CITY HALL — City officials are having trouble with the construction company tasked with renovating public bathrooms at two parks and on the beach.
City officials released reports updating City Council on this project and the Colorado Esplanade, last week.
Last year, council approved two contracts with G2K Construction, Inc. totaling more than $1.2 million for the replacement and renovation of bathrooms at Marine Park, Hotchkiss Park, and 2400 Ocean Front Walk. The new bathrooms are to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
G2K submitted the lowest bid for the Ocean Front Walk bathrooms and the second-lowest bid for the parks, according to city documents. In that case the lowest bidder, "received lower scores on previous work experience, references, and self-performed work measures," city officials said.
Last month, city officials issued notices of default to G2K Construction, "due to ongoing substandard performance in quality, labor compliance, and project scheduling."
They were given 10 days to correct the problems and city officials are in the process of checking on those corrections.
If the corrections are deemed insufficient, city officials will select a contractor from a pre-qualified list to complete the required work.
Both projects were initially scheduled to be completed earlier this year.
Colorado Esplanade changes
A portion of the Colorado Esplanade will have less landscaping and more open space than in previous iterations of the design.
The esplanade is a pedestrian-friendly project proposed to connect the terminus of the incoming Expo Light Rail station with Downtown and the Santa Monica Pier. The project also includes plans to re-align Second and Main streets.
The Gateway Triangle, which was initially intended to be a decorative landscape feature between Main Street, Colorado Avenue, and Sears, will now function more like a small park.
"The original design consisted of the planting of shrubs that made the area unusable to people who wish to walk or sit in the area," city officials said in the report.
At the request of council, city officials went back and developed a minimal design for the area, providing an open turf area, an open meadow grass area, and keeps existing palm trees adjacent to Sears in place.
"The original concrete path design will remain," city officials said, "but a simplified planting scheme will be constructed similar to the existing condition of the turf open space currently located along the southern edge of Colorado Avenue, at the intersection of Main Street and Colorado Avenue."
The entire project, including the triangle, will be irrigated by Santa Monica Urban Runoff Recycling Facility (SMURFF), which treats urban runoff for reuse throughout the city.
"Another benefit of the updated design is that it significantly lowers construction costs because it consists of only turf, meadow grass, concrete and irrigation as opposed to the original design which has more extensive landscaping," city officials said in the report.
Construction is slated to begin early next year.
dave@www.smdp.com
