SR-505-008 (15)
December 13, 2005 Santa Monica, CA
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Staff
SUBJECT: Authorize Negotiation and Execution of Contract Modification to Complete
Draft Watershed Protection Plan for Santa Monica and Consider
Opportunity to Test Viability of a 2006 Ballot Measure to Fund Compliance
with Urban Run-off Regulations
Introduction
This report requests authorization to negotiate and execute a contract modification with
Brown and Caldwell in the amount of $35,000 to complete a draft Watershed Protection
Plan and requests approval of an opportunity to test the viability of a ballot measure to
fund capital as well as operations and maintenance costs that would ensure compliance
with Federal, State and local urban run-off regulations that will improve water quality at
Santa Monica?s beaches.
Background
Over the past few years, the Regional Water Quality Board has adopted a number of
stringent regulations to reduce pollution of Southern California?s surface waters,
including Santa Monica Bay. These regional standards require each community to
develop a plan identifying effective measures to eliminate or mitigate stormwater
pollutants and the sources of funding that will allow such a plan to be implemented.
The City of Santa Monica has been a regional leader in efforts to clean coastal waters.
Staff is completing work on a Watershed Protection Plan that will be presented to City
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Council in the first months of 2006. The plan is ambitious and signals the City?s
commitment to significant investments in measures to improve water quality extending
over a multi-year period. Capital costs could reach $95,000,000 over a period of 15
years, and operating and maintenance costs could at least double the current $36
annual Stormwater parcel fee within five years.
In order to complete the Plan, it is necessary to engage Brown and Caldwell, the firm
that has been assisting City staff for the past two years on its development, for a
supplemental scope of work not to exceed $35,000 to ensure that the most recent
regulatory decisions by the Regional Water Quality Control Board are addressed. With
this modification, the total amount of the Brown and Caldwell agreement will be
$277,500.
To provide the City Council with information regarding the community?s interest in
achieving the Plan?s clean coastal waters and beaches objectives and the willingness of
residents to fund the measures necessary to achieve them, it would be useful to
conduct public opinion research. The City of Calabasas is also considering how to fund
compliance with the regional regulations. Calabasas officials have approached Santa
Monica with a proposal to poll jointly to achieve economies of scale while still providing
each community with results that are at an appropriate level of confidence. Working
with a partnership between two firms: Conservation Strategy Group (CSG) and
Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin & Associaties (FMM&A), Calabasas has identified a potential
grant funding source to cover part of the costs for the two cities.
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Discussion
While Santa Monica is correctly supportive of the significant undertaking that clean up of
Santa Monica Bay entails, and is developing a long-range plan for its accomplishment,
the practical result will be the need for a significant new funding source. Completion of
the two-City public opinion research effort envisioned will provide the City Councils of
each community with important information about what new funding sources local voters
might be willing to support to achieve water quality improvements.
For Santa Monica, the common questions of the polling would be supplemented to
explore specific Santa Monica circumstances such as the viability of a ballot measure
for watershed protection should other public agencies propose funding measures at the
same time. This will be important information given that the Santa Monica-Malibu
Unified School District is currently undertaking a facility assessment which may inform
such a measure for November, 2006. Polling would likely be conducted in January with
results available to the City Council in conjunction with consideration of the Watershed
Management Plan.
In addition to the public opinion research component, the two firms will provide
Calabasas and Santa Monica with information on other potential funding sources
(bonds, grants) that may be available to the two communities for implementation of their
respective plans. The firms have developed considerable experience on water issues
throughout California.
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Budget/Financial Impact
The total cost of the contract modification with Brown and Caldwell will not exceed
$35,000. Funds for the modification are available in Stormwater Fund account number
C340588.589000. Santa Monica?s 50% share of the costs for the scope of work to be
performed by Conservation Strategies Group and Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin &
Associates will not exceed $25,000 after $10,000 in grant funding from a philanthropic
organization is paid directly to CSG and FMM&A. This contract amount is such that
Council authorization is not required and funds are available at C340588.589000.
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Authorize a contract modification with Brown and Caldwell for additional work on
the Draft Watershed Management Plan in an amount not to exceed $35,000 for
a total contract amount of $277,500.
2. Endorse joint polling with the City of Calabasas to determine the willingness of
each community to fund measures required to achieve clean beaches and
coastal waters as described above.
Prepared by: Gordon Anderson, Acting City Manager
Craig Perkins, Director of Environmental and Public Works Management
Steve Stark, Chief Financial Officer
Reference Contract No. 8164 (CCS)
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