HUNTINGTON BEACH : Council OKs Deal for Pepsi Booths on Pier

Pepsi has won thumbs up from Surf City.

Although the City Council didn’t break into a chorus of “We’ve got the right one, baby, uh-huh,” members nonetheless beamed at prospects of linking the new pier to Pepsi--and making money. The council on Monday night approved two temporary soft-drink booths on the pier, both of which will sell only Pepsi. The city is expected to net $126,193 from the deal.

Pepsi-Cola was a major sponsor of the city’s Pierfest ’92 last weekend. That event was a two-day celebration of the opening of the new $10.8-million pier. Pepsi’s logo was incorporated into colorful banners hung on the pier, and Pepsi booths also sold the soft drink during the festival.

City Administrator Michael T. Uberuaga told the City Council on Monday night that part of the sponsorship agreement calls for two Pepsi vending booths to remain on the pier through Sept. 7. Both booths will be operated by the city.

City staffers estimated that the city will sell $245,000 in soft drinks at the two booths through Sept. 7. Estimated expenses are $118,807, for an anticipated profit of $126,193. The profit will go into the city’s pier fund, which is still about $2.3 million short.

The city expects the pier to have two permanent snack shops and a cafe by next summer.

In another pier-related action, the City Council also approved hiring private guards until Oct. 1, when the pier is scheduled to get new security gates. The guards will keep people off the pier when it is closed from midnight to 5 a.m.

The cost of hiring the private guards through Sept. 30 is $4,172. City officials said that hiring private guards at $10.25 an hour is much cheaper than having to pay police overtime for the duty. Police overtime would average $40 an hour, city officials said.