During its Aug. 9 meeting, the Signal Hill City Council voted to undergo a design-build agreement with Mike Bubalo Construction Company for the first phase of construction for the Los Cerritos Channel Sub-Basin 4 Stormwater Capture Facility.
The agreement allows the company to obtain the necessary permits and execute the construction process. The cost agreement between the council and the contractor is set at a cap of $10 million, which cannot be exceeded.
A selection committee— composed of members from the City of Signal Hill, the City of Long Beach, the County of Los Angeles Flood Control and the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans)— selected Mike Bubalo Construction Company as the ideal choice for the project from a total of four proposals the City has received since June 15.
The $54-million project, which is being built to capture zinc and copper fragments to prevent them from going into the channel, is able to hold 121 acre-feet of water, according to Signal Hill Public Works Director Steve Myrter.
Signal Hill Mayor Lori Woods questioned if there were old pipes in the anticipated dig site that the construction crew would have to excavate. To answer her question, Myrter said that extensive “geotechnical” work has been done to the project site to better understand what lies below.
“We know exactly what’s there as best we can,” he said.
Library
The city council unanimously agreed to task 5M Contracting Inc. with the demolition of the old Signal Hill library.
On July 28, the City received two bids for the project. City staff decided that 5M Contracting Inc. was best suited to complete the task, stating that the company was in charge of the demolition of the old Signal Hill police station building, according to Grissel Chavez-Arredondo, Signal Hill deputy director of Public Works.
Placing $322,000 as its bid, 5M Contracting Inc. had the lowest bid count out of the two companies seeking approval from the City. Ampco Contracting was the other company applying for the demolition project— placing its bid at $378,992, a price tag that the City was disinterested in. The original budgeted amount for the project is $500,000, however the City can authorize more funds if needed.
Chavez-Arredondo said the demolition is scheduled to begin by the end of the month and will be finalized at the start of September.
[aesop_image imgwidth=”500px” img=”http://www.signaltribunenewspaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Screen-Shot-2016-08-11-at-4.28.03-PM.png” align=”left” lightbox=”on” caption=”Newly appointed Signal Hill police officers Anthony Pacileo and Cody McNutt recite the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics during the Aug. 9 Signal Hill City Council meeting.” captionposition=”left”] Road safety
During the meeting, Signal Hill Police Captain Chris Nunley presented a slideshow called “Rules of the Road for Cyclists and Pedestrians.”
The presentation covered Signal Hill’s various rules for cycling and pedestrian safety.
For example, Nunley said cyclists should always ride in the same direction as traffic, not against it. He said that a majority of car-cycling accidents are the result of a cyclist riding into oncoming traffic.
Councilmember Edward Wilson asked the captain what the official law is when a car is waiting for a pedestrian to finish crossing the road before making a left turn.
“The letter of the law says that they need to be out of the roadway completely,” Nunley said. “I think that if a pedestrian is past the median from where you are at, you have fulfilled your obligation to yield to the pedestrian.”
Officers
Woods and Signal Hill Police Chief Michael Langston introduced Anthony Pacileo and Cody McNutt as new officers to the Signal Hill police force.
Langston said that Pacileo is a certified commercial diver, hyperbaric technologist, EMT and diver medic. Pacileo beckoned his mother, who was sitting in the crowd, to pin a police badge on his uniform during the presentation.
McNutt was also presented to the council. After a semester of junior college, McNutt enlisted with the United States Marine Corps, in which he served in a combat role in Afghanistan and was also admitted into Marine Security Guard school, according to Langston.
McNutt’s family was unable to attend the council meeting, so he had Langston pin the Signal Hill police badge on his uniform.
EDCO
The city council recognized EDCO Corporation with a proclamation for the company’s “golden anniversary.” The waste-disposal agency has worked with the City of Signal Hill since 1972, according to Woods.
The next Signal Hill City Council meeting will take place Tuesday, Aug. 23 at 7pm in council chamber, 2175 Cherry Ave.
