Neighborhood group urges council to approve assessment bonds for Greenwich Village North undergrounding

Representatives of the Greenwich Village North undergrounding district told the Hermosa Beach City Council the project is at a critical stage and urged the council to approve issuance of assessment bonds at its July 22 meeting to avoid long delays and added costs.

Nancy Schwaback, speaking for the association formed to finance upfront costs, said the district is about 10 years into the undergrounding effort and nearly five years past the property owner vote that formed the district. She told council there have been delays and that if the city misses the July 22 date the district would likely lose nine to 12 months due to the need to obtain a new engineer's report, recirculate ballots for supplemental assessments, re‑bid civil and utility work, and reissue bonds — steps she said would increase costs to property owners.

Schwaback asked council to “return to the construction budget the city administration fee” that she described as a placeholder amount and asked staff to direct actions to get the district across the finish line. She said property owners have already contributed almost $300,000 and that higher bids would likely translate to more assessments and the risk that the district would fail financially.

City staff confirmed bids have been received and are under review and said the apparent low bid is higher than the original estimate. Staff told council additional steps are needed — verifying the apparent low bidder, finalizing total costs, and determining whether supplemental assessments or other funding will be required before staff can bring a July authorization to issue bonds.

Schwaback asked council to move decisively if it supports undergrounding; staff said they are expediting review but that work remains before a July bond authorization could be presented.