The beach at Castle Rock is Al Werker’s favorite place to spend a few hours, but on a recent afternoon he noticed that the newly completed lifeguard tower wasn’t occupied and that a large empty alcove in the restroom building had become a camping place for the homeless. In addition, a strip of land between the Castellammare/PCH pedestrian overpass was littered with trash and not landscaped. Werker, a retired McDonnell-Douglas computer service and software salesman, speculated that the L.A. County Department of Beaches and Harbors had run out of money to finish that area. The Will Rogers State Beach renovation project’from Potrero Canyon to Coastline Drive–was originally budgeted for $12,016,000, but the cost had reached $13,617,000 by the time improvements were completed last June. Interviewed by the Palisadian-Post, Werker recalled thinking to himself, ‘They may not want to do anything ever, but as long as they complete one area they should finish the job.’ He proceeded to call Gregory Woodell, a Beaches and Harbor’s planning specialist who was familiar with the project. Woodell later told the Post that the disputed area at the western edge of Will Rogers State Beach is actually finished. Restrooms, a two-story lifeguard station, a handicapped ramp to the beach and parking-lot improvements were all in the original plans and all have been completed. The strip of land that Werker was concerned about was originally the entrance to parking lot 5, but when the lot was reconfigured to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), the entrance was moved east, leaving the former entrance driveway vacant. Werker persisted, arguing that the land was someone’s responsibility. When Woodell learned it belonged to Beaches and Harbors, the area was cleaned. ‘After the fiscal year begins on July 1, we will ask for funds to put a sidewalk in and landscape the area,’ Beaches and Harbors spokeswoman Dusty Crane told the Post on June 2. She added that the empty alcove in the restroom building, populated by the homeless, was supposed to contain vending machines, which will be installed shortly. Meanwhile, the two-story lifeguard station built by Beaches and Harbors is empty. There is no running water or ventilation inside the building. Access to the beach from the observation tower could be a problem because as guards run down the steps from the second floor, a door has to be opened. A questionable planning design has placed the door next to steps used by the public, so when the door swings open it could hit an unsuspecting beachgoer. Although there is a garage for a lifeguard vehicle, access to the beach from that building will be difficult. Upon exiting the garage, the vehicle must be driven across a narrow parking lot to a ramp located at the other end. If the lot is filled with cars, access to the beach will be hampered. ‘It’s not the Taj Mahal,’ said Mickey Gallagher, Central Section Chief for L.A. County Lifeguards. ‘It is not something I would have built, but I’m dealt with a hand and I have to make it work.’ Gallagher said that the garage is currently being used to store supplies until the summer schedule starts on June 22, when a vehicle will be placed in the garage. It will be brought out early in the morning and parked on the beach before the lot becomes crowded. Since there is no running water in the building, Gallagher is trying to hook up a hose bib, so that washing the lifeguard vehicle will be possible. ‘There are a lot of little flaws we’re trying to work out,’ Gallagher said, including getting a phone installed by June 22 and solving the lack of ventilation in the tower. The second floor is a small box, with windows on four sides, and Gallagher hopes that vents can be installed to provide some sort or air circulation for the lifeguard. Gallagher also wants the door removed from the stairway to take away the danger of having it swing into an unsuspecting beach patron. County Lifeguards is also waiting for Beaches and Harbors to put in a flagpole. ‘There are some hurdles we have to address,’ Gallagher said, ‘but it [the lifeguard building] will be utilized by the end of summer.’
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