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 Council will consider spending $6,964,867, with the biggest ticket items being related to new human resource systems.
The development team tasked with planning a project on the city-owned property at Fourth Street and Arizona Avenue needs another six months to work. City planners are recommending that council extend their exclusive negotiating agreement.
Additionally, they're asking that council approve a $200,000 contract with Keyser Marston for three years of financial analyses on the aforementioned project and the Bergamot Station Arts Center development.
Safe Routes To School
Council will consider opening its wallet to pay for pedestrian upgrades to the area around Santa Monica High School. City Hall got an $880,000 grant, contingent on a $100,000 local match, to make major upgrades to the neighborhood, including a reconfiguration of Michigan Avenue to one-way westbound between Lincoln Boulevard and Seventh Street. A new traffic signal would be installed at Pico Boulevard and Seventh. Painted bike lanes would be added in the area and sidewalks would be widened. The project was approved last year and expected to be in place by the beginning of this current school year.
Now the project is scheduled to start in July and finish by the end of the year.
All American Asphalt is recommended to get the $1,002,160 contract to install the improvements.
Bus rides home
Council will consider giving $70,000 to Greyhound, the bus company, to extend City Hall's Project Homecoming. The initiative reconnects homeless individuals with friends or family outside of Santa Monica. City Hall provides the bus ticket home and checks in on the person two week, three months, and six months after their trip home, city officials said in a report to council. Since 2006, they said, the program has reunited more than 1,600 individuals with family and friends.
Payroll system
Rimini Street, which has been maintaining City Hall's payroll and financial systems, is expected to get a two-year contract extension to the tune of $148,670. City Hall is in the process of procuring a new financial and payroll system. That's expected to take two years.
Punching the clock
Council is being asked to pay Kronos $35,000 to keep track of its employees' timesheets. The new software would, among other things, let employees track their time on their cell phones. Additionally, they want five more years of service from the company, which has been keeping City Hall's time for 15 years. That'll cost $497,000.
Human resources
The software that City Hall uses for financial management, human resources, and payroll activities is out of date, city officials say. As a result, council will consider spending $3.2 million to have Tyler Technologies design a replacement program.
Hazardous waste
In 2011, City Hall transitioned from requiring residents to drop their hazardous waste in one spot to a door-to-door pick-up program. Last fiscal year, 1,932 residents used the pick-up program.
Stericycle Environmental Solutions is slated to get a $285,000 contract for a year of pick-ups. Additionally, they're expected to get $110,000 for disposal of sewer diversion treatment units, wet well, and oil-water treatment interceptors operated by the Wastewater Division.
Legal subscriptions
Council will consider keeping the City Attorney Office's coffee table stocked.
City Hall's subscription to West Publications, a legal research publication, is expiring and council could extend the subscription for five years with a $600,000 check.
DNA analyst
Last year, council approved a contract with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for the use of senior criminologist who ran DNA tests.
With the help of the criminologist, Santa Monica Police Department cleared its backlog of pending DNA samples and reduced wait processing times, leading to quicker results and, in theory, less time for criminals to commit more crimes.
The police department would like to extend that contract, at $168,032, for another year.
BBB security
Big Blue Bus is recommending that council approve a one-year $475,555 contract with Absolute International Security to protect its more than 190 buses and 450 employees.
Beach lot parking
Council will consider approving a contract with DataPark for a point of sale parking machine at the beach lots. The old machines date back to the turn of the century. The installation would cost $160,000 with an additional annual fee of $13,450.
dave@www.smdp.com
