SR-1000-001-04 (4)
e
\000- oot - bL1
e
to
Santa Monlca, Californ~a, October 15, 1979
TO
}myor and City Council
J/(!2
OCT 2 3 1979
FRO}-1:
Ci ty Staff
SUBJECT:
RECO~lliNDATIONS FOR THE TRANSPORTATION DEPAR~~NT FACILITY
EXPANSION AND REtIDDELING
Introduction
DeLeuw, Cather and Company has submitted the attached study concerning
the remodeling and expanslon of the Transportatlon Department facillty.
ThlS staff report requests that the Clty Councll approve the recom-
mended plan (Stages I and II) contained in the study, as well as the
method of financlng, and authorize the City Manager to negotiate a
professional serVlces contract to lnclude architectural, engineerlng
and constructlon lnspection services.
Background
Since 1973, patronage on Santa Monica's Big Blue Buses has increased
49.7%. To accommodate this growth, the Department's fleet has been
expanded, and will reach 126 buses by the end of thlS year. In the
past, some of the increased patronage could be accommodated by purchasing
and operating larger coaches. Future transit coaches will contaln
fewer seats due to the federal mandate that future transit buses be
equlpped wlth wheelchair llfts and tiedown positions
At the same time. the last few years have witnessed increasingly complex
coach subsystems, including air-conditioning, environmental improvement
packages. more complicated transm~ssions and power steering. These
innovations have taxed the present shops beyond thelr l1mit.
lie
OCT 2 3 1979
e
e
~
TO: }myor and City Council
Page Two
Addit1onally, heavy 1nvolvement with county, reg1onal, state and federal
funding and coord~nat1ng agenc1es has meant the need for staff to handle
these functions. As a consequence of a larger, more complex fleet and
the need for add1t1onal staff, the Department's present facility has
become more crowded and funct10ns less eff1ciently, w1th the prospects
that this trend will cont1nue.
In 1976, as part of a BCAG sponsored study of the Department, Wilbur
Sm1th and Associates addressed the space shortage problem. They pointed
out that the fac1l1ty needed add1t1onal maintenance work area to function
eff~ciently. Also, they noted that the ['Makeshift office arrangements
. ... . are inadequate and unsatisfactory. II TIns V1el.;r was conf1rmed by
ATE Management and Serv~ce Company in 1ts 1978 study of Los Angeles County
transit operators for the Los Angeles County Transportat1on Comm1ssion(LACTC).
To help solve the space problems, the City CouneLl, on February 28, 1978,
authorized the acquisition of an addlt10nal 2.1 acres of property adjacent
to the existing Transportation Department. At its May 8, 1979 meeting
the Councll approved a contract with DeLeuw, Cather and Company to
provide conceptual plans for remodeling and expanding the facility,
lneluding suff1c~ent documentation to permit the City to approach the
appropriate funding agencies. Funding for the acqUisition of the land,
as well as the remodeling and expanslon study, came from Transportation
Development Act (SB 325) funds approved for this purpose by the LACTC
and SCAG.
Recently, DeLeuw, Cather completed its study and documentation, which
form the basis of the attached document. According to th1S report,
DeLeuw estimates that the project will cost S 4 mill~on in mid-1979
e
e
TO- Mayor and City Council
Page Three
dollars. Based on the current inflat10n rates in the con8truct~on
1ndustry, if the project were to commence immediately, this would
mean a final cost of about $ 5 million.
Staff's original intention was to attempt to accumulate additional
TDA capital reserve funds through FY 1981 to finance the project.
However, the immediate need for expanded fac111t1es and the rapidly
escalating costs argue strongly for start1ng the project now.
On September 13, 1979, staff contacted the County Transportat1on Commission
concerning the transfer of $1.6 m11110n 1n TDA cap1tal funds from the
C1ty'S people mover reserve to its reserve for the fac111ty expansion.
Th1s would produce the needed $5 million. The Comm1ssion has acted
favorably on th1s request and has passed it along to the Southern Californ1a
Association of Governments for its concurrence. Attached is a copy of
our letter of September 13, 1979 and the COrnID1SS10n staff report concerning
the transfer.
Alternat1ves
1. The City Council could choose not to approve the project.
2. The C1ty Council could choose not to approve the transfer of people
mover reserve funds to f~nance the proJect, but instead d~rect staff to
attempt to reserve sufficient funds for the project 1n the future. Each
year the project is delayed, the cost of complet1on will increase by
$500,000 due to inflation and will compound the space problems currently
being experienced by the Department.
3 The City Counc1l could choose to approve the project, including the
transferring of $1.6 million from the people mover reserve to make up
the $ 5 million to complete the project. Staff also recommends that if
this alternative 18 chosen, that the City Manager be authoT1zed to
e
e
TO' }myor and City Counc~l
Page Four
negotiate a professional serV1ces contract to 1nclude architectural,
engineering and construction 1nspect1on serV1ces to be brought before
the C1ty Council for ~ts consideration at a later time.
