HUNTINGTON BEACH : Fund-Raiser OKd to Help Finance Pier

A divided City Council has voted to hire a professional fund-raiser to try to solicit $2.5 million in private donations for the city’s planned $11-million to $12-million new pier.

The late-night, 5-2 vote Monday came after one councilman said he doubted that the money could be raised and another councilman urged a bond issue instead. Meanwhile, a city staff report showed the cost of the pier.

The old pier has been closed since July, 1988, because of its unsafe condition. Its demolition, once set for July, now has been postponed until after the Labor Day holiday. City officials told the council Monday night that razing the structure needed to be delayed at least until after August so that it would not interfere with the O.P. Surfing Championships held annually during that month near the pier.

Most of the council’s discussion about the pier centered on concern about financing a new structure.

A new staff report revealed Monday night that the cost of the pier, once estimated at $11 million, has climbed to about $12 million. The city so far has raised only about $7.5 million for the new pier.

Mayor Thomas J. Mays said the city should hire a professional fund-raiser to try to secure as much of the remaining $4.5 million as possible. But Councilman Wes Bannister argued against the move, saying that virtually all major donors in the city have already been tapped for the pier.

Bannister said it would be a waste of city money to hire a fund-raiser. Councilman John Erskine said he thought the city should be moving toward a bond issue to help pay for the pier and also for a park, or plaza, at the entrance to the new pier. Erskine noted that voters in San Juan Capistrano and Los Alamitos earlier this year overwhelmingly approved bond issues for civic projects.

After extended debate, the council majority voted at 11:30 p.m. to hire the Robert B. Sharp Co. for a 1 1/2-year fund-raising effort. The contract calls for the cost to the city not to exceed $250,000. The Sharp Company will seek to raise at least $2.5 million of the $4.5 million still needed for the pier.

Bannister and Councilman Jim Silva voted against hiring the fund-raiser. Erskine supported the move, but he said he still favors a bond issue.

Mays said after the meeting that the city can still pursue a bond issue if private fund-raising fails.