The City Council on Monday, Feb. 23, unanimously approved an amendment to Seal Beach’s contract with Silsby Strategic Advisors, Inc., for the company’s work on the San Gabriel River Trash project.
The amendment increases Silsby’s compensation by $65,000, according to the staff report. This was a Consent Calendar item, so there was no discussion of the issue.
In related news, $1 million in federal funds have been approved for the project.
Background
“The City of Seal Beach has been experiencing significant trash accumulation on its public beach with recent data reflecting an impact of approximately 500 tons annually, not counting trash already collected from area bins and dumpsters,” wrote Public Works Director Iris Lee in her Feb. 23 staff report.
“After comprehensive research efforts were completed and presented to the Working Group in January 2024, follow up action items were established and allocated to various Working Group members. One of the initial actions included the development of high-level cost estimates to implement a long-term mitigation strategy over various phases and to identify near term and future funding sources. The preliminary identified phases included a Feasibility / Alternative Recommendations Study (Feasibility Study), Final Design, and Implementation to complete the San Gabriel River Trash Mitigation Initiative (Initiative),” Lee wrote.
In January, the council approved a contract with Silsby Strategic Advisors, Inc., to provide support services during the feasibility study phase of the project, according to Lee’s report. (The actual study was done by a different consulting firm, Stantec.) The funds at that point came from Orange County, according to Lee’s report.
To make the River Trash Project reality will require public engagement, coordination among many government agencies, engineering design, construction, and operations, according to the staff report.
