(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.)

By Kevin Herrera
Daily Press Staff Writer

City Hall — In efforts to protect the water quality of the Santa Monica Bay, the City Council is expected tonight to move forward with a plan to spend more than $3 million on a new water treatment system, to be built beneath Ocean Avenue near Palisades Park.

The treatment system, which will include two underground water-collection and processing sites, is intended to capture urban runoff from storm drains, remove pollutants and release the cleansed water back into the area’s watershed.

New federal, state and local regulations requiring more pollution to be removed have forced City Hall to rely on a sustainable watershed approach rather than the prior “end-of-the-pipe” approach, prompting the construction of the new treatment system, a city staff report states.

The sites will be located where Montana Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard intersect with Ocean Avenue.

The majority of the money for construction — $3,162,000 — will come from grants, some of which the City Manager’s office will be ordered tonight to negotiate, and the remaining $38,000 will be paid for with city funds allocated for storm drain improvement.

On-going maintenance for the two treatment sites will cost approximately $5,000 each per year.

The City Council is expected to grant full approval of the project within the next few weeks.

BIG BLUE BUS LOOKS FOR CONVENIENCE

Bus riders may not have the blues anymore when trying to get information on the Big Blue Bus.

Following complaints that the temporary customer service center — located at 1660 Seventh St. near Olympic Boulevard and the 1-10 Freeway — was inconveniently located, difficult to find and not easily accessible for pedestrians, the City Council is expected tonight to order staff to negotiate a lease agreement for a new center at 223 Broadway, just steps away from the Third Street Promenade.

The proposed location, which includes 845 square feet of retail space for an estimated eight staff members, is directly in front of one of the busiest transit stops in the system and will be near many of the city’s main attractions. The new location, staff said, should increase sales revenue and the profile of the bus system.

In a typical month, the customer relations division serves an average of 1,500 walk-in customers, 4,600 phone customers, and sells more than $50,000 in bus passes and other merchandise, according to officials.

A permanent customer service center is being built at the corner of Sixth Street and Colorado Avenue. The new facility is expected to be completed by December 2009. Until then, the bus company will most likely use the temporary facility on Broadway at an estimated cost of $7.25 per square foot, which is $7,448.25 per month, or $468,320 for the entire length of the lease. City Hall has proposed the lease be at least six years, with one five-year extension. Rent will be raised annually based on a rate set by the Consumer Price Index, but never to exceed 4 percent in one year.

The City Council also is considering spending $300,000 on renovations to the space. In exchange for the investment, the property owner, Third Street Limited, is offering three months’ free rent.

The cost for renovation and the six-year lease will be covered by a federal transportation grant.

The lease is expected to begin March 1.

A FRESH COAT

City Hall’s parking structures are getting a face lift to the tune of $2 million, a fraction of that going to Pugh + Scarpa Architects, Inc., a local firm that will be in charge of making sure all upgrades match the aesthetic design of a landscaping project already underway along Second and Fourth streets.

City Hall is expected to award a contract tonight worth $107,000 to Pugh for design and architectural consulting in preparation for repainting structures Nos. 1 through 6, and facade improvements to structures Nos. 2, 4, and 5, which are receiving seismic upgrades.

While normally painting public facilities is a maintenance issue that does not require review from the public, city officials felt that any change from a solid, neutral color should receive public review and would like Pugh to monitor the process. In addition, city staff felt that those overseeing the facade improvement project might want input on how the other three structures would being painted.

Some may be questioning the move to paint parking structures 1, 3, and 6 because they are scheduled to be demolished to make way for additional parking. A report from city officials said the demolition is still “several years” away and in the meantime, all six structures are in need of repainting. Those structures being retrofitted have exteriors that look dated and would benefit from facade improvements, city officials believe.

Pugh was selected out of a total of three firms who submitted proposals. Previous work from Pugh includes Colorado Court, an electrical vehicle charging station at City Hall, and renovation of Palisades Park’s visitors center.

TAKING OUT THE TRASH

To dispose of debris from construction sites, the City Council is expected to hire Saied Trucking Co. at a tune of $230,000 a year.

Saied will respond to routine requests and emergencies on a 24-hour basis, seven days a week and work specifically for the wastewater sections of City Hall’s environment and public works management department.

Thirty-two applications for the job were mailed in November of last year. Three were received and evaluated based on pricing, annual usage, responsiveness to bid requirements and references. Saied Trucking was chosen as the best option, a city staff report states.

Since the fiscal year has begun, City Hall will only be responsible for $161,000 of the contract’s first year.

AT TAX TIME

Weil & Company is in the running to manage the Montana Avenue Merchant Association Business Improvement District (BID).

The City Council is expected tonight to order the City Manager to enter into an agreement with Weil to provide monthly budget reports, receive assessments from City Hall and prepare tax returns for the BID. Weil will bill at an hourly rate ranging from $85 to $130 an hour, not to exceed $5,000 per year. Weil would be paid by members of the BID. Those are the same rates Weil & Company charges the Pico Improvement Organization BID.