Pier strengthening effort should help with emergencies
(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 HALL — The City Council is expected to spend just over $2.5 million tonight to enhance public safety and water quality.
The overwhelming majority of funds — $2,254,852 — will go towards strengthening the Santa Monica Pier, giving emergency vehicles greater access to areas that currently can’t support the weight created by first-responders.
The other project involves cleaning up the city’s water supply, which was contaminated by MTBE, or methyl tert-butyl ether, a gasoline additive. City Hall looks to spend $312,000 on a contract with Worley, Parson, Komex for engineering services surrounding the restoration of the Charnock and Olympic wells, which were shut down in 1996 due to contamination. The money will come from a $121 million settlement reached in 2003 with several oil companies.
The pier improvements represent the final phase of a three-stage project to enhance the wooden structure. When all three phases are completed, the pier’s load-carrying capacity will be increased to 40,000 pounds and eliminate the need for steel plates. Plates are currently used to help support the weight of emergency vehicles, which must drive onto the pier in single-file, making sure to keep a safe distance between one another, according to a city staff report. To exit, vehicles must remain on the steel plates and back off the pier in single-file order, hindering the quick deployment and departure of ambulances, fire trucks and police during an emergency, city staff said.
Phase one consisted of rehabbing the beginning portion of the pier from the pier bridge to the beach access stairway. Phase two continued structural improvements from the easterly side of the beach access stairway to a location approximately 150 feet to the west. The Newcomb Pier entrance also was improved, according to a city staff report.
The third phase requires upgrades to sections beginning at the Beachcomber Restaurant and moving westward to the waterline. Phase three is expected to begin in September and be completed by Memorial Day 2007. The project should not significantly disrupt pier operations.
City staff recommends the construction contract be awarded to John S. Meeks Co. in the amount of $1,949,865, plus a 10-percent contingency. The construction management contract is expected to be awarded to Moffatt & Nichols for an amount not to exceed $110,000.
Meeks Co. offered the lowest bid. The company has worked on similar projects at the Newport and Balboa piers for the city of Newport Beach; the municipal pier for the city of San Clemente; and the Redondo Pier for the city of Redondo Beach, according to a city staff report.
In 1996, City Hall, along with the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, found high levels of MTBE in the city’s drinking water. The pollution came from multiple sources, one of them being operations at the former Gillette facility, located at 16821 26th St. Significant vapor, soil and groundwater contamination exists at the site, and city staff believes the contamination is likely to have spread to other areas, adversely impacting the city’s water supply.
Wells in the Charnock and Olympic well fields were subsequently shut down. With funds from a settlement, which calls for oil companies to build a water treatment plant to clean seven wells, City Hall has worked to cleanse the water. Komax has helped in that endeavor and city staff has recommended they be retained once again, given their extensive knowledge of the city’s hydro-geologic characteristics.
Under terms of the agreement, Komex will attend engineering committee meetings, provide critical review of reports, review the regional groundwater monitoring program, and provide dispute resolution, among other services. The cost this year is $240,000 for the Charnock portion, and $72,000 for the Olympic well field.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 8, 2006. Read the original PDF.