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Drainage Project Drowning Downtown Businesses

Jessica Bair/SUNCOAST

A WORKER for Steve’s Excavating and Paving uses a Caterpillar mini-excavator to dig up dirt from a hole at Florida Avenue and Adams Street in New Port Richey. The city’s drainage improvement project has been stalled at this location for six months by “conflicts in the ground” and other engineering problems, according to a city official. Downtown business owners say the continuing work is negatively affecting their bottom lines.

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By Jessica  Bair | The Suncoast News

Published: October 10, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - Peter Girouard has a front-row seat of the construction that has brought business in the city's commercial core "down to a trickle."

He doesn't like what he sees.

In fact, says Girouard, who operates a Main Street barbershop, the project is an engineering and construction nightmare.

For the past six months, Steve's Excavating and Paving of Clearwater has been trying to finish the city's drainage improvement project. During that time, however, the work has been bogged down at the intersection of Florida Avenue and Adams Street.

According to Robert Rivera, the city's construction services manager, while installing new pipes there, workers have discovered "conflicts in the ground." These obstacles to a timely wrap-up of the project include old utility lines and a high water table, he said.

"The water table has been giving us a fit," Rivera said Friday in discussing the delays. "We have two pumps working to keep the water down."

Last Tuesday, several business owners voiced concerns to City Council about the project setbacks.

"My main complaint is the disorganization of this whole thing," Girouard says of the drainage-improvement project, which began at Central Avenue and Adams Street and soon will move south across Main Street.

Although the city says it has been in contact with the affected businesses, Girouard says it's been one excuse after another.

"No one has reached out to me," Girouard explained. "It's disrupted my small business greatly and its only going to get worse on Main Street."

The $2 million "Missouri Avenue drainage project" that is set to alleviate flooding and storm-water problems for the downtown area has also hard hit Maria Restrepo, owner of Christina's Restaurant.

"I realize it's slow season and the economy is not good," Restrepo says, "But we are making every effort to keep our business afloat."

Restrepo says the restaurant has seen a 40 percent decrease in business from this time last year and has cut back on workers' hours due to the loss. She has also taken out a loan to handle this tough time.

"I know this is progress for the city, but its affecting our personal lives," she explained while sitting in a booth where the large pipes could be seen just feet from the window.

One frequent customer, Jackie Owen, 73, says the closure of streets causing a loss of parking places, has detoured senior patrons.

"You take your life into your hands crossing this street," she says pointing to Main Street.

Another concern for the contractor has been a CDS unit, a large piece of equipment that filters solid materials from the water before it reaches Orange Lake. After design problems delayed its arrival, workers have had problems installing the device, says Rivera.

"People think we should've been out of town already, but it takes time to lay such a massive structure," says Rivera, who notes there are two crews breaking rocks in the unit's path.

The piece should be installed by Friday, he says and then the crews can start picking up the pace.

The entire project was to be completed by October. Now, however, the completion date has been extended until January.

Rivera said workers will start working weekends and evenings but are required to clean up and temporarily repave the closed intersections before moving across Main Street.

Tuesday night, council asked staff members to meet with business owners and asked City Manager Scott Miller to investigate whether Steve's Excavating should be held liable for the setbacks.

Councilman Rob Marlowe stopped by the barbershop Friday to view the actual progress for himself and gave barbershop owner Girouard an update on the project.

"I sympathize with you guys," Marlowe said while standing inside the shop's storefront. A large Caterpillar bulldozer pulled muck from the ground several feet from the door after a rain shower passed.

"Hang in there," he said staring at the closed-off street. "Hopefully, we can get this going."

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