HUNTINGTON BEACH : Efforts to Rebuild Pier Win City Award
Public and private efforts to rebuild the pier have earned the city a grand prize award from the League of California Cities.
Local officials will go to Sacramento to receive the California Cities Helen Putnam Award for Excellence in Public Works and Transportation from Gov. Pete Wilson on Nov. 16.
Grass-roots and corporate fund-raising efforts as well as nearly $100,000 in contributions from the people of Anjo, Japan--Huntington Beach’s sister city--played a major part in earning the city the award, Deputy City Administrator Rich Barnard said Friday.
A volunteer group called “Persons Interested in Expediting Reconstruction of the Pier” began holding special events to raise money for it the day after it was damaged by a storm in January, 1988.
The group, former employees of the End of the Pier Cafe that was destroyed in the storm, remained active until the new pier opened in July, contributing more than $100,000, Barnard said.
City Engineer Bob Eichblatt said a close partnership between the city and contractors--which resulted in “nearly a flawless project”--was another reason for the award.
Still another factor was that the pier builder, the Riedel International Corp., shaved about $2.8 million from the project’s cost by using special construction techniques, Eichblatt said.
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