City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: December 17, 2024
Agenda Item: 5.N
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Rick Valte, Public Works Director, Public Works, Office of Sustainability & the Environment
Subject: Award Agreement to Heal the Bay for Santa Monica Pier Aquarium Educational Consulting Services and Administering the Coastal Cleanup Day Activities
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of no possibility of significant effect pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) and a finding of Categorical Exemption pursuant to Section 15307 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidelines; and
2. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with Heal the Bay, a California-based non-profit organization, for Santa Monica Pier Aquarium educational consulting and technical advisory services and programming, and to administer the annual Coastal Cleanup Education for the Public Works Department.
3. This recommended award is made as an exception to the competitive bidding process pursuant to Section 2.24.250 (b) and is for a five-year agreement, not to exceed $250,000, with future year funding contingent on Council budget approval.
Summary
The City Council has consistently recognized the importance of fostering a sustainable community, particularly since the Santa Monica Sustainable City Plan was adopted in 1994. As a coastal community, the health of the ocean and beach ecosystems are central to those concerns. Heal the Bay, through the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium, has been an essential partner in developing and delivering educational programming that aligns with and promotes Santa Monica’s long-term sustainability goals. Heal the Bay provides educational and outreach services for K-12 public and private schools and 2 of 6
coordinates the Coastal Cleanup Education Day and Santa Monica’s participation in Coastal Cleanup Day. Staff recommends awarding a five-year agreement, not to exceed $250,000, with Heal the Bay as an exception to competitive bidding per Municipal Code 2.24.250 (b). This agreement would continue ongoing Santa Monica Pier Aquarium educational programming and coordinate the Coastal Cleanup Education Day and Coastal Cleanup Day events. Additionally, Heal the Bay would provide as needed technical advisory services to support water quality improvement throughout the Santa Monica Bay and any necessary policy development expertise to support minimizing waste if the City hosts an event during the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games (LA28). If the City does not host an event, Heal the Bay would be able to redirect its technical advisory services to other areas of pollution prevention.
Discussion
For many years, staff have worked closely with Heal the Bay to tailor educational programs and curricula to correlate with outcomes in the Sustainable City Plan as well as the City Council priorities for a Sustainable and Connected community. Heal the Bay, as operator of the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium, is in a unique position to provide K-12 environmental education trainings and programming designed to raise awareness of coastal geography and the ocean environment while teaching science, conservation, pollution prevention and personal responsibility through stewardship. These trainings emphasize the importance of environmental and public health, civic participation, and environmental justice. Heal the Bay has provided trainings, workshops and field trips for approximately 12,000 students from across Los Angeles County and 2,500 Santa Monica K-12 students each year.
Coastal Cleanup Day is an international day of action to protect our oceans, watershed, and wildlife from trash and debris. Statewide, the event is coordinated by the California Coastal Commission. The County of Los Angeles, the City of Los Angeles, and the City of Long Beach, among others, participate. In the past, Heal the Bay has coordinated the Santa Monica portion of the event, which draws approximately 2,000 volunteers each year. These volunteers remove plastic and other debris and receive education on how such materials affect the Santa Monica watershed and tidal wetlands, and how they can 3 of 6
take steps to prevent future pollution. Heal the Bay has promoted the event, organized volunteers and reported on the impacts of the program, including the number of volunteers on Santa Monica beaches and the amount of debris removed. Planning these events includes organizing volunteers, handling media and marketing, providing data on volunteer participation rates, and reporting on the amount of waste collected specific to the item type and units and/or weight of items collected.
Additionally, Heal the Bay would provide as needed technical advisory services to support water quality improvement throughout the Santa Monica Bay and any necessary policy development expertise to support minimizing waste if the City hosts an event during the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games (LA28). The additional scope for technical advisory services requested by the City increased the annual budget from $30,000 to $50,000 per year, along with marginal inflationary costs associated with operating the aquarium and employing staff. If the City does not host an Olympic event, Heal the Bay would be able to redirect its technical advisory services to other areas of pollution prevention.
Vendor Selection
Exception to Competitive Bidding
Staff recommends that Heal the Bay be retained to provide services for public education programming and event management as an exception to competitive bidding per Muni Code 2.24. 250 (b). Heal the Bay is in a unique position as a local non-profit organization based in Santa Monica with exclusive access and management of the Heal the Bay Aquarium located on the Santa Monica Pier. Through the Aquarium, Heal the Bay partners with local marine biology graduate students from surrounding universities to provide marine and coastal protection research and educational programs that are unmatched. No other organization can provide the same level of sophisticated education at a local Santa Monica aquarium or organize beach clean-up events on the scale of Heal the Bay.
For decades, Heal the Bay has been recognized as the leading non-profit to organize the single largest beach clean-up event in both Santa Monica and Los Angeles County. 4 of 6
The City relies heavily on both the educational services at the Aquarium and during the beach clean-up to reinforce the many goals of the Sustainable City Plan in protecting natural coastal resources, preserving public health, and promoting environmental education through diversity and inclusion. Heal the Bay is also the sole organization responsible for issuing the annual Beach Report Card and is part of a select group of non-profit organizations that sits on the LA28 Olympic Sustainability Steering Committee.
Heal the Bay is in a unique position due to the physical location of the aquarium on the Santa Monica Pier, its advanced level of academic scientific expertise, access to an extensive network of local and regional volunteers and experts, and participation in local and regional committees dedicated to protecting and preserving the health of the Santa Monica Bay, especially as it pertains to the upcoming Olympic games.
Staff research has concluded that no other ocean conservation organizations based in Santa Monica operate an aquarium and provide beach clean events on the same scale as Heal the Bay.
b Only one vendor possesses the unique ability or capability to meet the particular requirements of the solicitation, such as a good or service that is copyrighted, patented or otherwise only available from one license holder.
Past Council Actions
Meeting Date Description
05/14/2019
Original bid and award of agreement with Heal the Bay for Santa Monica Pier Aquarium educational consulting services and programming for students at public and private schools located in Santa Monica and to administer the annual
Coastal Cleanup Education Day and Coastal Cleanup Day
activities for the Public Works Department
Environmental Review
The award contract with Heal the Bay is exempt from CEQA pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) and Section 15308 of the CEQA Guidelines. The agreement is covered by the common sense exemption which states that CEQA does not apply, “where it can be 5 of 6
seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment. The award contract would not result in adverse physical impacts on the environment, and so therefore, is exempt from CEQA pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3). Additionally, Section 15308 exempts (Class 8) actions taken by regulatory agencies, as authorized by state or local ordinance, to assure the maintenance, restoration, enhancement, or protection of the environment where the regulatory process involves procedures for protection of the environment. The award contract with Heal the Bay would benefit the health of the ocean and beach environment through educational programming and cleanup activities. Therefore, the award contract is exempt pursuant to Section 15308.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to approve available funding from the General Fund to award a contract with Heal the Bay for educational consulting services and programming for students at public and private schools located in Santa Monica and to administer the annual Coastal Cleanup Education Day and Coastal Cleanup Day activities.
Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval.
Prepared By: James Velez-Conway, Senior Sustainability Analyst Approved Forwarded to Council
Contract Request
FY 2024-25
Request Amount
Future Years
Amount Department Account # Total ContractAmount
$25,000 $225,000 01500003.552010.90812 $250,000
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Attachments:
A. OAKS Form
B. Levine Act Heal the Bay 2024
C. Staff Report - Heal the Bay 2019