CAPITOLA — The state of emergency in Capitola has ended and officials are getting right to work with planning for some of the city’s most highly anticipated repairs.
City staff has shared details for rebuilding the high-profile Capitola Wharf after it was left badly damaged during a historic winter storm event earlier this year. A roaring tidal surge Jan. 5 ripped away a chunk of the wharf’s midspan deck and pilings, and shredded portions of its structural head.
Capitola City Manager Jamie Goldstein said during a recent City Council meeting that overall storm damage costs have grown to $3.4 million – up from $2.6 million – due to updated permitting and design fees for repairs. Council members ratified a local emergency proclamation in response to the storms Jan. 6 and unanimously agreed to terminate it at a Feb. 23 meeting.
Capitola Director of Public Works Jessica Kahn explained that city staff is planning to combine wharf damage repair work with the previously approved $8 million Wharf Resiliency Project that was slated to kick off in October.
“That would be the original project scope: to widen the deck and enhance public access and complete storm repair damage within the same project, which would be the same permitting and also limit design alterations from our original project,” said Kahn.
Kahn went on to say that the project could start as soon as this summer, with an eight or nine-month construction period and an estimated completion date of spring 2024.
While the city could embark on a standalone wharf damage project that could begin around mid-May with an estimated completion in September, Kahn said doing the projects in tandem could save the city as much as $200,000 in total fees. Plus, the standalone effort would likely complete only a few weeks before the wharf would shut down again for the resiliency project.
Kahn added that a robust public outreach effort would roll out alongside project development, including onsite visual messaging banners at the wharf’s entrance that list project milestones and rough timeline estimates. Capitola Mayor Margaux Keiser voiced support for public-facing assets.
“I do really like the idea of having the visual timeline at the beginning of the wharf,” Keiser said. “I know the public is really wanting to know a lot about this project, so I appreciate our efforts getting ahead of it.”
According to Kahn, the combined wharf project would cost roughly $8.9 million, combining the $8 million for the resiliency project with the $932,000 in storm damage construction repairs. She said a braiding of financial resources will help get the effort off the ground.
The resiliency project is currently funded through a $3.5 million federal grant that was awarded in December, a $1.3 million grant from the California Coastal Conservancy – a state agency meant to protect coastal resources and expand public access – with the remaining gap financing coming from city funds. She said the city is also in the process of requesting storm damage reimbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and is expecting to begin utilizing those funds in May.CAPITOLA — The state of emergency in Capitola has ended and officials are getting right to work with planning for some of the city’s most highly anticipated repairs.
City staff has shared details for rebuilding the high-profile Capitola Wharf after it was left badly damaged during a historic winter storm event earlier this year. A roaring tidal surge Jan. 5 ripped away a chunk of the wharf’s midspan deck and pilings, and shredded portions of its structural head.
Capitola City Manager Jamie Goldstein said during a recent City Council meeting that overall storm damage costs have grown to $3.4 million – up from $2.6 million – due to updated permitting and design fees for repairs. Council members ratified a local emergency proclamation in response to the storms Jan. 6 and unanimously agreed to terminate it at a Feb. 23 meeting.
Capitola Director of Public Works Jessica Kahn explained that city staff is planning to combine wharf damage repair work with the previously approved $8 million Wharf Resiliency Project that was slated to kick off in October.
“That would be the original project scope: to widen the deck and enhance public access and complete storm repair damage within the same project, which would be the same permitting and also limit design alterations from our original project,” said Kahn.
Kahn went on to say that the project could start as soon as this summer, with an eight or nine-month construction period and an estimated completion date of spring 2024.
While the city could embark on a standalone wharf damage project that could begin around mid-May with an estimated completion in September, Kahn said doing the projects in tandem could save the city as much as $200,000 in total fees. Plus, the standalone effort would likely complete only a few weeks before the wharf would shut down again for the resiliency project.
Kahn added that a robust public outreach effort would roll out alongside project development, including onsite visual messaging banners at the wharf’s entrance that list project milestones and rough timeline estimates. Capitola Mayor Margaux Keiser voiced support for public-facing assets.
“I do really like the idea of having the visual timeline at the beginning of the wharf,” Keiser said. “I know the public is really wanting to know a lot about this project, so I appreciate our efforts getting ahead of it.”
According to Kahn, the combined wharf project would cost roughly $8.9 million, combining the $8 million for the resiliency project with the $932,000 in storm damage construction repairs. She said a braiding of financial resources will help get the effort off the ground.
The resiliency project is currently funded through a $3.5 million federal grant that was awarded in December, a $1.3 million grant from the California Coastal Conservancy – a state agency meant to protect coastal resources and expand public access – with the remaining gap financing coming from city funds. She said the city is also in the process of requesting storm damage reimbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and is expecting to begin utilizing those funds in May.
Source: Mercury News
