thelog.com have to remove it and replace it.”
Divide and Conquer In a substitute motion seeking to
move forward with the bid as suggest- ed by city staff, Councilman Tony Petros used one of Duffield’s argu- ments to challenge Peotter’s cost-sav- ing estimate. “I question the timing of this,”
Petros said. “Unfortunately, Mr. Peotter, this is a unicorn, as evidenced by Mr. Duffield saying your $2 million [in estimated savings] is out of whack.” City staff told council members the decision to design the dockd with con- crete elements was made a while back. If the council elected to change the docks’ design, city staff said the docks would not be ready in time for Marina Park’s opening in December and ques- tioned whether any savings would be incurred by switching from concrete to fiberglass or wood. City staff added permits have
already been pulled for the current design of the docks. Accordingly, restarting the process now would likely delay the completion of the docks, as city staff would have to find a new bid- der and complete new permitting paperwork, all of which takes time.
Team Newport and the Old-Timers
Councilman Keith D. Curry
expressed frustration with Duffield’s motion. He said the city’s panel of elected officials, highlighted by the addition of four new members from the Team Newport bloc who won seats on the dais in November 2014, has been mired in a series of missteps. Specifically, Curry said the current council has approved inaccurate min- utes and appointed an ineligible can- didate to a city commission. “There’s a time and place to deal with these issues. We have to stop making up this stuff up here on the dais and throwing stuff out there for staff, because it’s messing up the way the city is working, it’s messing up our processes and it’s going to delay this project in a very significant way,” Curry said in a thinly veiled comment directed toward members of Team Newport. Curry said the time and place to discuss the design of the docks had already passed. “I appreciate the expertise Mr.
Duffield brings to this, and the oppor- tunity to make improvements as we go along, but the time to do that is not when the item is coming here for action; it’s in the design process earli- er,” Curry said. Duffield disagreed with Curry. “The idea of having a Rolls Royce dock in a situation like this, where there’s no wave activity whatsoever, and having it built in such a manner, it’s akin to the same dock that was built at the end of the Rhine Channel that sees no wave activity or wind. That dock is far overbuilt,” Duffield said. “I’ve been elected to look at
things and try to save money.” Bickering and the Public Process
At least one Newport Beach resi- dent was unhappy with how the city council members handled the discus- sion of the bids for Marina Park docks. “There are new council people who
are elected. One of the key drivers was a concern for the lack of diligent eval- uation of projects and expenditures,” Denise Oberman said. “I would encourage the council to stop this — what has the look and feel of — bick- ering and begin moving forward. The public does not want to hear this type of repartee. We do want some diligent
thinking. You guys have a duty to do this. Get above the bickering and be responsible.” Curry retorted any changes to the
project at this point would be a dis- service to the public process. “Mr. Peotter has pulled out $2 mil-
lion. Mr. Duffield, with more expertise, says that’s not a correct number. Staff says there might not be any savings altogether. We do know [any changes] will delay the project,” Curry said. “Fundamentally, it is wrong for us as council people to sit here, based upon what some guy said at the gym or who we’ve talked to down the line or in an ex parte way says, ‘here’s how you ought to do it,’ and, on that basis,
The Log • Feb. 27 - Mar. 12, 2015 • 9
change the entire public process we followed to get to this point. “For my new colleagues who haven’t
experienced this before, there’s not an investment banker, or a construction engineer, or a chemical engineer, or a trash provider out there who won’t tell you they could’ve have done it cheap- er, better, faster than the guy who ulti- mately got hired and has a responsibil- ity for doing it. I think we ought to trust staff,” Curry continued. The final vote was 4-3 in favor of
city staff’s original suggestion. Those who opposed awarding Bellingham Marine the $3.2 million contract were council members Duffield, Peotter and Kevin Muldoon.
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