Digging Up the Past: The Money Pit Deepens

By Teresa Rochester

Santa Monica's past has come back to haunt its already beleaguered multi-million dollar Public Safety building, costing the city $1.2 million in clean up, The Lookout has learned.

Debris from 80-year-old construction projects, leftover pieces of railroad and soil contaminated by oil dumped at the site behind City Hall were unearthed during excavation, which began in October of last year.

The discovery and removal of the debris dumped along a storm drain only exacerbated a three-month delay caused when bids to complete phase one of the project came in $10 million over budget in April.

"It certainly did complicate things," said City Manager Susan McCarthy.

The removal of the rubble in the giant pit, which has sat idle and empty since excavation was completed in May, also took a financial toll on the 118,000 square-foot facility's budget. City officials had budgeted $500,000 for the removal of debris; however clean up ultimately cost an additional $700,000, City Engineer Tony Antich said.

Antich explained that removing debris and contaminated soil is more involved that disposing of untainted fill. All of the material must be treated for any environmentally harmful substances and must be disposed of at specific sites.

City officials said they were surprised at the extent of the debris and contaminated dirt. Antich said that soil samples taken at 50-foot intervals failed to turn up anything. Between two of the holes where samples were taken laid the trove of debris.

"As they [construction workers] were digging in the dirt, they discovered, unbeknownst to them, remnants of piping, oil and contaminated soil," said Antich. "When the storm drain was built in the 20's and 30's, the way they disposed of any excess construction material, they tossed it next to the storm drain knowing it would be buried.

"We knew we had some contamination there," Antich said. "We didn't have complete knowledge of the extent of things."

Along with the discarded construction materials, remnants of the old railroad yard that used to occupy the site also were discovered. The majority of the debris was finally removed as workers completed the excavation in May.

McCarthy said that work would once again get underway at the site in a few weeks, when construction crews begin working on the storm drain. That project is expected to wrap up in the fall.

That's also when city staff, which has been negotiating with contractors, is expected to present recommendations to the City Council after the bids submitted for the construction of the project came in $10 million over the $33 million budgeted for the building.

"It's a bull market for construction right now," said McCarthy. "Staff is looking at a variety of ways to minimize the amount it will be over our original budget."

The entire project, including equipment and furnishings for the building that will house the city's fire and police departments and emergency services, was originally budgeted at $43.7 million.

From the beginning the project has faced financial woes. In 1996, voters narrowly shot down a $29.5 million bond to supplement $12.9 million set aside by the council to fund the project. The vote marked the first time in years that a local bond measure was turned down.

The following year, the council approved $43.7 million to build the facility. Since the project's inception, plans for the building have undergone several revisions to cut costs. Originally planned to be 119,000 square feet, the facility will now have 118,000 square feet. The on-site jail that was to accommodate 146 inmates will now hold 93.

The need for a new public safety facility became clear after the 1994 Northridge Earthquake devastated the city, causing a power outage in the outdated 1950s police building that forced emergency response personnel to set up operations in the parking lot.

The new building, touted as a model of environmentally friendly design, will boast three large back-up generators that can power the facility for 72 hours. The new building also will feature subterranean parking, community rooms, a technically advanced evidence processing and identification area and 15 conference rooms.