PORT ANGELES — The City Council, frustrated with delays in completion of The Gateway transit center, reluctantly approved this week a no-cost contract extension with the project’s designer, Krei Architecture.
On Tuesday, the City Council voted 6-1, with council member Dan Di Guilio opposed, to extend the contract to May 31.
Glenn Cutler, city public works and utilities director, said during the meeting that completion of the $14.7 million downtown project has been delayed because of a need for Krei’s calculations on their proposed structural repairs for the eastern foundation wall of the pavilion.
Nathan West, city economic and community development director and building official, said after the meeting that he has rejected two proposed repairs from Krei because they did not meet city code, and is awaiting calculations for a third proposal.
City Manager Kent Myers told the council that a letter from Krei was promised last Friday and the city has yet to receive it.
Myers said Wednesday that the letter is supposed to contain “some additional information to confirm the design of the fix will work.”
“It’s very frustrating,” Myers said. “As far as repairs . . . they have not been diligent in meeting their schedule.”
Krei representatives in Tacoma could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
Against extension
Di Guilio said he proposed rejecting the extension to send a message to Krei that it needs to get its act together.
“I think we need to start sending some message that this Gateway project has gone on for way too long,” he said.
“I think it’s time to make a statement that we need to get this project done,” he added.
“[Krei] needs to start providing the information that we have asked for to get this completed. I’ve seen a level of resistance on getting information from this firm and I will not be supporting” the motion, Di Guilio said.
Other council members also voiced frustration, but voted for extending the contract because Krei’s work won’t be done until the project is completed.
Cutler told the council the project could be completed by May 31.
“Now we have to give an extension because they are dragging their feet?” said council member Don Perry.
City Attorney Bill Bloor told the City Council that the city would have a legal issue with Krei if their contract wasn’t extended before the project is completed.
“Where that would leave us? It’s difficult to say,” he said.
City Council member Larry Williams also said he was frustrated with the delays, but cautioned the rest of the council that not extending the contract would be counter-productive.
‘Wasp nest’
“I don’t like it when a wasp nest is thrown over my front door, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to swat the thing with a baseball bat in broad daylight,” Williams said.
“I think that’s what this might do if it fails.”
Clallam Transit, which is a partner in The Gateway project, is also a party in the contract with Krei.
Its board of directors approved the same extension Monday.
Di Guilio — who is a former Clallam Transit general manager and who sits on the board with Port Angeles Mayor Gary Braun — voted no in the Clallam Transit board meeting, saying he was sticking with his vote as a City Council member to remain consistent on the issue.
In response to a question from City Council member Karen Rogers, Cutler said the contract with Krei expired on March 31.
He added that he has asked Clallam Transit “not to make payment to them” on their most recent billing. “We have a number of outstanding issues with Krei,” he said.
Cutler couldn’t be reached on Wednesday for additional comment.
Clallam Transit General Manager Terry Weed was also unavailable Wednesday.
While Krei designed The Gateway and is the engineer of record, the structural engineering for the project is done through it’s sub-contractor, Bright Engineering, Inc.
The project also includes 169 parking spaces, a pavilion and public restrooms that remain closed, as well as an office for the Port Angeles downtown resource officer and a break room for bus drivers.
The project, which began in June 2007, was scheduled to be completed in November, but was put on hold while cracked concrete underneath a horizontal support beam in the parking area underneath the pavilion was analyzed.
The cracks occurred because the concrete beam rotated when it was “post-tensioned,” with which high-strength steel tendons are tensioned with jacks to provide additional strength.
The cause of the cracked concrete was determined by Berger/Abam Engineers Inc. in February.
The public restrooms remain closed because they are accessed through the pavilion.
Myers said the city is not considering legal action against Krei.
Parking
While the buses have been rolling through The Gateway since April 13, Weed said last week that the west parking garage at The Gateway will remain closed for about in other two weeks.
It will open after Clallam Transit renegotiates its parking agreement with Heckman Motors, he said, although the city of Port Angeles approved occupancy for the parking garage on March 30 and the parking agreement negotiated with Heckman about two years ago is still on the books.
Weed has said the parking agreement needs to be renegotiated because it is unclear how much Clallam Transit and the city will have to pay for their share of the utilities at The Gateway.
All of Clallam Transit’s share of the parking revenue would have to go toward the project, such as to pay for utilities, and Weed said the transit agency wants to know how much it needs to charge Heckman Motors to cover its expenses.
Myers said the parking should be opened since occupancy has been given.
“There is no reason … that the parking deck cannot be opened,” Myers said on Wednesday.
The Gateway is funded by $8.1 million in state and federal grants, $6.1 million in city funds and $500,000 from Clallam Transit.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
