It was yet another light agenda for the Long Beach City Council as Tuesday’s meeting lasted a little over an hour and saw all agenda items approved by present councilmembers.
The council, sans district one representative Lena Gonzalez, unanimously voted to grant a contract to Swinerton Builders, a construction company hired to work on improvements for the Long Beach Airport. This work will be second phase of changes to the airport.
“Key features of this project include a new enclosed ticketing lobby, a new open-air consolidated baggage claim area, new relocated in-line TSA checked baggage inspection system and [a] bag makeup facility as well,” Long Beach Airport director Jess Romo said.
The contract is supposed to equal $58,809,490; with the possibility that additional funding no higher than $6,450,000 may be paid to the company. Romo stated that these costs would be funded through passenger facility charges, a grant from the Transportation Security Administration and airport funds.
Romo explained that Swinerton Builders was among four firms that submitted proposals for the project. Ultimately the airport selected Swinerton after a review of possible expenses determined that the company was “the best overall value for the city.”
A powerpoint presentation given by city staff stated that these improvements will not affect Long Beach’s general fund or add additional flights to the airport.
“I think this is really impressive. I’m really excited about these improvements,” Mayor Robert Garcia said. “We need to please look at the possibility of the parking lot for the transportation plaza and other parking opportunities that are outdoor for solar.”
Other items
The council also voted to approve all items on the consent calendar, routine items which are voted on at once. Among these items were:
- Granting a fee waiver not to exceed $510 to the Long Beach Rowing Association, for use of the Marine Stadium on Learn to Row Day.
- Authorizing the City Manager to increase an order with Pedal Movement, LLC. These purchases are meant to help maintain the city’s Bike Share Program and not meant to exceed $532,000.
Video of this meeting can be found here. The agenda for next week’s city council meeting can be found here.
