Reservoir cost a shocker Reservoir cost a shocker (April 29, 2005)

by Jon Wiener

Council members singled out the Graham reservoir project for harsh criticism last week during a discussion of city capital projects.

A report from city staff informed the council that the 8-million-gallon underground reservoir and its pump station was going to cost an additional $5 million beyond the $9.7 million an engineer originally quoted the city.

Council members were not happy about the discrepancy. Council member Matt Pear called the mistake "horrendous." "This is not right," he said. "There's a glaring error that has gone forward here."

City staff had reauthorized bidding on the project last fall when a first round of bids came in much higher than expected. When the second round came in at the same level, staff members said they realized the engineer's estimate did not take into account higher construction costs in the Bay Area.

Under a staff proposal, the deficit will be made up with money from the city's water fund and the Shoreline Community Fund. City manager Kevin Duggan emphasized the importance of the project and reassured the council that it would not impact water rates or other infrastructure.

Public works Director Cathy Lazarus said the project was still significantly cheaper on a dollars-per-gallon basis than the city's other reservoir under construction on Miramonte Avenue.

Council members appeared to agree that they would have still voted to approve the project originally if they had known about the higher price tag.

Vice Mayor Nick Galiotto said, "It's reasonable what we're paying for. The problem was the starting point."

The project, which will be buried underneath athletic fields at Graham Middle School, is expected to be complete by late next summer. Golfers push for new cart bridge

Another project up for discussion last week garnered firm support from the public. Members of a local senior golf group, including one former mayor, showed up at Tuesday's City Council study session to lobby for a new bridge for golf carts at Shoreline Golf Links.

Proponents said the new 12-foot-wide bridge over Permanente Creek is necessary to alleviate delays and safety concerns on the smaller bridge currently shared by pedestrians and golf carts. Permanente Creek separates the front and back nine holes at the course.

"The bridge is totally inadequate to service the need it's supposed to be servicing," said Steve Anderson, president of the Shoreline Senior Men's Club. Former mayor Vic Calvo was also among those who spoke in support of a new bridge.

The total cost of the new crossing, which would be reserved for golf carts, could run as high as $262,000, but proponents said it is worth spending top dollar to attract more golfers to Shoreline.

"I think if we make it a first-class facility, it's going to do well in the long-run," said Council member Matt Pear.

Four out of the five council members present voiced support for the project (Mayor Matt Neely and Council member Laura Macias were both absent). Greg Perry, who has been critical of other improvements at the golf course, suggested that a first-class facility might become too expensive for some local residents.

"Maybe it's better to just have a community golf course," said Perry. "If you're going to milk money from it, you're going to have to raise rates on people."

City officials expect the golf course to break even this year, falling short of projected profits by more than $300,000. The number of rounds is down at courses throughout the area, but the council has asked staff to study whether last year's fee increases drove users away.
E-mail Jon Wiener at jwiener@mv-voice.com

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