By Neil Farrell ~
The City of Morro Bay could kill more than two birds with a single project if plans continue to move forward to build a new Coast Guard headquarters and now a new Harbor Office.
The City Council agreed to change the proposed site for expansion of Coast Guard Station Morro Bay into the space currently housing the Harbor Office in the 1300 block of Embarcadero.
That would be done by building a new office in a 6-space parking lot between Crill’s Salt Water Taffy store, and a public restroom at the foot of the North T-pier.
Harbor Director Eric Endersby, who has been working with Coast Guard representatives for a couple of years now, said they will try to work out a memorandum of understanding or MOU with the federal agency on this newest version of a project.
Previously, the City Council had agreed to allow the Coast Guard to build in the small lot, which would have necessitated removal of the restroom. So a new bathroom would be needed, but the Coast Guard was only willing to pay very much towards building a new one. That restroom includes coin-op public hot showers.
Endersby, in a staff report, said, “For initial planning purposes, staff anticipates a new, appropriately sized Harbor Office and restroom/shower facility will cost (about) $1.1 million. Around $300,000 of that cost would be paid up front to the City by the USCG as compensation for the loss of our existing Harbor Office. That would result in an expense of around $800,000, likely borne over time as a loan.
“While the cost of that loan may be too high for the City at this time,” he continued, “it is likely the USCG will agree to enter a new lease agreement under which they would pay the City annual rent for the two lease sites they would occupy, thus reducing the cost of the loan by perhaps half.”
The Harbor Advisory Board at its June meeting, unanimously recommended the property swap. “The HAB also recommends the City should pursue a fair market value rent with the USCG for that proposed new facility and for the existing facility, as the only way to effect that option in a fiscally sustainable manner for the City,” reads Endersby’s staff report.
The Council agreed, but was hesitant to OK spending money designing a new office, until they at least have an agreement with the Coast Guard. Councilman John Headding said he was not comfortable spending money “on an undefined project,” and spending money that was not budgeted.
City Manager David Buckingham said they would have to return to the Council with a spending request out of the “Harbor Accumulation Fund” the reserve fund for the Harbor Department, because it was not budgeted for.
Public Works Director Rob Livick estimated it would take at least 6 weeks for them to put out a request for proposals and be ready to award a design contract with an architectural firm.
The Council was given five recommended items for approval — 1) move ahead with the new harbor office at the new site, along with a new restroom/showers and give up the current office property for the USCG’s expansion; 2) hire an architect and authorize spending $100,000 to start the design work; 3) start working on a conceptual and a precise plan and permitting; 4) go looking for loans and grants to help pay for it; and, 5) negotiate an MOU with the Coast Guard.
The Council approved the first, fourth and fifth but didn’t want to start work on a project, hire an architect or spend money until there was an approved MOU.
Endersby told The Bay News that their office has long been deemed inadequate but it was important for the department to have a view of the harbor entrance, for public safety reasons, limiting options for building a new one.
And while the current single story office has an unobstructed view, moving to the new spot would be blocked by Dockside Too restaurant. So they’d need a 2-story building to maintain that view of the entrance.
“What we’re looking at is a harbor office on the second floor and a new restroom on the ground floor,” Endersby said. “This kills several birds with one project. The Coast Guard can get what it needs and we [harbor department] get what we need.”
The little, house-like Harbor Office is less than 1,000 square feet and the public restroom is more than 30-years old, and “it’s not properly sized either.”
Another snag is that the Coast Guard might not have enough funding. It has just $1.4 million appropriated for the expansion and the City is expecting to get about $300,000 of that for moving and replacing its office. The station mainly needs dormitory space, as there is not enough room to board the crew, forcing them to live in town.
The key appears to come down to rent the Coast Guard would pay, which the City expects to be the source of money to repay any loans taken out. They’ve got to be able to do better than the current lease.
“We’ll try to get something more than $1 a year,” said Endersby. The Coast Guard was given that deal more than 20-years ago — plus 10 dedicated parking spaces — when the current building was built, and it was good for 40 years, so it still has many years left on it. The City would need to get something close to market rates to make it work for them.
The clock is ticking on the Coast Guard too, as Endersby explained they have until October 2019 to spend or encumber the $1.4 million or they lose it.
Ideally, he said, they’d like to be able to put all their activities in one spot — including a maintenance shop, storage yard, a dorm and offices — totaling about 12,000 s.f. “So even with this expansion, they’re still quite undersized,” Endersby said.
Currently, the station has a maintenance shop on the north arm of the T-pier and rents storage space from the City out by Morro Creek. It also has its two motor lifeboats tied up at the T-pier.
Endersby said a few years ago, he and the Coast Guard representative approached Houston-based Dynegy Inc., about obtaining the power plant intake building, but Dynegy wasn’t interested, having put the entire plant property up for sale at the time.
But the corporation took it off the market, when it didn’t receive any good offers. Dynegy has been trying to divest itself of all its California properties and Endersby said Dynegy might have the property sold by the end of the summer.
