City May Apply for Grant to Repair Pier

Casting a wide net for more money to rebuild its storm-battered pier, the Ventura City Council is expected to approve Monday an application for a $250,000 state grant.

The grant from the state Wildlife Conservation Board would supplement a $2-million insurance payment to rebuild 425 feet lopped off the end of the 1,958-foot pier by a powerful 1995 winter storm.

Restoring the pier to its original length would cost an estimated $3.3 million, so the city needs to cover a $1.3-million shortfall.

The $3.3 million would pay for a new design to strengthen the pier to better withstand the thrashing of winter storms. Work would include cross-bracing the existing pier, rebuilding the missing section with stronger steel piles and raising the end section so it would be higher than the highest breakers.

After taking a stroll on the pier last month, John Schmidt, executive director of the Wildlife Conservation Board, encouraged the city to apply for a $250,000 grant. There is a lot of fishing from the pier, one criteria for the state funding. The city would have to match the grant with money drawn from the insurance settlement.

The Wildlife Conservation Board is set to meet May 1 to decide on funding allocations.

Recognizing the Ventura Pier as a major local landmark, and a recreational attraction, state Sen. Jack O’Connell (D-Santa Barbara) and Assemblyman Brooks Firestone (R-Los Olivos) sent a letter to the board asking for help in repairing Ventura’s “community treasure.”

City engineers say they hope to begin pier reconstruction in July, and complete the project before the big western swells come rolling in next winter.