City not over extending itself with Transit Mall
By Daily Press staff
(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.) COUNCIL CHAMBERS — Santa Monica city officials will spend an estimated $4 million Tuesday night on improvements for everything ranging from parking operations and homeless shelters to cemetery and fire department needs.
The largest expenditure of the evening will be the $2,446,700 earmarked for the care and operation of the city’s parking garages on the pier, downtown and on the beach. Parking operations in the 2004-05 year will cost the city the same amount as what was spent in 2003-04, but will be taken care of by another firm.
Parking Concepts, Inc., the company set to be hired with the new contract, will be responsible for the 11,000 parking spaces that generate over $11 million in revenue each year. The contractor will provide parking attendants for the garages, communicate with both the visitors and merchants of the spaces, and will manage all work within the facilities.
Although the contract’s term is for three years, the costs that will be approved on Tuesday will only account for the first year of operational fees. The remainder of the contract costs will be determined on a yearly basis.
This year’s agreement does not include expenses for the operation of the new Main Library’s lots nor Santa Monica Place’s garages, but the contract can be modified to include both parking locations in case the City Council and Macerich decide to start charging for parking in those locations.
Another expenditure on Tuesday’s agenda is the $483,000 that will be spent on design services for the Pedestrian Extension to the Downtown Transit Mall Project. The extension will provide improvements on eight blocks of streetscape along 2nd and 4th Street between Wilshire Boulevard and Colorado Avenue. The expenses for the design firm will come from the $2.1 million grant managed by Caltrans.
From a selection pool of 10 design firms, the City Council retained the services of Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership based on the quality of the staff, their experience with similar projects and innovative design, according to City Hall’s staff report. The council does not expect the project to create access problems for the businesses during the construction process.
In a humanitarian effort, the City Council is expected to spend $441,020 on improvements for the SAMOSHEL Homeless Shelter. The 100-bed emergency shelter was constructed in 1994 and allows the homeless to reside in the shelter for up to 6 months, during which time they can receive counseling, apply for employment and locate permanent housing, according to City Hall staff.
The funding will be used to complete necessary upgrades, such as adding an air conditioning system, constructing a commercial-grade kitchen, and installing a sprinkler and fire alarm system to meet safety requirements. The council approved using funds from the Federal Community Development Block Grant for some of the upgrades in November of 2001, and additional costs were approved in the subsequent years to maintain an effective shelter.
Even though six contractors asked for bid packages from the city, AWI Builders, Inc. was the only company to submit a proposal due to the high volume of projects underway in the other five firms. The city has contracted AWI in previous projects such as the Santa Monica Animal Shelter, and it will also retain the builder’s services for the additions to the Woodlawn Cemetery and Mausoleum’s office.
Woodlawn’s office addition will cost an estimated $523,480 that the council is expected to approve tonight. The City of Santa Monica is responsible for Woodlawn’s operation, and in May 2000, the council approved a long-term operating plan, which encouraged the construction because of its currently inadequate conditions.
The cemetery’s current office does not have a reception area or waiting room, and it does not comply with Americans with Disabilities Act standards. The project has been designed to include cost-effective, energy-efficient lighting, motion-sensor light switches, and materials that are non-toxic and have a highly recyclable content.
The City Council has also been asked to purchase a new ambulance for the Fire Department at the cost of $129,810 to replace an aging 1996 model. The new ambulance, like the one it is replacing, will be reserved for use in case the department’s other two paramedic ambulances experience mechanical difficulties or there is a need for an extra ambulance.
The city manager will also be approved to accept and execute a $23,000-grant contract with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to install a demonstration urban runoff management system. The contract will be in compliance with federal and state regulations that require the city to reduce runoff pollution from storm drain discharges into the Santa Monica Bay.
The infiltration project will treat runoff from gutters and then augment existing groundwater supplies with the cleaned water. Because the total estimated cost of the project is $50,000, the remaining $27,000 will come from the Stormwater Fund account.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 22, 2004. Read the original PDF.