Surf’s up: City Hall to fund summer camps
CITY HALL — Nearly $10 million is expected to be spent tonight on everything from a new park to parking garage improvements to teaching kids how to surf.
The biggest ticket item on the City Council’s expenditure agenda is more than $8 million to secure contracts to construct the new Santa Monica Airport Park, which will be located on eight acres of land on the southeast corner of the airport.
The City Council is being asked to approve a construction contract with Los Angeles Engineering Inc. for nearly $6.8 million, plus a contingency of $678,210. Black & Veatch Corp. (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). is expected to be paid up to $500,000, plus a $50,000 contingency, to manage the construction.
The park was conceptually approved by the City Council more than seven years ago, following a comprehensive community process, according to city staff. The proposed design includes two lighted youth soccer fields; a one-acre off-leash dog area; a park restroom and storage buildings; an open green space; picnic areas; two parking lots with a total of 116 parking spaces and a children’s playground. The project also includes streetscape improvements on Airport Avenue from Centinela Avenue to Donald Douglas Loop South.
Through a $1.5 million state grant, the park’s athletic fields will be lined with synthetic turf, city staff said.
When City Hall hired an architect in 2000 to design the park, the project’s cost was estimated at $6.7 million. Through a competitive bidding process, LA Engineering came in at $6.7 million. However, because contaminated soil at the site must be removed prior to construction, the total project will cost $8.3 million, city staff said.
Funding for the park has been budgeted in City Hall’s capital improvement program over the past several years. But as a result of a general rise in construction costs, soils remediation and contracted construction management, another $1.8 million must be appropriated for the project, city staff said.
The project also will result in ongoing operating costs, which will amount to $300,000 annually.
A $731K RETROFIT The City Council and the city’s Redevelopment Agency will be asked to spend $731,500 to seismically retrofit parking structure No. 4. Black & Veatch Corp. is expected to be awarded the contract — coming in with the lowest bid, which is not to exceed $655,000, plus a $66,500 contingency. The company has worked on many other city projects, including the retrofitting of at least three other parking garages in Santa Monica, according to city staff.
The design work is expected to begin in May and finish in September. The seismic construction will begin in early 2006 and be completed by the fall.
The City Council in 2002 conceptually approved a city-commissioned task force’s recommendation to retrofit parking garages No. 2, 4 and 5; and to rebuild structures No. 1, 3 and 6; as well as adding more parking downtown.
Parking structure No. 4, located on the eastside of Second Street between Santa Monica Boulevard and Arizona Avenue, was built in 1967 and expanded in 1973. It’s nine levels above ground and has about 660 spaces.
The Redevelopment Agency, which operates under the auspices of City Hall, is required to bear the full cost of the project because all of the FEMA funds issued as a result of the Northridge Earthquake have been spent for crack repair, city staff said.
It will cost $614,000 to demolish the old Santa Monica Police Department headquarters behind City Hall. The City Council is being asked to amend a construction contract with Action Environmental Enterprises Inc. for hazardous materials abatement for the building and authorize a guaranteed maximum price of $559,035 with a $55,904 contingency.
Costs and construction implications of either re-using or demolishing the building, which was built in 1958, were evaluated in 2003. The City Council at the time approved demolishing the building and replacing it with an interim landscape until a permanent courtyard is designed, city staff said.
Earlier this year, City Hall terminated its contract with SKS Construction Inc. after it notified officials that it couldn’t honor its proposed guaranteed maximum price. All of the subcontractors hired for the job will continue their work on independent agreements with City Hall, according to city staff.
As a subcontractor of SKS Construction Inc., Action Environmental Enterprises already has abated asbestos and lead hazardous materials from the building. During the design development, Action Environmental Enterprises served as the demolition contractor, making it qualified to perform the work at the guaranteed maximum price — instead of SKS Construction, city staff said.
RIDING THE WAVE The City Council is expected to approve a $180,000 agreement with Surf Academy, a limited liability corporation, to offer surf camps this summer through the city’s community classes program.
City Hall first contracted with the academy in 2002, with participants paying a fee to the city to participate, 70 percent of which was paid to the academy to conduct the program. The program was expanded in 2003, adding a body boarding camp for young children and surf lessons for adults.
The program has seen significant growth and, therefore, City Hall’s contribution has increased because of the program’s popularity and expansion.
THE COST OF ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING Heal the Bay, a nonprofit organization dedicated to cleaning up Santa Monica Bay, is expected to get $130,000 for a three-year contract with City Hall to offer educational consulting services for public and private schools in Santa Monica.
As part of City Hall’s sustainability city plan, public outreach and education play a critical role in achieving the plan’s goals, city staff said. One of the goals is to provide environmentally focused programs and curriculum to school-aged children.
For several years, City Hall has offered educational programs to K-12 schools designed to raise awareness of the coastal geography, ocean environment and to teach science, conservation, pollution prevention and personal responsibility through stewardship.
Heal the Bay will provide services such as in-class curriculum for elementary students, as well as structured field trips to the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium. In addition, the services include sponsorship to Santa Monica’s Coastal Cleanup Day and its associated public outreach, city staff said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 10, 2005. Read the original PDF.