Pumps, Tanks and Stairs

By Blair Clarkson
Staff Writer

Jan. 12 -- The City Council Tuesday night is expected to approve more than $1.5 million for everything from repairing stairs to the beach to modifying a fuel storage tank at the airport to designing a fluoridation pump station.

The Council is also expected to approve funding to help the City switch its vehicles to a new alternative fuel, to help make its buildings more sustainable and to buy a new sewer cleaner.

The $427,650 Beach Pedestrian Access Repair Project will provide funds to design, rehabilitate and maintain the Broadway and Montana Avenue stairs along the Palisades Bluff.

The work will include repairing the brick path, wooden stairs and handrails, installing improved lighting, localizing erosion control measures and landscape enhancements and extending a two-year maintenance agreement.

PIMA Construction's winning bid beat out 19 other offers and is below the City Engineer's estimate of $450,000. PIMA has received quality marks on similar projects in Santa Monica, Torrance and Pico Rivera.

A recommendation to extend existing contracts with ICF Consulting will provide $244,870 in funding at the Big Blue Bus Yard and $96,000 at the City Corporate Yard for additional environmental assessment and remediation activities, including a review of subsurface contamination at the two sites.

The amendment to the original September 2000 contract would bring the total contract value with ICF to $2.7 million.

ICF is also slated to receive $18,916 in additional funds for completing modifications to the underground fueling system at the airport. The cost will cover repairing soil contamination from the removal of old tanks and erosion control measures resulting from storm damage.

The council also is expected to grant a $300,000 contract to Kennedy/Jenks Consultants to design the Fluoridation and Riviera Reservoir Booster Pump Station Projects.

The proposed system will provide full fluoridation of Santa Monica’s water until the Metropolitan Water District – which supplies 80 percent of the city's water – completes its system, which is expected to become operational in 2006.

The project is expected to raise the fluoride level for the City's water from 0.2-0.4 parts per million to the region's optimal level of 0.8 ppm.

The planned Booster Pump Station will route water from the Riviera Reservoir to the San Vicente Reservoir, easing storage capacity at Riviera and preventing water from stagnating.

Other measures the council is expected to approve include:

• $200,000 for a Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle Project allowing the City to strengthen its commitment to environmentally preferable alternative fuels for city vehicles.
  
• $176,000 for the purchase of a new sewer jetter for cleaning sewers and removing tree branches. Municipal Maintenance Equipment offered the vehicle, which met City specifications regarding size, water tank construction, and water pressure.
  
• $53,534 for a contract with Global Green USA to establish a Green Building Resource Center for developing resource-efficient and healthy building practices in the City.
  
• $20,000 for the 18th Street Arts Center to conduct a feasibility study to examine the costs of promoting and developing facilities for the City's artist community and art agencies.