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Council selects Desmond team for parking study; members press on cost breakdown and overlapping subconsultant tasks
Summary
Council chose Desmond (with subs SLR and PNM) to perform a parking management plan and study funded in part by a state grant; members questioned why multiple subconsultants bill for similar tasks and asked that outreach and neighborhood‑specific solutions be prioritized.
The Long Beach City Council moved forward with a consultant contract for a citywide parking management study on Tuesday, selecting Desmond as the lead after a competitive procurement process.
Mayor‑staff presentation said four bids were received; two were interviewed and Desmond was chosen by the selection committee. The project will be partly funded by a state grant that requires outreach to minority‑ and women‑owned businesses; one subconsultant is a certified women‑owned firm, staff said. Patty Bourne, who answered questions at the meeting, said Desmond will lead the effort and coordinate technical specialists — for example, traffic counters and survey firms — under the prime contract.
Council members pressed staff on the proposal’s cost breakdown and why multiple subconsultants appeared to bill for overlapping tasks such as survey administration, survey analysis and recommendation development. "Why wouldn't one group be doing the one task?" a council member asked. Patty Bourne and staff explained that technical specialists gather and produce raw data while the prime consultant analyzes the results and synthesizes recommendations — a common approach for multi‑discipline professional service contracts.
Staff also emphasized that the study will produce neighborhood‑tailored recommendations, not a single citywide solution. The consultant’s scope includes pre‑season and in‑season weekend sampling and a minimum of seven community outreach meetings across east end, west end and central downtown locations, staff said. Several council members noted the consultants will not perform event studies for major events such as fireworks and Polar Bear, although the city’s event schedule will be considered separately.
The manager told the council the selection committee checked references for Desmond and Walker and found supportive feedback from comparable communities. Staff noted cost proposals: Desmond’s proposal was roughly $141,245 (as presented during Q&A) while Walker’s was roughly $139,130; two other proposals exceeded the selection budget.
The resolution to enter into a contract with the selected proposer was included in the meeting’s block vote and approved by the council.
