Council hires Griffin Structures for Measure FP strategic planning phase, approves up to $150,000

The City Council voted Tuesday to engage Griffin Structures as the owner’s representative and program manager for the strategic planning phase of Measure FP, the city’s voter‑approved public‑safety facilities bond.

Assistant to the city manager Luke Smooty and project manager Christine Schachter briefed the council on the selection process. The city issued a request for proposals in February and received 11 responses; an internal panel interviewed four finalists and unanimously recommended Griffin based on experience with public safety facilities and Southern California projects.

Scope and timeline

Under the contract approved by council, Griffin will conduct a roughly 16‑week strategic planning phase to produce: - a kickoff and visioning with the city and key stakeholders; - sequencing and temporary‑facility plans to maintain police and fire operations during construction; - delivery‑method analysis (design‑build, CMAR, etc.) and recommendations; and - a council briefing with a recommended path into preconstruction.

Griffin project executive Leonard Marshall told council the firm has delivered comparable fire and police facility replacements in Southern California, including a recent Manhattan Beach fire station project.

Budget and bond context

Measure FP is a general‑obligation bond measure that voters approved on Nov. 5, 2024, allocating $93,350,000 to replace Fire Stations 1 and 2, replace the main police station, and renovate the police annex. The council approved Griffin’s strategic planning scope for a not‑to‑exceed amount of $150,000; any further work would be brought back to council for approval.

Council discussion and vote

Councilmembers asked about Griffin’s experience, schedule risk and prior project claims; Griffin’s representative said prior contractor claims on other projects had been resolved and that strategic planning is intended to reduce surprises in later phases. Council unanimously approved the agreement.

Speakers

- Luke Smooty, Assistant to the City Manager (presenter) - Christine Schachter, City Project Manager (presenter) - Leonard Marshall, Project Executive, Griffin Structures (presenter)

Authorities

- Measure FP (General Obligation Bond; voter approval 11/05/2024)

Actions

- motion: "Approve agreement with Griffin Structures for Measure FP strategic planning phase, not to exceed $150,000." mover: not specified second: not specified vote_record:[ { "member":"Council","vote":"yes" } ] tally: { "yes":4,"no":0,"abstain":0 } outcome: "approved" notes: "Agreement limited to strategic planning; future phases require subsequent council approval."

Clarifying details

- measure_amount: { "value":93350000,"units":"USD","source_speaker":"Luke Smooty" } - strategic_phase_cost_cap: { "value":150000,"units":"USD","source_speaker":"Luke Smooty" } - strategic_phase_duration_weeks:16

Proper_names

[ { "name":"Griffin Structures","type":"business" },{ "name":"Measure FP","type":"other" },{ "name":"Manhattan Beach Fire Station (reference project)","type":"other" } ]

Provenance

- transcript_segments: [ { "block_id":"13807.305","local_start":0,"local_end":240,"evidence_excerpt":"Good evening, mayor, mayor Pro Tem, and city council. I'm Luke Smooty, assistant to the city manager...the item before you tonight is to consider an agreement with Griffin Structures to serve as the owner's representative and project manager for Measure FP implementation.","global_start":13807,"global_end":14047,"tc_start":"03:50:07","reason_code":"topicintro" },{ "block_id":"15216.2","local_start":0,"local_end":60,"evidence_excerpt":"Motion to approve the agreement, with Griffin Structures...Second. All 4? Aye.","global_start":15216,"global_end":15242,"tc_end":"04:13:36","reason_code":"topicfinish" } ]

Salience

{ "overall":0.85,"overall_justification":"Large capital bond for public safety facilities; will shape city infrastructure and budgets for years.","impact_scope":"local","impact_scope_justification":"Directly affects Redondo Beach public safety infrastructure." }