City negligent on heeding Wharf repair directive

When part of the Wharf collapsed, I realized that the city would use this to push their three-glass-building renovation extravaganza again. Except for the loss of life and injuries, the sinking of the Wharf must have seemed like a great stroke of luck.

Thank you, Gillian Greensite, for the clear and accurate account of the Wharf 10 years ago, a situation that the city would rather forget. Don’t Morph the Wharf went to court to counter a soul-crushing plan for the Wharf and won because the Wharf was sound and undamaged by the tsunami. What I didn’t know is that the city was then told to fix or replace the few damaged pilings and that it ignored the directive for a decade.

The misappropriation of funds by the city is baffling and verges on corruption. And now someone has died. When will this machine of greed that infinitely recycles itself with complicit City Council members be forced to account for its actions?

— Erica Aitken, Santa Cruz

SC leaders deflecting responsibility for Wharf

Shame on the Santa Cruz City government for deflecting any responsibility for the recent partial collapse of our 110-year old iconic Wharf. This looks like Mayor Keeley’s strategy to cast blame all around on the Coastal Commission, the EIR process and Don’t Morph the Wharf activists.

The city claimed after the 2014 tsunami that the Wharf sustained severe damage. No major repairs were done with those Federal dollars, merely a gentrification Wharf Master Plan and an engineering report. Come clean city, it’s time rebuild trust. The city should simply state: “Damage to our historic Wharf, built to honor and assist the Italian fishing families, was a tragedy. We want to learn what happened and why. We will hire a neutral third-party to perform a complete investigation. We plan to rebuild our historic Wharf to its former grandeur for visitors and residents alike to enjoy and appreciate.”

If the city could find tens of millions to rebuild our iconic West Cliff they can certainly find millions to enhance, cleanup and fully restore our beloved Wharf.

— Ron Pomerantz, Santa Cruz

Don’t Morph the Wharf obstructed improvements

The Jan. 2 Guest Commentary by Gillian Greensite about the Wharf claims that people have “scapegoated” Don’t Morph the Wharf in recent reports regarding wharf storm damage and subsequent collapse.

Ms. Greensite (who possesses no engineering credentials) claims to represent the opinions of the residents of Santa Cruz in her years-long opposition and lawsuit against the city over the Wharf Master Plan. However, she does not represent the many people who voiced approval and eagerly awaited the Wharf Master Plan’s renovation of the wharf.

I know I am not alone in being incredibly tired of the few loud voices who continually attempt to monopolize the conversation and obstruct plans for any public improvements in Santa Cruz. It does not surprise me that DMTW takes no responsibility for the delay their lawsuit caused and its subsequent impacts on the Wharf, its businesses and employees, but it’s long past time for Greensite and her allies to admit their own mistakes, and to acknowledge that other opinions about the wharf exist, many of which do not agree with theirs.

— Steve McCarty, Santa Cruz

Wharf contractor should have heeded warning

Don’t Morph the Wharf’s lawsuit did not contribute to the collapse of the Wharf. At the time of construction, there was a full moon and king tides. The seas were very angry! Any contractor working on the Wharf should have been prepared.

The Navy web site, WRXMAP, tracks and predicts wave direction and heights for every ocean, at six-hour intervals for the coming week. If the contractor allowed for these two conditions and consulted WRXMAP, he (she) would have had adequate warning to cease work and prepare the structure.

Add in that typically, governments take the lowest bid. As a contractor, with experience of following “low-bid contractors,” my observation is that they were proceeding in the interest of making up for the low bid. Just another job.

Workers fell into the ocean; that should lead to independent investigations by Fed OSHA and Cal OSHA. Expect the results to be groomed for the public if the city releases the results. It is up to us to demand the truth and not accept the city bias.

— Lee Brokaw, Santa Cruz