Council Wants Pier Rebuilt With Materials That Withstand Storms

VENTURA —  Launching into the first debate over the future of the Ventura Pier, city leaders said Monday that they want to shore up the wave-damaged structure using materials strong enough to withstand violent storms.

Council members gave that direction to city staff Monday night during a lengthy discussion of the pier’s repair. More than 420 feet of the pier’s timber deck was knocked out by giant waves during a December storm.

But whether to rebuild the pier to its original length is a key question that city officials must answer in coming months.

To help them answer that and other questions about restoration of the 123-year-old landmark, the council voted unanimously Monday to hand the issue over to the Community Affairs Commission for analysis and discussion.

Before doing so, however, council members offered their own recommendations.

“I have no qualms about putting it back to what it was,” Mayor Jack Tingstrom said before the meeting. “I think it means a lot to this city.”

Councilman Jim Monahan said he wants to see the wooden pier at least partly rebuilt to its former 1,958-foot expanse, and strengthened with steel instead of the traditional wood.

“I would prefer steel,” he said, “like what is used on the oil platforms. They will last for hundreds of years.”

Rebuilding the pier to its original length--or some length in between that and its current 1,535-foot expanse--were among a list of alternatives offered by Public Works Director Ron Calkins.

In his report to the council, Calkins also suggested shoring up the pier with stronger materials such as steel or concrete. He said no matter what the council decides, it will take at least one to two years to repair the structure.

“The key decision is what the pier will be constructed of,” Calkins told council members Monday night.

Engineers generally say that wooden piers are cheaper but not as strong as steel or concrete structures.

Coastal communities such as Santa Barbara, Oceanside and Huntington Beach have relied on such materials to help repair their storm-battered piers.

Though given the option of using stronger concrete supports, the City Council chose to restore the Ventura Pier with more attractive timber pilings during a $3.5-million restoration in 1992.

A citizens committee made the point clear to city leaders at the time that a concrete pier would not fit in with the historic character of Ventura.

“The pier should not be commercialized into a concrete structure as it does not fit in the area,” the committee concluded.

But in light of the pier’s most recent storm damage, council members say it is time to turn to state-of-the-art engineering.

That, however, could cost more money than the insurance policy will cover.

A $3.5-million pier insurance policy--which has a $100,000 deductible--will cover the cost of restoring what was lost Dec. 13, city officials said. Any improvements beyond that would have to be paid for through other sources.

Tingstrom wants the city to seek funding from the California Coastal Conservancy and Ventura’s own budget.

But Councilman Steve Bennett said he is reluctant to rebuild the pier to its original length without first strengthening the existing pier portion.

“I am going to have to be convinced to spend more money than the insurance money,” he said. “My first priority is to preserve what we have.”

But given the city’s recent $3.6-million investment in downtown improvements, other council members said the pier needs to be rebuilt to a length longer than it is now and strengthened.

“I think it can be done and will be done,” Tingstrom said. “I can’t see the community--with the amount of money we are investing downtown--doing anything else.”

Councilman Jim Friedman said the city could potentially waste part of its insurance money if the broken section is not replaced.

“We have $2 million coming to us,” Friedman said after the vote, of the anticipated $2-million insurance payout. “And I think we should use every dime of that money.”