The Newport Beach City Council balked Tuesday night at spending close to $700,000, or even $148,000, to refurbish the teak and jatoba benches and related trash can covers around Balboa Island, preferring instead to phase out the stately but expensive street furniture in favor of fixtures made of faux wood.
As the owner of a wooden boat, Mayor Pro Tem Brad Avery said he knows what it takes to maintain teak. He said the city should move toward attractive wood alternatives.
We just have to move to benches that dont need to be refinished, he said. I would not spend another nickel on refinishing anything.
The council was set to consider a $692,000 contract proposal to refresh and repair each of the islands 109 benches and 26 coordinating trash can covers up to twice a year for two years.
City staff said it wanted to accept the bid, requiring the city to set aside the $692,000, but only spend a fraction of it, dropping the scope to a single refurbishment of each bench and considering a new long-term plan. That cost would come to about $148,000, without replacement of the embedded bronze dedication plaques.
The council instead chose to reject the contract entirely and phase out the wooden fixtures.
The city maintains the sidewalk benches on Marine Avenue and elsewhere around the island. The benches about half made of teak and the other half of jatoba, also known as Brazilian cherry were donated over the past 24 years and need to be refinished at least once a year to meet community requests and expectations, according to a city staff report. Contractors do that work but havent fully refurbished the benches and trash cans in two years.
Teak benches face the bay at a Balboa Island street end.
(Courtesy of city of Newport Beach)
A jatoba, or Brazilian cherry, bench on Balboa Islands Marine Avenue.
(Courtesy of city of Newport Beach)
Deputy Director of Public Works Micah Martin said neighbors suggested something with more flair when a donor sought to place concrete benches around the island in the mid-1990s.
After seeing the bench, the island raised some concerns, he told the council. The BIIA [Balboa Island Improvement Assn.] got involved and proposed putting teakwood benches on the island because theyre much more aesthetically pleasing, had a nautical theme to them and its more of what they wanted to see.
The BIIA helped with their maintenance. In 2006, the city took over maintenance of all donated fixtures.
At that time, when the city had an in-house wood shop and full-time staff carpenters, each bench cost about $400 a year to refinish.
The city outsourced woodworking a few years later, and market forces have increased once-yearly refurbishment costs to $960 for a jatoba bench and $1,150 for a teak bench.
Staff says the sun, rain and salty marine air have weathered the items much quicker than the BIAA anticipated. The benches also are susceptible to damage from vehicles and vandals.
The council voted 6-0 to have staff craft a less-expensive replacement plan, vetted by the public and the city Parks, Beaches & Recreation Commission. Councilman Jeff Herdman recused himself because he owns property in the area.
Theyre beautiful, Councilman Kevin Muldoon said of the real wood benches, and if we had our own woodworking team, itd make sense. But this is not sustainable on a contract basis.
Councilwoman Diane Dixon said shes sensitive to Balboa Islands affinity for the benches the only park, sidewalk and beach benches in the city not made of concrete or a hardy composite material. But cost is a factor.
Its going to be $1 million in a couple of years and were going to wish we dealt with this earlier, she said.
Sidewalk benches from the citys usual catalog cost $2,800 to $2,900 new, comparable to the $2,400 for a replacement jatoba bench or $3,150 for one of teak. They do not, however, require regular maintenance, and the faux-wood model lasts about 10 years, Martin said.
Support our coverage by becoming a digital subscriber.
See the article here:
Balboa Island's costly wooden benches are on their way out - Los Angeles Times
- Water Purification Island - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Private Islands: South China Sea Style - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Best of Fiji - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- High Cay: Bahamas - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The World: Back on the Market - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Island Market is Back - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Haunted Halloween Island - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Ambergris Island Property - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Paradise Sinking - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Parrot Cay: Own a Piece of Privacy - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- An Icky Day - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- It's a Cory's! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- There she blows! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Bye bye Whale - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- No Bunting Mistake - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Whale of a time... - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Leaving day - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Look who's back... - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Lanced... - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Migrants role in... - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Pups away! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Double take - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Northerly wind blows - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Northern visitors - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Siege! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Storm time - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Storm season - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Storming over - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Sealing mission - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Still no go - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Over they go! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- All change - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Welcome back storms - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Fight club - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- V Australia to Fiji - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Tahiti Sun Travel For Sale - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Cook Islands Travel Guide - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Perfectly Frank – Fiji - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Cook Islands Tax Hike - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Easter Island Travel Guide - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Surviving Paradise - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Canada Seal Hunt ‘09 - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Tuvalu Travel Guide - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Saudi Arabian Sojourn - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Laurent Pichot on Moorea - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- The Largest Island for Sale in the World. - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Isla Kiniw: Incredible Island Rental - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Save at Sandals Resorts - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Marvelous Mediterranean: Skyropoula Island - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Branson Talks Necker Island - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Hog Island: Affordable Nova Scotia - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- The Banyan Tree: Seychelles - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Celebrity Secret Vacation Spots - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Star Island - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- 7 Islands in 7 Days - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Counting continues - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Life goes on - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Payback time - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- No let up - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Game on - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Deal or No Deal? - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Food glorious food - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Mainland beckons... - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- The tempest is coming - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Tought times ahead - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Tystie day - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Saying Goodbye...maybe - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Departure Day - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Seal pups - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Seabird Breeding Season 2009 - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Maritime Terminal Papeete Tahiti - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- A splash of colour - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- Tiger Woods Wife purchases Island Retreat - December 15th, 2009 [December 15th, 2009]
- New Flights to Fiji - December 18th, 2009 [December 18th, 2009]
- Five Star Fiji - December 19th, 2009 [December 19th, 2009]
- Go Farther in Nicaragua - December 19th, 2009 [December 19th, 2009]
- Zoo Island - December 21st, 2009 [December 21st, 2009]
- Seasons Greetings 2009 - December 23rd, 2009 [December 23rd, 2009]
- Green Ark Island - December 23rd, 2009 [December 23rd, 2009]
- Merry Christmas! - December 25th, 2009 [December 25th, 2009]