Lighthouse in Suisun slated for July opening

From the Daily Republic // December 6, 2005

Council set to award building contract worth $623,000

By Ian Thompson

SUISUN CITY -- Suisun City's 52-foot-tall lighthouse should be up and running as soon as next summer, according to the project's manager, Chief Building Inspector Dan Kasperson.

"We hope to have an operating lighthouse by the Fourth of July celebration," Kasperson said.

The Suisun City Council is expected to award Blackshear Construction of Benicia a $623,000 contract tonight to build the structure city leaders are pedicting will be the symbol of a rejuvenated Suisun City waterfront.

Blackshear was one of five builders who responded to a bid put out early in the fall to put up the structure that was designed by the ROMA Design Group of San Francisco.

"That is a good amount, considering it is a relatively small project," Kasperson said of the number of bidders. "There was interest because it was so unique."

The lighthouse was the product of a series of community forums in 2004. Residents and councilmembers figured it woud be a unique and distinctive symbol visible from Highway 12.

It was designed to be a steel structure with alternating bands of black and white granite panels, simulating the paint scheme of coastal lighthouses and topped with a rotating beacon.

The city lit up the beacon on the waterfront in a public ceremony on Oct. 1 after perching it atop a crane raised to approximately the height of what the lighthouse would be.

Suisun City's Redevelopment Agency is putting forward $530,000 to get the construction work started and city staff is recommending putting up another $200,000 to meet the contract price and any cost overruns.

"All of the costs are going to be reimbursed by fees generated from a surcharge on property sold by the Redevelopment Agency," Kasperson said. "The intent is that there will be no impact on city money."

The Suisun City Council, sitting as the Redevelopment Agency governing board, meets at 7 p.m. tonight.