Recommendat1on
C~ty staff recommends that the City Council approve the proJect, including
the transfer of $1.6 million from the people mover reserve to permit
1mmediate commencement of the proJect. Staff also recommends that the
C1ty Manager be authorized to negotiate a profess1onal services contract
to include architectural, eng1neer1ng and construct1on inspection serV1ces
to be brought before the City Council for final approval.
Prepared by: Jack Hutchison
Bob Ayer
cc: City Attorney
Director of Administrative Services
DIrector of F1nance
Director of General SerV1ces
Attachments:
~
LoCfC
e
e
ATTAC1:L.'1ENT # 3
v-
LOS ANGELES COUNTY TRANS?ORTM10"l COMMISSION. 3Tl SC0':'H S::<~r-.S SPEET -SUiTE '2C6 .::.S ;...';'_;;:~::S CAUFCi<'iiA 9CC3 . 1213 ';:2&<)37::;
October 2& 1979
JEROME C PREMO
::'XECUTNE DIRECTOR
MEMO TO:
FINANCE REVIEW CO~1ITTEE
FROM:
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
SUBJECT:
Santa Mon~ca Request for Capital Reserve Transfer
Background
In each of the last two years, Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines
(S~1MBL) has identified the construction of a new maintenance
and a~~inistrative facility as one of their h~ghest-priority
projects. The first ATE study concurred with Santa Monica1s
claim that the existing facil~ty is undersized for SMMBL's
present service, and far from adequate to suppor~ either their
service improvement program (whose first year of implementation
was recently funded by the Cowmission) or the ATE service pro-
posals concerning Santa Monica.
The Co~~~ssion has approved funding for engineer~ng and land
acquis~tion for th~s facility, and has included the entire
project in both of the last two TIP's and in the four-year
countywide capital program submitted to U~1TA in January. In
June of this year, the Commission approved a staff recommenda-
tion to allow this project to be funded 100 percent (xather than
20 percent) from TDA capital reserve funds, without Federal par-
tic1pation. This action will expedite the project considerably,
and allow our fixed cornrnit.."Tlent of Federal bus capital funds to
be used on other projects. Hence, the Commission's adopted TIP
for this year included a new reservat~on of nearly $)<5 million
in TDA funds for this project.
~
Current Req;uest
Santa Monicals attached letter of SGptember 13 i.ndjcates that
they wish to move the project even faster than the previously.
approved schedule for capital reserve accumulation would permit&
e
-
~
Finance Review Committee
Page 2
October 2, 1979
They are therefore requesting that other Santa Mon1ca TDA
capital reserves, currently set aside for their "people
mover" project, be transferred to the maintenance I adm1nis-
trative facility project. This will enable them to proceed
with the project immediately, and avoid the impact of an
additional year's inflation on the cost of the project.
Recommendation
Approve a TIP amendment to effect the transfer of $1.6 million
of Santa Monica Cap~tal reserve funds from the people-mover
proJect to the facility construction project, as requested by
San ta r-1onica.
1;::4~. ~=
JM:kmr
Attachment
CITY 0'
SANTA
e
MONICA
CALIFORNIA
SANTA MOXICA \1U~ICIPAL BGS LINES
1620 SIXTH STREET, SAXTA ',!O~ICA 90401
The ORIGI'= b,.L t"orne of the B,g Blue Buses
Phone (213) 451-5445
September 13, 1979
Mr. Jerome PreMo
Executive Director
Los Angeles County Transportation CommissIon
311 South Spring Street, Su~te 1206
Los Angeles, California 90013
Dear Jerry:
Recently, De Leuw Cather & Company completed its study of the remodeling and
expansion needs of the Santa Monica ~~nicipal Bus LInes' facility.
According to the report, De Leuw estimates that the project will cost $ 4 mil-
lion in mid-1979 dollars. Based on the current inflation rates in the con-
struction industry, even if the project were to commence immediately, th1.s
would mean a flnal cost of about $ 5 millIon.
Preliminary actual figures for FY 79 indlcate that due to higher revenue and
lower costs, we will be able to increase our reserve for this project from
$1.435 million to $ 1.925 million. In FY 1980. we expect to reserve an addi-
tIonal $1.475 million in TDA funds for the project. Thus, by the end of FY
1980, we wlll have accumulated $ 3.4 million.
Our origlnal intention was to accumulate addltional funds in FY 1981 to flnance
the project. However, our immediate need for expanded facilitles and the
rapidly escalating costs argue strongly for starting the proJect now. Prompt
implementation will allow us to ~aintain reliable service and provide for the
additlonal buses needed to make service iNprovements and to accommodate pas-
sengers on presently overcrowded Ilnes. As you can well lmagine, we have
assigned a very hlgh priority to this project.
Therefore, we request that the CORmiSS10n approve the transfer of $ 1.6 ml11lon
from our people mover reserve to our facility expanSlon reserve These funds,
along wlth the $3.4 million reserved lTI FY 1979 and FY 1980. wll1 provide us
wlth the needed S 5 mIl1lon.
We would appreciate the Commission's consideratlon and approval of this request.
If you have any questIons. please do not hesltate to contact me at 451-5444.
Slncerely.
d'~ /~~Z~
'/ J. F. HUTCHISO~
Director of Transportation
JFH/RLVdg