Looking Past Current State Closure of In-Person Dining, Council to Mull Extending Barrier Rentals to Protect Future Outdoor Diners

Looking past the current state health order which bans outdoor restaurant dining until late December, the City Council is considering the continuation of K-rail barrier rentals to protect future diners through June 18, 2021.

A recommendation by the city Department of Transportation to extend the purchase order with Signal Hill-based Ellis Equipment, Inc. by six more months, and to increase the rental amount to $375,908 from the previous $75,908, is likely to be passed by the council at its meeting Monday.

Ellis Equipment, Inc. supplies the K-rail concrete barriers now installed to protect outdoor dining areas along Colorado Boulevard in Playhouse Village and Old Pasadena.

A total of 48 businesses that offer outdoor dining while observing social distancing protocols benefitted from the project, which is now in its fourth deployment.

Local officials were forced to shutter eateries in Pasadena, which must follow state public health orders, after Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a new stay-at-home order. 

“To date, the city has paid $102,344 in costs associated with the rental of the concrete K-rails for the on-street dining program. This cost includes mobilization costs incurred with each deployment,” according to a city staff report. “With new on-street deployments still anticipated in the coming months, staff estimates that rental costs from Ellis Equipment Inc. will average $25,969 per month from February 2021 to June 2021, which totals $129,845 in rental costs. It is anticipated that the total rental costs from initiation of the on-street dining program in July 2020 to June 2021 will total $232,189.”

Protective barriers were installed starting on July 11, when the city implemented its first phase of outdoor dining along Colorado Boulevard. This was after outdoor dining guidelines were issued and an online application process was implemented to make it easier for businesses to have protective barriers installed. 

On July 18, the second phase of the project was implemented after Ellis Equipment offered to supply the K-rails and a purchase order was approved. The third phase started on Aug. 8 which covers K-rail rentals up to Oct. 18. That was later extended until January.

The city is presently looking to purchase its own barriers to mitigate costs. 

The Department of Transportation is pursuing grant funds that would be used to purchase the barriers to allow for the on-street dining program to continue in perpetuity. The city submitted a grant application to the U.S. Economic Development Administration in October.

It is anticipated that selected applicants will receive an award letter for the grant award by the end of December.