City Councilman, OB Town Council, beachgoers caught off guard by project’s surprise delay

Memorial Day weekend has come and gone. And local residents who were expecting to find a rebuilt, permanent Brighton Street restroom facility with warm-water showers by the beginning-of-summer kickoff were instead disappointed. Though city officials had hoped to have the facility at Dog Beach open by the holiday weekend’s summer crush, construction on the “comfort station” is behind schedule, apparently coming as a surprise to District 2 City Councilman Kevin Faulconer, Ocean Beach Town Council (OBTC) members and beachgoers. Instead of spanking-new facilities, residents and visitors were greeted by the worn-out assortment of dirty portable restrooms that lacked toilet paper, hygienic seat covers and running water. The new target date for the facility’s opening is June 29. The construction fiasco was the topic of conversation by the OB Town Council on May 23, a meeting attended by Faulconer’s director of communications, Matt Awbrey. Awbrey told OBTC members that Faulconer was informed of the delay two weeks before the planned finish date, when Faulconer questioned the status of the facility during a meeting of the city’s Capital Improvement Projects Budget Review Committee. Only then, according to Awbrey, did city staffers admit to Faulconer that the project’s contractor, PRAVA Construction, had fallen behind schedule. Faulconer expressed dismay to The Beacon following the Capital Improvement Projects Budget Review Committee meeting. “I couldn’t believe it,” Faulconer said. “Here we’re counting on a smooth finish, thinking everything is up to par and then I hear this outrageous news at a public hearing like it was just a minor glitch. I immediately informed the Town Council after I learned about this dilemma.” Faulconer said that when he learned of the construction delay, he personally requested the project be finished no later than June 29 and that he be given an immediate response as to how the goal will be met. “Going into the fourth summer without proper restroom facilities is highly unacceptable,” Faulconer said. “The Ocean Beach community deserves the same permanent bathroom facilities as other beach communities. I will personally fight for — and with — the community, to see to it this matter is resolved quickly. The whole process has been crazy from the start and it needs to come to an end.” Faulconer’s push to have the Brighton Street comfort station finished by the end of June met with unanimous support from the Ocean Beach Town Council and drew criticism of city staff for the lack of communication with Faulconer’s office and the OBTC. Among the OBTC’s voices of concern was president, Jim Musgrove, who repeatedly questioned city civil engineer Elif Cetin. “Why didn’t we get new facilities by Memorial Day weekend and why were we left in the dark to the last minute?” Musgrove asked. Cetin said the project stalled because of the delivery of necessary materials like shower fixtures that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, along with electrical fixtures and steel fixtures to support the roof.