Crescent City council awards contract for Beachfront Park Tullah Cultural Trail

The Crescent City Council on Monday approved a construction contract with Tidewater Contracts Incorporated to begin site preparation and node work for the Beachfront Park Tullah Cultural Trail and authorized the city manager to sign the agreement and manage limited change orders.

Council members voted unanimously to approve staff-recommended plans dated 07/07/2025, the project specifications for the Beachfront Park Tullah Cultural Trail, and a contract with Tidewater Contracts Incorporated. The council also authorized change orders in an aggregate amount not to exceed $60,000 and single change orders not to exceed $25,000, and reaffirmed the city’s California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) determination that the project is categorically exempt under CEQA Guidelines, including Class 15301(a) (existing facilities) and Class 15303 (new construction).

The contract awarded is the limited, informal-bid package for site grading, concrete approaches and prep work that staff separated from a larger trail contract to meet grant deadline constraints. Staff said the low bid from Tidewater was about $213,000 and that the informal-bid cap was kept below $225,000. The city manager was authorized to execute the contract; the motion did not identify the mover or seconder on the record.

Director Nagy, who presented the project to the council, described the package as a “first step” within a larger cultural-trail effort that began with Proposition 68 funding in 2020. He said the work before the council covers preparation of the trail segments and concrete work around interpretive nodes so other contractors can install interpretive elements, lithicrete pebble surfaces and audio/QR-capable voice boxes.

Nagy said the project includes four funded elements in this phase: a welcome center adjacent to the cultural center parking area, a redwood node (including a 16-foot-tall redwood tree element), a bird-basket node (about 15 feet long and 12 feet tall), and a canoe node with seating. He described the construction sequence: the city will pour concrete base slabs and mounting brackets, then the structure contractors will set and finish the interpretive elements in follow-up visits. He said the lithicrete pebble surfacing will be placed on a six-inch concrete base and that contractors will coordinate bolt locations and returns so finishes fit the poured concrete panels.

Staff told the council the schedule is driven by grant deadlines. Two grants that pay for interpretive nodes and voice boxes from the Coastal Conservancy were extended from Sept. 30 to Nov. 30; staff said the nodes must be installed and powered by that November deadline to use the grant funds. Director Nagy told the council, “we have a check for $500,000 that just came in,” referring to a Mellon Foundation installment the city received; staff said Mellon is contributing funds for structural and lithicrete elements, while the informally bid concrete-and-prep package is funded by the Clean California grant. City staff also said California Arts and Park funding (described in the meeting as providing about $300,000 of a roughly $411,000 portion for structures) and some Prop 68 funds are pieces of the overall financing strategy.

Staff said the larger trail contract will be advertised on Aug. 11 and that the staging of multiple, sequential contracts is intended to let the stone/finish contractors and node fabricators install their work after the concrete bases and gravel prep are in place. Benches and stools for nodes were expected to arrive Aug. 8, staff said, and electrical hookups for three nodes are included in the preparatory work. The goal is to complete the preparatory concrete and grading so final installations can occur before the Nov. 30 Coastal Conservancy grant deadline.

Council members asked about timing, public safety at partially completed nodes, and cash flow. Staff responded that trail closures and signage would be used around active construction areas, that the concrete edges would be brought up to finish when possible, and that the city is tracking multiple grant flows — Clean California for the concrete and prep work, Mellon for structure and finish elements, California Arts and Park for structure funding, Prop 68 for portions of the larger park project and CDBG for a gateway/front-street element — to manage reimbursements and avoid an unplanned cash shortfall.

The council noted there were no members of the public in attendance for this special meeting; staff then moved into a closed session on unrelated legal and labor matters. After the vote on the contract, the council adjourned open session and authorized the closed session to discuss existing litigation and other matters.

Tidewater Contracts Incorporated is expected to begin the preparatory work first so subsequent contractors can complete the interpretive nodes, lithicrete finishes and other trail improvements under separate contracts. The city manager was authorized to execute the contract and to approve change orders within the council-approved limits.