Legal battle brewing

Danette Goulet

A legal battle is brewing between the state and Weeger Bros Inc.

over the numerous and lengthy delays in the renovation of Bolsa Chica

State Beach.

Two of the restrooms and shower facilities at the RV camping area

finally opened to the public this week some

five months after they were scheduled for completion. The rest of

the bathrooms and showers are also ready to go, said Mark Weeger who

runs the construction company with his brother, Greg, but the state

has failed to take possession and open them.

State parks superintendent Don Ito said the delay is because the

contract specifically states that the state should not take

possession until the project is complete.

“A lot of our decisions are based on legal responsibility,” Ito

said. “[State legal counsel] were telling us we need to stay within

the conditions of contract.”

All that remains to be finished, Weeger said, is the lifeguard

headquarters, which should be complete in early September.

The two-phase project was originally scheduled to be completed in

November of 2001. That date, however, was pushed back until March 19,

2002 due to major delays. March 19 came and went and still the work

continued.

While the builders and the State Department of Parks and

Recreation are still working together to complete the project, the

two entities do not agree who is to blame for the delays.

“March 19 was the completion date but there is dispute as to how

may days the state delayed Weeger Bros, but I don’t think its four

months worth,” Ito said.

The contractors and the state differ on several other aspects of

the work and the contract.

“Payment has been a real issue too,” Weeger said. “It has nothing

to do with the work we just got paid for April. They were

$1.5-million behind at one point.”

As the financial legal battle approaches, both the contractor and

the state have expressed a desire to get the facilities open to the

public as soon as possible.

Ito hopes to get the restrooms opened to the public in the next

two weeks, he said.