Morgan City dock will get makeover

Construction is set to begin within a couple months on a roughly $1.7 million project to replace and extend Morgan City’s riverfront dock, which been in disrepair for years, city leaders say.
On Tuesday, the council accepted the low bid of $1.683 million from Larry Doiron Inc. to replace and extend the city’s dock. The dock is currently about 800 feet long, and the project would extend the dock by 220 feet, Grizzaffi said.
The dock will go along the Morgan City side of Berwick Bay from the U.S. 90 bridge and continue south to near the intersection of Front Street and Railroad Avenue, he said.
Eventually, city officials want to add more “aesthetics” to the city’s wharf project, but the contract approved Tuesday is just to replace the dock, the mayor said.
Notice to proceed with the project will be June 1. As of that date, the contractor will have up to 45 days to begin and then six months to finish the job, Grizzaffi said.
About seven years ago, the city received a state grant to build an icehouse on the riverfront. However, in the first few years, nothing was getting accomplished on that project, Mayor Frank “Boo” Grizzaffi said.
In 2013, when Grizzaffi became mayor, city officials convinced the state that an icehouse would not be useful on the river because the city’s dock was “in pitiful shape,” Grizzaffi said. State officials agreed to let the city use the $1.3 million in grant money to repair and replace the dock, he said.
The Port of Morgan City also provided $290,000 to do the project. City officials could use road royalty sales tax funds to help do the wharf project, Grizzaffi said.
“That’s only there as a protection base. We sure would like to build this project without using that road royalty money,” Grizzaffi said.
Port of Morgan City Special Projects Coordinator Mike Knobloch volunteered to help communications with the state, Grizzaffi said. Former City Councilman Luke Manfre has been part of the wharf project since its inception, Grizzaffi said.
“We’ve got a riverfront wharf that is not eye-appealing. It has been home of many lawsuits, and it’s something that can be a gateway to our city,” Grizzaffi said.
The mayor believes replacing the wharf and making it something the city can be proud of will be a good investment for the city, he said.
Engineer Brian Shaw of Moffat & Nichol, which has provided consulting for the project, said bids for the project opened April 10. Engineers discussed options to increase the value of the wharf without spending too much extra money, Shaw said.
The bid of $1.683 million is flexible and could possibly go up or down, Shaw said. Engineers structured the bid so that they could trim certain items if the bid got too high without compromising the integrity of the project, Shaw said.
Mayor pro-tem Barry Dufrene said the wharf will be an asset to the city in addition to the cabins being constructed at Lake End Parkway. Dufrene wants to make sure city officials are notified of the reasons behind any potential change orders for the project, he said.
Also at Tuesday’s council meeting, the council approved a resolution to commit $18,930 to pay for administrative fees in order to facilitate the grant associated with the wharf project through the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Infrastructure program. Originally, the state had covered those administrative costs, but the state no longer does, Grizzaffi said.
In other business, the council:
—Approved naming Grizzaffi and Morgan City Utilities Director Bill Cefalu to serve as Louisiana Energy and Power Authority director and alternate, respectively, on the LEPA board of directors.
—Approved an agreement with QD Rentals LLC to furnish an ice making machine at Lake End Park.

This story was written by Zachary Fitzgerald of The Daily Review staff. Reach him at zfitzgerald@daily-review.com