sr-081412-3iCity of City Council Report
Santa Monica'
City Council Meeting: August 14, 2012
Agenda Item: 5 -1
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Rod Gould, City Manager
Martin Pastucha, Director of Public Works
Subject: Award a Professional Services Agreement to IBI Group for the
Development of the Pier and Airport Enhancement Plans
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and
execute a professional services agreement with IBI Group, a California -based company,
in an amount not to exceed $500,062 (including a 10% contingency) to prepare the Pier
and the Airport Enhancement Plans.
Executive Summary
The City of Santa Monica has initiated efforts to enhance the Pier and the non - aviation
land at the Airport. This proposed enhancement planning effort would address access
and parking, mix of uses, alignment and design, facilities design and engineering,
programs and recreation as well as event and leasing guidelines at each location.
Additionally, the plan would include marketing and sponsorship guidelines, a
demographic and economic analysis of operations within a broad public process at the
Pier. At the Airport, a feasibility study of a Sustainable Transportation Incubator (STI)
would be completed. Staff developed a joint scope of work between the Pier and
Airport to streamline the largely similar types of analysis being done while taking
advantage of lower contracting costs by using one contract team. After a competitive
process for professional services, staff recommends the consulting firm IBI Group to
prepare the Pier and the Airport Enhancement Plans in an amount not to exceed
$500,000.
Background
The iconic Pier and historic Airport in Santa Monica are currently focused on visioning
efforts. At the Pier, a new governance structure and Pier Board has recently been put
into place and tasked to develop a bold plan for its future over the next two years. The
Airport is in Phase III of a three - phased visioning process that started in early 2011,
which is intended to explore the possibilities for the Airport's future attendant upon the
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expiration of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and lease agreements in 2015. At
the Airport, this scope of work covers the 40 acres of non - aviation land. There is
significant overlap in the scope of work for both the Pier and the Airport and were bid
together to leverage City resources.
While this Request for Proposals (RFP) was bid for these two facilities as one package,
each facility has itemized costs for each effort. Where advantageous, the tasks have
been integrated between the Pier and Airport in the scope of work to achieve
efficiencies. To maintain transparency and accountability, IBI Group successfully
outlined the best approach to building a team and organizing the work to ensure the
most valuable product is delivered to the City while ensuring that costs are tracked by
task for each facility so that no funds are comingled.
Facility Overview: Pier
The Santa Monica Pier is over 100 years old and a much beloved asset and symbol of
the Santa Monica and Southern California Community. The purpose of the study is to
consider the best ways to enhance the Pier's accessibility and visitor experience to the
public, both for the local community and visitors while maintaining and honoring its
unique and historic character, ensuring its continued relevance and vitality to present
and further generations.
The Pier planning and design effort is not a matter of working with a blank slate nor is it
a development project. The Pier's overall scale and configuration are established. The
effort is further defined by the fact that several parts of the Pier are under very long term
leases.
The task is not to alter the Pier's basics. It is to find the most effective and meaningful
nurturing program that builds on the successes and potentials of the Pier's nature — as
well as affirmatively addressing the more challenging aspect of that nature such as
access and maintenance.
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Facility Overview: Airport
The City owns and operates Santa Monica Airport (SMO), one of the oldest and busiest
general aviation airports in the country. SMO is located on 227 acres of prime land,
bordered on three sides by busy arterial streets and residential neighborhoods, two of
which are in the City of Los Angeles. The Airport Campus consists of 187 acres of land
reserved and used for aviation activities and 40 acres that are allowed to be, and are
used for other purposes. These non - aviation uses include park space, educational
facilities, and art studios, among other things. The 40 acres of non - aviation land is the
subject of this effort.
At present, the City and the FAA have an agreement (the 1984 Settlement Agreement),
which expressly obligates the City to operate the Airport until 2015, when that
agreement will expire by its own terms. The City and FAA also have other contractual
agreements. These include the 1948 Instrument of Transfer and grant agreements that
impose conditions of Airport operation upon the City. The last of these grant
agreements will expire in 2014, according to the City, and in 2023, according to the
FAA. Finally, the City has various contractual agreements with Airport lessees, and
these leases all expire by 2015.
In anticipation of the opportunities that the City believes are attendant upon the
expiration of most of these agreements and of the obligations they embody, the City is
undertaking a comprehensive, public visioning process regarding the future of the
Airport. Among other things, the visioning process is intended to identify and assess
the options between the two extremes of Airport closure and status quo. In Phase II the
community identified a number of areas that the Council has directed staff to assess
that comprise the scope of work for this project.
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Discussion
This analysis would lead to a roadmap setting the course to achieve the vision for the
future of the Pier and the non - aviation Airport land and serve as a guide with strategies
the City would implement. The Pier and Airport Enhancement Plans would address:
• A demographic and economic analysis of Pier (Pier)
• Access and Parking (Pier and Airport)
• Uses, Alignment and Design (Pier and Airport)
• Enhancing and Coordinating Pier Relationships (Pier)
• Facilities Design and Engineering (Pier and Airport)
• Event, Programs and Recreation (Pier and Airport)
• Development of Guidelines (Pier and Airport)
• Public Process and Engagement (Pier and Airport)
• Sustainable Transportation Incubator (STI) Feasibility Study (Airport)
Consultant Selection
In April 2011, the Planning and Community Development Department released a
Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to establish a prequalified short list of consultants to
provide professional services for the City. The RFQ was posted on the City's online
bidding website. Staff received 72 qualifications submittals and eleven consultants
were placed on that list. From that prequalified list of consultants, staff contacted eight
consultants by phone to ascertain interest in bidding on this project. The Request for
Proposals (RFP) was sent to six firms on June 21, 2012. Five proposals were received.
Three prospective teams were invited to make a presentation before a panel comprised
of staff from Public Works, Pier Management, Office of Sustainability and the
Environment, Planning and Community Development, Housing and Economic
Development, and a Pier Board and Airport Commission member. The proposing
teams were evaluated, in part, on the basis of understanding of the work and nuances
of each location, technical competence /past performance, staffing capability to meet
project timeliness, quality control, cost of service, and cohesiveness of their team.
Upon reviewing the proposals and meeting with the teams, the panel recommends IBI
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Group as the most qualified team to conduct the studies based on their proposal,
experience, competitive cost, references, and qualifications.
IBI Group is a multi - disciplinary firm with expertise in urban planning and design,
architecture, traffic management, and systems analysis. Most recently they were
involved with the Santa Monica Bicycle Project with local offices in downtown Los
Angeles.
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
The professional services agreement to be awarded to IBI Group for the development of
the Pier and Airport Enhancement Plans is not to exceed $500,062. Funds are
available in the FY2011 -13 budget in the following accounts:
33431.555060 Airport Fund $ 198,119
P309027.589000 Pier Fund 301,943
TOTAL: $ 500,062
Prepared by: Susan Cline, Assistant Director of Public Works
Rod Merl, Pier Manager
Approved: Forwarded to Council:
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Martin Pastucha
Director of Public Works
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Rod Gould
City Manager
Reference Contract No.
9628 (CCS)