PORT ANGELES – The Ediz Hook boat launch will have eight new steel pilings by Valentine’s Day.
Deputy Recreation Director Richard Bonine told the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission last week that project bids were opened Dec. 11 and the project was awarded at the Dec. 18 City Council meeting.
American Construction Co. of Tacoma was the lowest of five bidders at $88,888, Bonine said.
The company also replaced the pilings at City Pier in 2005, he said.
The project will replace six rusting pilings and two missing pilings at the two-lane, 412-foot floating dock that is used for an estimated 4,000 boat launchings annually.
The project tied for first statewide among 11 applications for grant funding from the state’s Recreation and Conservation Funding Board, Bonine said.
The grant will pay 75 percent of the estimated cost, with the city covering the remainder, he said.
In May 2007, the City Council authorized submitting the grant application with a city match of no more than $55,000.
City Public Works Director Glenn Cutler told the City Council that city engineers were pleased with the five bidders, which included contractors from as far away as Tacoma and Astoria, Ore.
Hopefully the money the city already has spent on permitting and design for the project can be credited toward its 25 percent match, he said.
The project must be completed by Feb. 15 because of fish migration schedules, he said.
The city took over the pier from the Port of Port Angeles in 1995.
Replacing pilings there became an issue earlier this year when city officials proposed charging a first-ever boat launch fee to help pay for that and ongoing maintenance estimated at $20,000.
The city began charging boat launch fees of $10 per day or $40 for an annual pass on July 27.
The fees are the same for both city and non-city residents.
