The Oct. 22 voted action came on motion by Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal, seconded by Vice Mayor Robert Garcia. Lowenthal said building a new Civic Center was a "once in a lifetime" opportunity. Vice Mayor Garcia said the new Civic Center would be a bold use of public space for multiple purposes.

In a power point presentation, city management acknowledged (consistent with its agendizing memo) that its most recent Seismic Report recommends either rebuilding or retrofitting LB's current City Hall. As in its agendizing memo, city management's power point slides listed cost estimates without data sources cited or calculations explained to reach its conclusion that the current City Hall, build in the mid-1970's, should be rebuilt instead of retrofitted.

Several Councilmembers then cited the seismic figures as their basis for seeking to proceed rapidly. Garcia argued that delays might increase the ultimate cost. Asked by Councilman James Johnson where the Seismic Report is, city management said it's currently in draft form but may be finalized in about two weeks.

City management acknowledged that despite seismic reports dating back to 2005/06, no Request for Proposals to retrofit City Hall has been issued. A number of architects from local firms subsequently testified at the Council podium that they could retrofit City Hall and make improvements to the Main Library for less than City Management's memo estimated and wondered aloud why they hadn't been asked.

At the suggestion of Councilwoman Lowenthal, the Council motion added the offer of a stipend to have the prevailing applicant reimburse much of the costs incurred by the non-prevailing applicants of preparing and submitting materials in response to City Hall's Request for Proposals. Lowenthal said, and all three applicants echoed at the Council podium, that this would prompt more vigorous competition for the proposed project.

Councilwoman Lowenthal called building a new Civic Center a "once in a lifetime" opportunity. Vice Mayor Garcia said it would be a bold use of public space that could be used by multiple groups for multiple purposes.

Councilman Gary DeLong asked how much the stipend might be, and at one point inviting the three applicants to the podium to state how much they estimate their costs of responding to a City Hall RFP might be. When the representatives variously cited rough estimates of between $1-$2 million, DeLong proposed offering a stipend of up to $500,000 with the possibility of raising the amount with future Council approval.

As previously reported (first again) by LBREPORT.com, Deputy City Manager Tom Modica has indicated that significant costs (acknowledged but not quantified in dollar terms in management's agendizing memo) to hire multiple consultants who'll help prepare City Hall's RFP are roughly estimated to cost roughly $500,000 to $700,000. City management says in its agendizing memo that it expects contracts for these consultant costs will come to the Council for voted action in November.

Mayor Foster called on Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske last (after multiple Councilmembers had spoken in support of management's proposed tear down/rebuild.) Councilwoman Schipske had a lengthy list of questions for city management about the proposed transaction, seeking public responses regarding management's assertions, including its cost estimates and asserted figures used to justify a tear down/rebuild scenario instead of a retrofit.

Public comment followed.

Amid a vigorous emailed and in-person presence by the Long Beach Public Library Foundation, several Councilmembers and Mayor Foster publicly ruled out relocating the Main Library elsewhere and stated their support for rebuilding an enhanced, updated Main Library as part of a Civic Center rebuild. A representative testifying for the Long Beach Public Library Foundation said the group appreciates Council support for an upgraded Main Library but hasn't taken a position at this point on a City Hall rebuild versus a retrofit.

Representatives of Long Beach Heritage testified in opposition to a City Hall tear-down/rebuild and in favor of a retrofit...with one of its speakers noting that Los Angeles retrofitted its City Hall (which had been built in the late 1920's) and noting that Long Beach City Hall was built in the mid-1970s.

Retired Deputy City Att'y Jim McCabe urged caution on the proposal to rebuild City Hall citing a lack of transparency (including refusal to release Seismic Study's Executive Summary to LBREPORT.com) and also voiced the opinion that large sums involved in the trnsaction were in his view potentially problematic.

LBUSD Board President John McGuiness [incumbent who has endorsed Robert Garcia for Mayor] provided a written statement supporting the tear down/rebuild/outsourcing Civic Center scenario.

In a separate item which followed, agendized by Councilmembers Patrick O'Donnell, Al Austin and Steve Neal, a Council majority approved applying a "Project Labor Agreement" into the RFP for a new Civic Center. It drew testimony in support by members of several trade unions.

Developing with further to follow on LBREPORT.com