HUNTINGTON BEACH : Council Rejects Low Bid; Keeps Architect

Rejecting a lower bid by another architect, the City Council has voted to retain Newport Beach architect Ron Yeo for design of proposed buildings on the new municipal pier.

The council split 5 to 2 on the decision in a vote last week. Councilmen Don MacAllister and Earle Robitaille voted against continuing with Yeo. MacAllister asked the city staff to explain why it favored Yeo rather than the low bidding architectural firm.

Public Works Director Louis Sandoval responded that Yeo had done all the other design work for the new pier and so best knew the project. Sandoval said city staff members estimated they would have to spend at least 60 hours working with a new architect to bring him or her up to date on the project--thus adding to the actual expense of the low bid.

The city received three bids: The Bluerock Partnership of Newport Beach bid $35,700, Yeo $40,000 and Jacobson Architects of Los Alamitos $64,400.

The contract calls for an architect to prepare construction drawings for a new lifeguard tower and public restroom buildings for the new pier.

MacAllister, in a brief talk before the council vote, was critical of Yeo. He said the city had already “spent a lot of money” on Yeo’s previous pier-design contracts. The councilman questioned why construction drawings should cost an additional $40,000.