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Council declines extra funding for Oak Street facades, adopts resolution exempting economic-assistance projects from prevailing wage
Summary
Council voted to adopt a resolution declaring projects under the city’s Economic Development Business Assistance Plan not subject to prevailing wage, but declined staff’s immediate request to add $350,000 to a façade-improvement project at Bellflower Boulevard and Oak Street and asked staff to return with alternatives.
The Bellflower City Council on Monday approved a city resolution finding that projects funded under the city’s Economic Development Business Assistance Plan are not subject to prevailing wage under the city charter, but declined to increase funding for a designated downtown façade-improvement project at the northwest corner of Bellflower Boulevard and Oak Street.
Staff described a years-long effort to prepare the project: the designated-block program was added to the business assistance plan in July 2022 with $175,000 budgeted; the budget was later increased to $300,000. Plans and specifications went out to bid; prevailing-wage bids returned in September 2024 between about $601,000 and $680,000. After the charter took effect staff solicited a non-prevailing-wage bid that came in at roughly $540,000. Because all bids exceeded the city budget, staff recommended increasing the project allocation by $350,000 to $850,000 total to cover construction, construction management and a contingency.
“Should City Council wish to complete this project staff recommends utilizing unspent current year budget and increasing the fiscal year 24–25 budget by $350,000 which would bring the total funding for the project to $850,000,” the staff report said.
Councilmembers questioned the large increase for work on privately owned storefronts the city does not own and debated alternative approaches such as lower-cost cosmetic work, community volunteer painting, or seeking different grant sources (including possible CDBG mechanisms). After discussion the council voted to adopt Resolution No. 25‑05 — formalizing that projects approved under the Economic Development Business Assistance Plan are not subject to prevailing wage under the city charter — and to postpone or rework the specific Bellflower/Oak façade funding request. The vote on the resolution was recorded in the meeting as approved by the council.
