Fred Chang’s Newsclips

By Jeff Donaldson, Port Orchard Independent

The Port Orchard City Council voted on Monday against any immediate plans to demolish the downtown marquee — something local businesses say they support, but that council members want more time to consider.

The discovery of severe wood-rot inside columns along Bay Street brought the $112,000 project to renovate the storied marquee to a halt last week.

At an emergency meeting, Port Orchard Public Works Director Maher Abed told the council that rough cost estimates for tearing down the two-block structure could top $117,000.

But that pales in comparison to the cost of replacing it. The rough cost estimate of that could begin at $320,000 — and it could cost even more if more than the predicted 15 of the 24 columns have to be repaired, Abed said.

In voting it down, the council members also said they were uncertain about the cost of removing street lights anchored to the marquee, among other issues.

“Our primary concern is not to do things without having all the information and having a plan to end up with a healed project,” said Councilman Bob Geiger, one of four council members who voted against the demolition idea.

“It’s easy to tear things down, but if you don’t have a plan, money and the ability to go ahead and fix it, it can look real bad for a long time.”

Geiger was among council members who attended a meeting of the Downtown Merchant’s Association on Thursday morning. Most business owners support demolition of the marquee, but Thursday some were more concerned with getting their signs back up on their store fronts.

Dennis Lei, who owns Puget Sound Wine Cellar, said like most business owners, he knows the decision will come down to costs. But he questioned why the city hasn’t been more willing to listen to their feedback.

“No one seems to be clear on the real costs, but we left the meeting feeling not that they were ramming this down our throats, but that what’s going to happen will, whether we like it or not,” Lei said.

Work began on the marquee back in June but stopped immediately when contractor TEC Construction discovered lead-based paint on the picket fences that sat atop the facade.

Tests revealed the lead content was not a threat, and workers began removing the fences on July 19.

Last week engineers discovered wood-rot inside columns so deep they could stab a screwdriver through it. The council asked for a second meeting the following Monday to hear cost estimates — something Abed reiterated were tough to pin down yet without knowing the full scope of work.

“We’re talking with (Puget Sound Energy) about the cost to look at the traffic signal at Sidney and Bay Streets, and what the state would have to do. All of those issues have to be taken into account,” Abed said on Thursday.

Abed also sent crews downtown to drill into other poles to more accurately determine which ones actually would need to be replaced. Workmen reportedly found enough good wood to determine the marquee is structurally sound and not an immediate safety concern.

But the total costs of repair, replacement or demolition options won’t likely come in time for Monday’s meeting.

That’s bad news for council members like Fred Chang, who said he is disappointed the city wasn’t prepared to use the preliminary numbers to make a decision on the marquee.

“This is one of the most frustrating projects in the city and it doesn’t seem to go away,” Chang said. “I feel like we received the information we wanted, and the most feasible option was the demolish option.”

Chang has been the most critical of the repair option because engineers have proposed replacing only certain portions of the affected columns.

“Not just because of the cost, it’s not a viable option because it’s such a Band-Aid approach,” Chang said.

Earlier, Geiger pointed out that even replacing lighting fixtures anchored to the marquee could cost the city another $200,000 — a cost that would have to be covered whether the marquee was replaced or not.

“We’re sympathetic to everyone’s needs, especially those who want to get their signs back up,” Geiger said. “If they want to, they can do that.”

© Copyright 2006 Port Orchard Independent