The County of Los Angeles donates $3 million toward state renovation of pier.
By Mathew L. Nestel/Special to The Malibu Times
Thanks in part to a Los Angeles County initiative that put a county parks and recreation bond into action, a generous donation of $2.9 million will help complete Phase III of the Malibu Pier restoration.
Combined with $2 million from the state and an additional $700,000 of Proposition A funds, the total cost of pier renovations will amount to more than $5.5 million.
In return, the county wants a guarantee from the state Department of Recreation and Parks, which owns the pier, that repairs will be properly done and a permanent maintenance plan created.
Hayden Sohm, Malibu sector superintendent of the state Department of Parks and Recreation, is delighted to see the awarding of funds and assures the monies have bypassed further delays.
“If we had not gotten the money from county we would not have been able to do the work we’ve been doing,” said Sohm. “For example: the elevators, sewer treatment plant, the public restrooms–virtually all the basic renovations.”
It seems as though previous attempts to attract a concessionaire to take the helm in funding was deterring interest in the pier altogether.
“The needs of the pier posed problems with interested concessionaires,” explained Sohm. “Last time we were unsuccessful in gaining anybody who could make money if they were to do all the repairs demanded on them. They feared they were not going to get back their investment.”
Repairs on the pier, which was damaged in a 1995 storm, began in 1999.
A feud between former contractors for the early phases of repair, partners Bruce Darian and Ron Federico, involving accusations of threats, vandalism, conspiracy and racketeering, resulted in the delay.
The remainder of construction is on fast track to get the plans drawn-up and a seasoned contractor assigned to complete the job.
“We’re in the process of doing construction drawings,” said Hohm. “Then we’ll be bidding the job out and have consultants working on different aspects of the pier.” Going further, Sohm commented about the criteria of his office.
“We do what we call a pre-qualification. They [the contractors] submit credentials, they review the plans, and they provide a cost. We then pick the lowest bid. It is a combination of the lowest bid and the appropriate qualifications,” said Sohm. “They have to be able to show they have done similar work in the past.”
Sohm said he has not yet talked to any contractors interested in completing the job, although there has been a lot of interest in concession.
Phase III continues with expanding existing buildings on the pier and then choosing a master concessionaire.
An awards committee will be selected, which will include a Malibu governmental representative. The committee will decide on tenants.
A request for proposal (RFP) package is scheduled to be ready by late spring, early summer. Primary uses under consideration are a restaurant, sports fishing and beach equipment rentals. The target opening of the pier is March 2003.