Campaign for New Pier Fails to Meet $2.5-Million Goal : Fund-raising: The Robert B. Sharp Co., which was paid $250,000 by Huntington Beach for the effort, has only managed to collect $378,000 in 1 1/2 years.

A private drive to raise $2.5 million for the new pier has fallen well short of expectations, leaving the city with an estimated $3.8-million shortfall, city officials have reported.

With its 18-month contract with the city due to expire at the end of this month, the Robert B. Sharp Co., which is running the Landmark Campaign, has received pledges totaling about half of its goal. But the company has actually collected only $378,000, Deputy City Administrator Richard Barnard told City Council members at their meeting Monday. And the city paid the Sharp Co. $250,000 for the effort.

The project is 85% complete. But to finish it by next May, the council agreed to borrow $2.5 million from its water fund reserve account. That loan must be repaid with interest, officials said.

Additionally, city staff members told the council that the pier buildings are expected to cost $500,000 more than originally estimated. Combined with other cost overruns, the total budgeted cost of the pier reconstruction has ballooned to $12.4 million.

The city paid the Sharp Co. in June, 1990, to head the fund-raising drive. On Monday, council members criticized the effort as a failure.

“That’s only a $128,000 net gain,” Councilman Don MacAllister noted. “That’s very disappointing for a year-and-a-half-long effort.”

Councilwoman Linda Moulton-Patterson said she is eager for Sharp representatives to appear before the council, as scheduled next month.

In addition to the disappointing fund-raising results, Moulton-Patterson said she has received erratic service when she has called the campaign office. “I have many concerns and questions for Mr. Sharp,” she said.

Because of this week’s ominous report, council members said they may consider asking business owners to pay for construction of their own buildings on the pier. However, Barnard said he is optimistic that donors will make good on about $1 million in outstanding pledges, and that additional money will still be raised to cover the rest of the cost of the new pier. After the Sharp Co.’s contract expires, the city will take over all fund-raising efforts.

On Tuesday, Barnard attempted to retract the low fund-raising figure he reported to the council.

Crediting the Sharp Co.’s campaign with influencing other donors to contribute to the pier fund, he said he believes it is responsible for more than $600,000--either directly or indirectly--in private contributions.

“Everyone has benefited from everyone else’s (fund-raising) effort,” Barnard said.

He acknowledged, however, that the fund-raising drive has not been as fruitful as he had originally hoped, which he attributed largely to the national recession.

Barnard added that he believes the money problems were exacerbated because many potential contributors were financially strapped due to simultaneous city fund-raising efforts to benefit the Boys & Girls Club, a library expansion and other projects.

“Overall, I’d say we’ve done very well,” he said. “We didn’t reach our goal, but we did very well considering everything we were up against.”