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Maitland city manager: 40% of Lake Avenue boardwalk stringers need replacement; council asked for input
Summary
During the Feb. 10 City of Maitland council meeting the city manager said contractor work on the Lake Avenue boardwalk uncovered that roughly 40% of the supporting stringers are deteriorated. Staff presented three repair options, cost estimates, and said council approval will be needed if the work exceeds the manager’s spending limit.
The City of Maitland's city manager told the City Council on Feb. 10 that contractor work on the Lake Avenue boardwalk, just south of Lake Lily Park, found that roughly 40% of the supporting stringers are in poor condition and must be replaced.
The finding matters because it changes the project's scope and cost and may require City Council approval. The city manager said the contractor has been deconstructing the boardwalk and ‘‘about 40% of the stringers need to be replaced.’’ He presented three options: replace only the bad stringers (an estimated $70,000) but place new deck boards on old stringers, which would void the deck-boards’ warranty; replace all stringers to preserve the warranty (an estimated $173,000); or redesign and narrow the boardwalk from its current 12-foot width to 8 feet, a step that would require engineering redesign and demobilization/remobilization that would delay the project and add costs.
The city manager said the contract decisions and costs ‘‘are likely to be above my spending limit,’’ and he asked council members for direction. He told council that if staff receives direction tonight, the council could approve the chosen option at the next meeting as a consent item after the fact; otherwise, staff would bring it back as a decision item and the contractor would need to demobilize while staff obtains further direction.
Several City Council members urged replacing all the stringers to avoid future reopenings, to preserve the warranty on new deck boards, and to avoid the added costs and delays from stopping and restarting work. The manager noted a funding source: a roughly $400,000 change order credit that returned to the city’s sidewalk fund during the last budget cycle and that the sidewalk fund pays for boardwalk and sidewalk replacements.
No formal vote was recorded on Feb. 10. Staff said the next steps are to confirm which option the council prefers and to place the recommended contract change on the next agenda for council approval if needed.
The city manager also said contractors discovered the deterioration during about a week to two weeks of work and that demobilization/remobilization would be required if the council did not give direction promptly. Council members discussed balancing upfront cost and long-term value and noted the risk of re-opening the project later if only partial repairs were made.
