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 — A broken well leads a $574,566 consent calendar. City Council will also consider taking in nearly $800,000 in grants.
Fixing the well, which has been busted since May, will cost City Hall $520,000.
A break in the casing near the bottom of the well, about 300 feet below ground, put Santa Monica Well No. 3 out of service. City Hall is losing about a million gallons of potable water every day that the well isn't up and running.
The well was drilled in 1969 and the casing had become brittle, city officials said in a report. The best move, they said, is to reline the well with a new casing giving it an estimated 25 more years of life. The relining is estimated to cost $260,000 compared to $1.5 million for a brand new well.
Some of the work planned by General Pump Company, the group slated to get the contract, will create large amounts of waste flow that has to be discharged into either the storm drain system or the sanitary sewer.
The Regional Water Quality Control Board will likely require that waste flow be treated before it's released, city officials said. They are recommending another $260,000 to be spent to clean that water.
City Hall has been buying more imported water from the Metropolitan Water District because of the break.
Buffer Park designs
Designs for the Buffer Park project are going to cost an extra $24,566 to cover, among other things, a play safety inspector.
The park is proposed to muffle sound in the area around the incoming Exposition Light Rail Maintenance Facility.
Initial community ideas, which are to be designed into reality by Mia Lehrer and Associates, included only a loose play area. More community meetings have led to plans for a fully functional playground.
A play safety inspector will be brought on to "ensure all proposed play elements meet current codes for safety and accessibility," city officials said.
Including the additional cash, City Hall will pay $310,455 for the designs.
Bathroom walls
The company tasked with renovating the Marine Park bathrooms needs another $30,000 thanks to, among other things, unforeseen damage in the existing walls.
G2K Construction's total contract would hit $562,400 with the changes.
Construction began in December and is halfway done, city officials said. It's expected to be completed by the summer.
Homeland security
City Hall got a $799,076 grant to fight and respond to potential terrorism.
The Urban Area Security Initiative grant, which is funded entirely by the Department of Homeland Security, would go largely to cover training and equipment for the Santa Monica Fire Department.
Terrorism liaison officers would be trained through the grant. Additional training would focus on hazardous material, urban search and rescue, and chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive weapons.
The Santa Monica Police Department would get $47,000 to update its automated license plate readers, which take pictures of plates and run the numbers through criminal databases.
City Hall's accepted more than $4 million from Homeland Security since 2001.
dave@www.smdp.com
