The City Council Tuesday approved spending up to $1.2 million more to pay for cost overruns on a project to restore the seawall along the Mission Beach boardwalk in front of Belmont Park.
Around $700,000 of the extra costs stemmed from the boardwalk’s 1998 designation as a national historic resource, requiring monitoring, and matching things like the original dimensions, light fixtures, wall texture and color, and concrete scoring — some of which was unanticipated when the project was bid out, according to staff.
The contractor also had to make a sand berm in front of the work zone to protect against any big El Nino-fueled waves and install temporary lighting.
The council action transferred $1.1 million from an account used to pay for street resurfacing, bringing the total cost of the project to $5.5 million. Transportation and Stormwater Director Kris McFadden said the shift won’t impact any resurfacing projects.
Councilwoman Lorie Zapf, who represents the beach areas, said a ribbon- cutting ceremony is scheduled for May 26 at 10 a.m.
“It looks beautiful, and you did the best part right there in front of Belmont Park,” Zapf said after viewing photographs of the project.
The restoration project covered 1,670 feet of the 91-year-old wall between San Fernando Place and Ventura Place.
In a separate action, the council terminated a state of emergency regarding El Nino. The declaration was declared last November to make the city eligible for state and federal funding in case of major storm damage.
The city is required to rescind the emergency status once conditions no longer apply, and the National Weather Service said last week that El Nino is fading and could be replaced by the opposite situation — La Nina — a cooling of water temperatures in the equatorial Pacific.
–City News Service
