another $6,000 will be needed for the various open space improvements to Reed Park as a result of extra redesigns and site visits by designer Katherine Spitz Associates.
According to the staff report, the site survey didn’t include accurate playground dimensions and tree locations, which required a redesign to reflect what’s actually there. Also, some changes were made to the proposed bamboo planting materials and concrete colors.
The project is expected to be completed in mid-June.
ashley@www.smdp.com
