While everyone may be eager to get home for the holidays, the last council meeting of 2023 is actually quite substantial with the Santa Monica Airport, pay bumps for city staff and negotiations for the sale of public land all on the agenda. The council meeting is being held today to avoid a meeting happening the day after Christmas and to be able to address agenda items while balancing holiday schedules.
Arguably the most notable of these is the request to authorize the City Manager to enter into an agreement with Sasaki Associates, Inc. for visioning services and concept design for the airport conversion project.
Following the City Council’s vote in January to move ahead with the process of planning for a future park where the Santa Monica Airport is currently located, the issue of exactly what to do with the 227 acre site has once again been propelled into public scrutiny. And in a little over five year’s time, at the stroke of midnight on December 31, 2028, the form and function of this substantial swath of land could significantly change.
A previous proposal to use a lottery system to create an advisory body for the work was abandoned earlier this year. However, council asked staff to return with a request for both qualifications and proposals to determine the best team of consultants to help the community and staff understand the existing conditions of the Airport, provide meaningful engagement with community members, and envision potential land-planning scenarios leading to a preferred design concept for the "Great Park."
Staff recommended Sasaki for the work detail laid out in the SP2641-Airport Conversion document based on its extensive experience with re-envisioning airports into parks and working collaboratively with community members, city leadership and staff. The budget is to not exceed $2,070,000 (including a 12% contingency) for a period of no longer than 21 months with future year funding contingent on Council budget approval.
The airport is home to both aviation and non-aviation industries within the 227 acre site, which is made up of 187 acres of open space, including the runway, car parks and areas for aircraft storage, together with 40 acres of existing buildings, such as Barker Hangar, the Museum of Flying and the Airport Arts Campus and many others. The site incorporates recreational facilities, arts, culture, education, retail and even a restaurant. There are 166 businesses in total, covering 43 different sectors, generating approximately $20 million in annual revenue.
Two visions for the land have emerged with some supporting the aforementioned park, which is non-revenue generating and could be potentially costly to build and maintain. Others back a "mixed use," which is revenue generating and could include housing elements together with both retail and commercial space.
However, if the land is to be developed, in any way, significant research will have to be conducted to assess any potential environmental impact from a century of aviation operations, including the presence of noxious, possibly hazardous waste chemicals. Lest we forget, the site was a giant aircraft manufacturing facility during WWII.
On the Consent Calendar is a motion to adopt a resolution of salary rates for both the City Manager David White and the Chief of Police Ramon Batista and the approval of modification to the employment agreement with White. According to the City of Santa Monica, in 2022, Batista’s salary approximately $355,440 and White’s was $365,952
Due to the nature of bonus payments, its possible for the Deputy Police Chief to exceed their base salary of $284,736 and make more money than the Chief and City Manager, hence the proposal to increase the Chief’s salary. The annual salary for Police Chief is increasing by 6% and the City Manager will receive a 10% increase in base salary.
According to the Consumer Price Index report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, inflation averaged approximately 4% in the USA in 2023.
Also up for discussion in closed session at an early 4:30 p.m. start time will be the sale of several city properties including land at 1654 19th Street and 1444 7th Street and a possible additional tax tied to parking structures to fund road improvements.
