HUNTINGTON BEACH : Firm’s Woes Do Not Hamper Pier Project
City officials said Monday that the contractor building the city’s new $11.7-million pier is having financial troubles but that the money woes are not expected to keep the pier from being completed on schedule next spring.
City Public Works Director Lou Sandoval said the contractor, Riedel International Inc. of Portland, Ore., plans to file a reorganization plan today as protection from debtors. Sandoval said he learned of the company’s plans after he contacted them about rumors of financial trouble within the corporation.
“I was told that Riedel plans to file a reorganization plan with a bank in Oregon,” Sandoval said. “I was also told that the pier project will be completed as scheduled.”
In a news release issued Monday, the city’s public information office said that Robert Bittner, executive vice president of Riedel International, “has given the city written assurance that the company will continue (work) on the (pier) project.”
The new pier is about 85% complete, Sandoval said. He added that the city has a performance bond that ensures completion of the project at the bid price.
“The hardest part of getting the pier built has already been completed,” Sandoval said. “The pilings all are in.”
Work on the new pier started last fall as the storm-ravaged old pier, which had been closed since July, 1988, for safety reasons, was torn down.
The city is still trying to raise about $1.35 million in private donations for the cost of the pier project.
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