PORT ANGELES — The future of the waterfront observation tower, which was fenced off to the public on Tuesday, will be decided after city officials receive the results of a technical report from the city’s engineering consultant, according to the city’s public information officer.
“Following a maintenance inspection earlier this month, Sargent Engineers (Inc., of Olympia) provided city staff with some preliminary findings, which noted significant structural defects. We have not yet received the full report,” wrote city spokeswoman Jessica Straits in an email on Wednesday.
The decision to close the City Pier tower to the public was made Monday and action was taken Tuesday, said Mike Healy, director of the Port Angeles Public Works and Utilities, on Wednesday.
“Until I get a final engineering report, it’s best to close it,” Healy said. “I don’t want people hurt … I can’t predict high winds, so I don’t want to put anyone at risk.”
The final report is expected within the next three weeks, he said.
The observation tower was closed to the public as a precautionary measure effective Tuesday due to serious concerns for public safety, Straits said.
“The city is prepared to enter into contracts and take other actions necessary to remediate the issue and ensure long-term public safety,” she said.
Craig Mallow of Olympia-based Sargent Engineers, Inc., was questioned while performing the inspection of the tower with another man on Nov. 8 and said that the tower appeared to be in sound condition, which was reported in a caption in the Peninsula Daily News on Nov. 10.
However, on Tuesday afternoon, the city issued a notice that the tower was closed due to preliminary findings indicating “structural failures that pose serious risk to public safety.”
Healy said on Wednesday that “I just don’t think (the inspector) was done with the inspection,” when he was asked by the photojournalist on Nov. 8.
City staff and engineers met Monday and discussed preliminary findings before the decision was made to close the viewing tower, Healy said.
“I’ve had a few conversations with the structural engineer and we bounced around some recommendations. But, as we said in the press release, in the interest of safety for all the folks, we’ve cordoned off the area.”
Potential problems have to do with the proximity of the steel tower to the sea.
“Salt water and steel aren’t in the same family,” said Healy, who mentioned some corrosion and the possibility of a missing bolt.
City Manager Nathan West signed a declaration of emergency on Tuesday that authorizes the city to implement solutions that restore the tower’s structural integrity, Straits wrote.
Governments typically approve spending money and then do the work later. An emergency declaration allows spending the money upfront and then approving the expenditure later.
“We will be able to provide more information on the results of the inspection and necessary next steps for resolution once we’ve received the technical report from Sargent Engineers (of Olympia),” Straits wrote.
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Reporter Brian Gawley can be reached at brian.gawley@peninsuladailynews.com.
Executive Editor Leah Leach contributed to this story.
