The City of West Hollywood has begun the installation of the Eastside lanterns on Santa Monica Boulevard this week. The decorative lanterns will run from Vista Street to La Brea Avenue, and will be similar to the colorful lights on the westside that zigzag from N. Robertson Boulevard to Hancock Avenue in the heart of the WeHo’s LGBT Rainbow district. The construction/installation of the new lanterns will take two weeks.
After a successful LA Pride Festival in June 2019, the City Council directed staff to design a decorative lantern system similar to the temporary system installed along Santa Monica Blvd between Hancock Ave and Robertson Blvd. The City issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a permanent, commercial-grade system of lanterns that would be compliant with Fire Department regulations and programmable with different light configurations for different events throughout the year. The permanent decorative lanterns were installed in December 2019 and provide a bright atmosphere and welcoming feel to the City’s LGBT “Rainbow District” during the nighttime.
Eastside Lanterns – Photo by Paulo Murillo for WEHO TIMES
Eastside Lanterns – Photo by Paulo Murillo for WEHO TIMESBecause of the positive feedback regarding the decorative lanterns in the City’s LGBT “Rainbow District”, the City Council directed staff to move forward with issuing a RFP to establish a similar system of lanterns on the City’s eastside. The new lanterns would highlight the City’s eastside gateway and bring a welcoming feel to that side of the City. It will make the entrance into West Hollywood more obvious along Santa Monica Boulevard. As a preliminary assessment, staff looked at two possible locations along Santa Monica Boulevard from N. Vista Street to N. Poinsettia Place and from Formosa Avenue to La Brea Avenue.
Eastside Lanterns – Photo by Paulo Murillo for WEHO TIMESOn June 15, 2021, the Engineering Division released a Request for Proposal (RFP) on PlanetBids seeking a contractor to furnish and install eastside lanterns. The bids received from the RFP were rejected because bonds were not provided. On July 29, 2021, the RFP was reissued which included a third location, the entire strip along Santa Monica Blvd from Vista Street to La Brea Avenue.
On August 19, 2021, proposals were received from the following 2 firms:
1. T&G Global, LLC. ($329,114.00)
2. Pro-Cal Lighting Inc ($529,789.00)
There were only two firms that responded to the RFP. Staff determined that St. Nick’s was the lowest responsive bidder that could meet the project specifications, plus it was the firm that successfully installed the existing lanterns in the city’s LBGT “Rainbow District”.
The city is currently exploring to install similar lanterns in mid-city by the Fairfax Avenue area.
Sure what’s another couple of hundred thousand dollars for plastic globe lights? I’m sure we can cut the Sheriff’s budget to cover the cost. For the love of God this city is so screwed up.