City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: June 23, 2026
Agenda Item: 4.B
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Christopher Dishlip, Director of Public Works, Public Landscape Division Subject: Approval of Ratification of Issuance of Purchase Order to Jilk Heavy Construction, Inc. for the Pier Bollard Emergency Repair Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of categorical exemptions pursuant to Section 15301 (Existing Facilities) and Section 15269 (Emergency Projects) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines; and
2. Ratify the Procurement Manager’s issuance of a purchase order with Jilk Heavy Construction, Inc. to repair stainless steel manual assist bollards at the Santa Monica Pier for the Public Works Department. The emergency purchase was made as an exception to the competitive bidding process pursuant to Section
2.24.250(i) and is for a total amount not to exceed $46,358.
Summary
The City of Santa Monica’s (City) Public Landscape Division of the Public Works Department maintains the Santa Monica Pier, a national historical landmark and iconic destination with a long history of public support and interest. It houses many private businesses, public attractions, and City offices and facilities, and it experiences high volumes of pedestrian and vehicular activity daily. One mechanism that is regularly deployed to ensure public safety is the stainless steel manual assist bollards located in front of Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., two of which malfunctioned suddenly in July of 2025 and were unable to retract. These bollards are critical for controlling vehicular access to restricted areas of the Pier and ensuring pedestrian safety. Their failure created a public safety risk and required immediate repair. As such, staff procured emergency repair services and issued purchase order 22601028 to Jilk Heavy Construction, Inc., per the 2 of 4
Procurement Manager approved ECB# 452 and Santa Monica Municipal Code (SMMC)
2.24.240.
Discussion
The bollards at the Santa Monica Pier are essential for maintaining safe vehicular access control in an area with heavy pedestrian activity. In late July 2025, two of the bollards became inoperable and the City could not effectively control vehicle access, creating a potential safety hazard. Because no existing contract covered this type of repair and the situation required immediate action, the Procurement Manager authorized the use of the Emergency Purchase authority to proceed with the repair. In August 2025, Jilk Heavy Construction, Inc. assessed and removed the two malfunctioning bollards and repositioned the remaining three bollards as a stopgap measure while new bollards were being fabricated. This allowed City staff to control vehicle access, although not at the same level of security as with the complete set of five bollards. During the repair process, additional issues were identified with one of the three remaining bollards that required further fabrication and corrective work, increasing the total project cost. Due to manufacturing delays, the newly fabricated bollards were installed and operational in May 2026. City procurement policy requires a competitive bidding process for all contractual services exceeding $25,000. As the final purchase amount exceeds this threshold and the work was completed without a competitive bidding process, Council ratification is required.
Exception to Competitive Bidding
The Procurement Manager issued purchase order 22601028 to Jilk Heavy Construction, Inc. to repair bollards at the Santa Monica Pier as an exception to competitive bidding per Municipal Code 2.24.250(i) and the Procurement Manager approved ECB #452, as the failure of the bollards created a public safety risk that required immediate repair. i. Solicitation is made under the emergency procedures set forth in Section
2.24.240(d)(3).
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Environmental Review
The emergency repair of the bollards at the Santa Monica Pier is categorically exempt pursuant to Section 15301 (Existing Facilities) and Section 15269 (Emergency Projects) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines. Section 15301 (Class 1 – Existing Facilities) exempts projects that consists of the operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of existing or former use. Section 15269(b) exempts emergency repairs to publicly or privately owned service facilities necessary to maintain service essential to public health, safety or welfare. Emergency repairs include those that require a reasonable amount of planning to address an anticipated emergency. The purchase order would provide for emergency repair of the existing bollards to ensure public safety and therefore is categorically exempt from CEQA review under CEQA Guidelines Section 15301 and Section 15269.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
The purchase order to Jilk Heavy Construction, Inc., for the emergency repair of bollards at the Santa Monica Pier, including additional work identified during the repair, is funded from the current budget in the Pier Fund.
Purchase Order
FY 2025-26
Request Amount Department Account # Total Contract Amount $46,358 53500001.529160 $46,358
Total: $46,358
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Prepared By: Miles Friesen, Administrative Analyst
Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. 2026-06-01 Jilk - CA Levine Act Disclosure
B. 2026-06-01 Jilk - Oaks Initiative Disclosure Form