After Costly Delay, County Commits to Beach Timeline

Despite a four-month delay caused by a planning error, L.A. County representatives asserted last week at a Palisades Community Council meeting that plans to refurbish Will Rogers State Beach will be completed on schedule in May 2007. The miscalculation of the depth of an L.A. City sewer located in the eastern end of the beach’s parking lot stopped construction there and is expected to add as much as $200,000 to a more than $12- million project. ‘It was a judgment call by the County,’ said Maria Chong Castillo, a County deputy who oversees the Department of Public Works and the Department of Beaches and Harbors. ‘They [designers] didn’t put [the sewer] in the specs. It’s the County’s fault.’ County and City officials spent much of the four months negotiating an agreement to reinforce the sewer main. Actual construction on the sewer took only three days once the two government bodies reached a compromise. That construction was completed September 21. Beyond the additional costs, that mistake could mean less certainty for public access to the beach parking lot during the next summer beach-going season. The timeliness of the project might depend on the weather, said Gilberto Garcia of the Department of Public Works, who directly oversees the project. A wet winter could hamper construction during an already tight timeline. According to current projections, the Lifeguard headquarters (at Potrero Canyon) and a nearby restroom should be completed by January. Construction on those structures was unaffected by the delay, Garcia said. By next May, the County expects the completion of Mission-style concession stands, refurbished bathrooms, a rebuilt Lifeguard substation, repaved parking lots, and a natural gas pipeline and vehicle filling station. To meet the County’s timeline and avoid financial penalties, the contractor, Gonzales Construction, has hired more workers and has begun work on multiple projects simultaneously. Originally, construction of the project’s various structures was planned to be completed after the parking lots were repaved. But now workers are constructing new restrooms, concession stands and lifeguard substations concurrently with the parking lot construction. ‘We need accountability,’ said Stuart Muller, Community Council member. ‘We’re not going to get it for the past mistakes. But we have to make sure the clock is ticking.’ Muller had invited County representatives to answer community concerns at last Thursday’s council meeting. Council members expressed frustration with the escalating costs of the project and the lack of any visible progress. ‘What hours do the crews work?’ asked Alice Beagles, a council member who lives above the ocean. ‘I never see them.’ County officials said at the meeting that the sewer miscalculation stopped substantial work at the project, but that crews have returned to work. Muller plans to tour the facilities with the project’s managers. He said he wants to have a first-hand understanding of the construction’s improvement. When the County originally approved the project in 1999, $4.9 million was set aside for construction costs. But the region’s construction boom has meant fewer bids and higher rates for contractors. By the time the Will Rogers contract was awarded to Gonzales Construction in 2005, the County settled for $8.3 million. That figure does not include the recent additional changes to the contract. Reporting by Max Taves, Staff Writer. To contact, e-mail: reporter@palipost.com