City management's position (if accepted by the new Council) effectively means that neither the new Council nor the new Mayor nor the public will see the responses submitted by the competing developer/operator proposers until roughly September, if then.

In early June, LBREPORT.com sought access to the two proposals under the CA Public Records Act. The City responded that it doesn't release proposals submitted to RFP's until after a contract is signed. LBREPORT.com believes a City Council majority could direct city management to provide access to the submitted proposals under the Public Records Act so taxpayers and decisionmaking Councilmembers could see what's actually proposed before making a decision on the matter. Further to follow from LBREPORT.com on this.

The City paid an outside consulting firm roughly $1 million (voted action by now former Council with Schipske dissenting) to prepare a Request for Proposals directed to three ompeting developer/operators; one dropped out and the two remaining submitted their proposals in response on June 2. The former Council also authorized outside legal counsel fees of up to half a million dollars related to the proposed transaction.

Under the city management-proposed "public private partnership," the City would pay a private developer/operator an annual sum that management says won't exceed current costs plus CPI to finance, build, operate and maintain an entirely new Civic Center complex for roughly 40 years, and would also give the private entity the prime developable land under the former LB courthouse along Ocean Blvd.

The July 3 memo's existence was first reported by veteran PressTelegram reporter Joe Segura online on the evening of July 16. [kudos Mr. Segura.] LBREPORT.com first reported on June 24, 2014 that the July 1 City Council agenda may not include a city staff recommended choice of a developer/operator [and it didn't.]

Under a previously announced timeline, management said it was prepared to bring the Council a preferred proposer for a decisional Council vote on July 1 -- including a vote to enter into a contract -- before Mayor Foster and his former Council majority exited.

As previously reported by LBREPORT,.com, Mr. Conway acknowledged to LB's Harbor Commission on May 12, 2014 that even with what it calls an "aggressive" timeline, a new Civic Center -- whose original justification was to address seismic issues at LB's current City Hall -- wasn't expected to receive entitlements until the end of 2016 or 2017 with construction to follow thereafter. His statement invited the inference [by us] that LB's seismically challenged City Hall might continue in operation through 2017 and possibly into 2018.

City officials first learned of seismic issues at LB's current 1970's era City Hall in 2005 and again in 2007. Critics [including LBREPORT.com editorially] have said that if a seismic retrofit of City Hall had been pursued at that time, seismic work on City Hall might be completed by now.

City management under Mayor Foster (who took office in July 2006) didn't seek bids to determine a marketplace determined cost for a seismic retrofit. Instead, management produced a figure it derived in-house that it presented to the Council and the public on Power Point slides and in city memoranda.