Captain’s Column

In my few months on board, I’ve had the opportunity to tour all of our facilities and have received feedback from our tenants. One of the issues frequently brought up is the desire to reopen the long fishing pier by the RV park. Since this is an important topic for many, I’d like to take this opportunity to provide you with the background, current status, and way ahead for this much loved pier.

In 2016, an engineering study of the pier noted several deficiencies but noted that overall, the pier was safe for people to access. Therefore, in 2017, our Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) Department proceeded with a project to make improvements and small repairs to allow access for fishing. During this project, we discovered a number of cracks in the structure, some as wide as one inch, along the pier’s centerline, as well as some structural defects under the pier. These were new issues not previously identified in the 2016 study.

At this point, our facilities engineers recognized that the 2016 findings of ‘safe for use’ were no longer valid, so we called a halt to the MWR project. Since that time, Hurricane Harvey hit, potentially causing further damage and increasing the need for a new comprehensive study to assess the structure.

The bad news for the required study is that it would cost approximately $200 - $300K, money that if spent, would cause us to defer much needed repairs on more mission-critical infrastructure. The good news is that our parent command, Commander, Navy Installations Command, already funds such studies on a recurring basis, and so our pier will be assessed in 2022. Based on competing infrastructure needs, we will wait for that CNIC-funded study in 2022 rather than defund other maintenance to complete it sooner.

Of course the studies are only part of the process, the real concern is that actual pier repairs are likely to approach a roughly estimated $10 million (we won’t have an accurate estimate until the study is complete). It will be challenging for the pier to compete against other requirements given the large price tag, but we will certainly include it in our process in recognition of the recreational value it provides.

As you can see from this discussion, we are very deliberate in planning for our infrastructure needs in a resource-constrained environment. We do not take any decisions lightly, especially those that impact the mission and those that impact the quality of life of our tenants and residents. Thank you for raising this issue: we will strive to keep everyone updated on this and any other important topics across the base.