The Avalon City Council last week unanimously approved stage 0 of the 10-stage $20-million Cabrillo Mole Rehabilitation Project.
Once the staff presentation was over, the motion to approve the request was given and seconded.
Avalon CIP Director Bob Greenlaw said they were finally making progress on the Cabrillo Mole Rehabilitation Project at the Oct. 22 City Council meeting.
Space limits make it impossible to cover every word, so the following are highlights from Greenlaw’s presentation.
The council was asked to approve several things:
- Authorize implementing the stage 0 of the second phase of the rehab project. This included the plan for the temporary facility, according to the staff report.
- Find that the city had made the best effort to relocate Cabrillo Mole tenants. According to Greenlaw, there are currently 11 lessees at the mole. (Catalina ATM and Fish Feeder can’t be relocated.)
- Delegate authority to City Manager David Maistros to negotiate rent agreements with the relocated businesses, which included Avalon Blue Line Baggage, Catalina Express, Catalina Passenger Services (the Flyer), and Eli’s Island Deli, according to the staff report.
Stage 0 is part of the 10-stage construction project to upgrade the Cabrillo Mole. Stage 0 is made up of four steps, according to Greenlaw.
“Step One is the installation of the grates at the old steamer ramps along the wharf there,” Greenlaw said during his council presentation.
“Right now, those are just cutouts along there,” Greenlaw said.
“What we’ve proposed is to permanently install grates there. That’s going to help us in the construction project because that allow a 20-foot access around our construction site,” Greenlaw said.
He said step two was installing utilities.
Step three: The city needs to purchase long lead items: Utility boxes and switch gear. Greenlaw said those items would take about a year to procure.
“Not a problem for our project because we’re going to be in temporary power,” Greenlaw said.
“But this is the time to build it,” Greenlaw said.
Step four: Procuring temporary facilities. Those would be two 20-foot office containers and one 10-foot office containers.
The temporary facilities will provide only 720 square feet, according to Greenlaw.
The city plans to relocate the Express, the Flyer, Eli’s Island Deli and Avalon Blue Line Baggage, according to Greenlaw’s slide presentation.
Three businesses won’t be relocated. They have additional facilities, according to the slide.
“We’re just trying to make this as nimble as we can as we move through all these different pieces,” Greenlaw said.
“That’s why we’re asking for the authority to delegate to the city manager,” Greenlaw said.
Greenlaw said staff hoped to complete the work on stage 0 by April 2025.
The timeline for the project:
- Requests for proposals to start on Dec. 1, 2024, for the design of the Cabrillo Mole rehab stages one to nine.
- Deadline to submit qualifications for the design-build would be Jan. 30, 2025.
- Stage 0 scope of work would be completed by April 30, 2025.
- Deadline to submit design-build proposals would be June 7, 2025.
- The City Council would authorize the city manager to negotiate the design-build contract on July 17, 2025.
- Tenants would have until November 2024 to relocate.
- Demolition would begin Dec. 1, 2025.
“It’s predicted/estimated to be an 18-month construction,” Greenlaw said.
“You’re not going anywhere,” said Mayor Anni Marshall jokingly.
