(Editor’s note: This is part of an ongoing series that tracks the city’s expenditures which appear on the upcoming Santa Monica City Council consent agenda. 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.)

By Kevin Ueda
Special to the Daily Press

COUNCIL CHAMBERS — Officials plan to spend about $3 million tonight to update the city’s list of historic properties, divert stormwater run-off, fund public outreach programs and other city services.

The bulk of the expenditures — $1.5 million — will come from City Hall’s stormwater fund, which will go toward building a new storm drain at Wilshire Boulevard and Montana Avenue.

Another $1 million will go into the planning and community development to hire outside agencies to inspect building permits and make sure developments are up to code.

DIVERTING THE TRASHM

City Hall plans to create a cleaning facility under Ocean Avenue, near the Wilshire Boulevard and Montana Avenue storm drains to remove bacteria, trash, chemicals, heavy metals and hydrocarbons before they hit the Pacific Ocean.

The cost of the project, which will cost $4.5 million, will be shared between City Hall and outside agencies. City Hall will pay $1.5 million and $3 million will come from grants.

Los Angeles County, which owns the storm drains, will oversee the project. City staff will conduct public outreach during the construction of the project, including its schedule and its scope. A 24-hour hotline will be available for the public, according to city staff. It’s unknown when the project will begin.

The project will help City Hall meet requirements in its urban runoff pollution control ordinance, according to a city staff report.

A MATTER OF HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

City Hall wants to get its history straight and it may cost about $280,000.

City staff is recommending that the City Council hire an outside agency to prepare a report on how many historic properties are in Santa Monica and others that may be potentially designated as historic.

The city’s historic resources inventory contains about 1,300 historically significant properties, according to surveys conducted between 1983 and 1993, and area updates between 1994 and 2004, according to city staff. However, the survey data is considered inconsistent because technological and historical preservation standards throughout the state have changed over the years, city staff said.

As a result, City Hall’s goal is to create a standard for evaluation within two years of the project’s start.

The inventory will be useful for city staff in land use planning throughout Santa Monica, as well as for evaluating proposed alterations and demolitions to properties that are identified as historic, which could be buildings that are more than 40 years old.

The consultant team will conduct a reconnaissance survey of all structures built in the city since 1968, which is about 11,350. The team also will reassess the 1,300 properties already listed on the inventory, according to a city staff report.

The survey results will be available online as public records. The project also entails a community outreach and education program to heighten awareness of the city’s goals and to inform property owners of whether or not their properties are considered historically significant.

STAFF VACANCIES REQUIRE FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Because of staffing shortages in the planning and community development department, the City Council is being asked to amend existing contracts with two outside firms to provide personnel to handle people applying for building permits, as well staff to conduct inspections and make sure developments are up to code.

The first contract to be extended is with California Code Check for $250,000, but it will not exceed $450,000. It is for plan check and inspection services.

The second expenditure will go to an existing contract with JAS Pacific for $1 million, but not to exceed $2.1 million, for plan check, code enforcement, inspection and permit administrative services.

Because of complaints throughout the business community, the City Council hired an outside firm in 2004 to evaluate the efficiencies, staffing levels and customer service within the planning and community development department.

The costs are designed to provide support in periods of low staffing, when consistent customer service is compromised.

In July of 2004, the Matrix Consulting Group evaluated the city’s permit, plan check, inspection and code enforcement processes. It recommended that the department be permanently staffed to provide service during peak periods of demand.

The increased level of staffing was required to respond to an increased need for services and to improve the frequency that staff could provide inspection services for the day after a request, which is industry standard, according to a city staff report.

City staff justify the expenditures by explaining that much of the work that’s being done by the outside firms is not in the purview of what can currently be provided in house.

OUTREACH PUTS ON A GOOD FACE

Getting your message across is easier when it looks good.

City Hall’s environmental programs division seeks $60,000 worth of graphic design to promote the goals of the Sustainable City Plan, which focuses on water efficiency, green building, energy efficiency, urban runoff and hazardous materials management. The plan will cost $60,000 for the fiscal year 2006-07, and may cost another $60,000 in the next year.

In April, city staff requested help in graphic design from six companies for a consultant to create and develop outreach materials for public health and environmental programs. Those materials will show up in print collateral, advertisements, direct mail, the Internet and displays at events.

City staff has recommended hiring Cowan Communication Arts, based on price and creativity. Cowan Communication Arts will provide what city staff hopes to be visually appealing materials, copy-writing services, design and produce brochures, fliers, posters and truck signs.

TRUCK SERVICES FOR FUEL TESTS

City Hall intends to spend $30,000 in in-kind services from the fleet management division to support a project regarding fuel alternatives.

A project with the South Coast Air Quality Management District will test alternative fuels whose emissions may be capable of meeting 2010 federal standards.

On its own, biodiesel is not a fuel alternative because it creates too much emission in oxides of nitrogen (NOx); however, catalytic reduction devices have been used in the past to control NOx emissions, according to city staff. The project would test the possibility of biodiesel working alongside catalytic reduction to create an effective alternative fuel source.

To demonstrate the viability of biodiesel in tandem with selective catalytic reduction, two of City Hall’s garbage trucks operating on a 20 percent blend of biodiesel with petroleum diesel fuel will be tested with the new technology.

The cost includes vehicle downtime and time spent tracking and recording data by city employees.