DATE: Friday, October 24, 1997              TAG: 9710240746

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MIKE ABRAMS 

        STAFF WRITER  

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   93 lines

BULKHEADS DON'T PROTECT RESIDENTS FROM EDICT

Come dawn Monday in Sandbridge, a local contractor will begin removing seven rusty and mangled bulkheads.

Waterfront Marine Construction, the contractor hired by the city to remove the oceanfront barriers, is the same outfit that built the structures almost 10 years ago.

The company's bid of $72,300 to do the work was the lowest by about $14,000, and its knowledge of the bulkheads arguably was the best among the bidders.

A few Sandbridge homeowners, however, say the city deal feels like a slap in the face.

The residents have fought Waterfront Marine for several years in and out of court, arguing that they paid tens of thousands of dollars for bulkheads that weren't built properly. They say the 1991 storm that damaged some of the bulkheads, and subsequent storms that worsened the situation, revealed poor design and construction.

They do agree the structures ought to be repaired or replaced - but on their terms, at their price. Meanwhile, their legal dispute remains unsettled.

That is the paradox confronting this isolated coastal community, where the homes sit on narrow stilts above a relentless, churning sea.

Bulkheads, which are as tall as two stories, are the last line of defense for more than two-thirds of the community's several hundred oceanfront homeowners. Even at low tide, there is little or no beach left in front of many bulkheads.

Under the city deal, the residents will be billed for the work.

``It was a very reasonable bid. It was less than our cost estimate,'' said Phillip Roehrs, the city's coastal engineer. ``Waterfront Marine is a reputable contractor. They do the work on time. They do quality work. We have no legitimate reason to discount them.''

The city's efforts to ease tensions in Sandbridge this fall will play a key role in whether the community gets the beach-widening project many people - including the bulkhead holdouts - agree it so desperately needs.

The planned $8.1 million sand replenishment effort is on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' 1998 schedule. The work won't be done, however, if the hazardous bulkheads remain.

Storms earlier this decade toppled 44 bulkheads. All but seven have been repaired.

``Sooner or later,'' Roehrs said, ``somebody's going to get hurt. It's obviously, in our eyes, a public hazard. It needs to be fixed.''

Until the demolition work begins Monday morning, residents can call the city and offer to have the work done on their own terms, he said.

Otherwise, Waterfront Marine will do the work.

Waterfront President Randy Sutton said he's doing everything he can to work with the homeowners.

His bid amounted to less than half of the city's estimate for the project. He also has agreed to give the property owners any undamaged sheet metal - a gesture he said could amount to $15,000 worth of metal per property.

More important, Sutton said, his crew has been instructed to avoid a potential fight between certain property owners and the city. The workers will follow the city's lead.

``We'll go when and where they tell us to,'' Sutton said. ``We won't get involved in the controversy.''

At least one resident, Helen McDonald, has threatened to call local or state police to defend her property in the 2400 block of Sandfiddler Road. She also has issued vague threats, suggesting she'll do whatever it takes to defend her property.

The nurse-turned-real estate agent said she paid about $38,000 for the bulkhead.

``If they take it,'' she said, ``it's stealing.''

Randy Zehmer, a Sandbridge builder, constructed a modern oceanfront house on a property holding one of the failed bulkheads.

He said he spent about $25,000 to fix the bulkhead after the city sent him a letter telling him to remove or repair it. But the city never approved the repairs.

Zehmer, like McDonald, said Waterfront Marine shouldn't be allowed to remove the structures.

``My bulkhead does work,'' Zehmer said as he pointed to the water rolling off of it Monday. ``I am saying it is secured and meets the city standards for bulkheads.''

Roehrs, the coastal engineer, said the city doesn't plan to approve Zehmer's repairs. He said residents have two choices: Let Waterfront Marine remove the barriers or pay to have the bulkheads fixed.

``I'm sorry a few people find this outrageous,'' he said.

ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]

DAVID B. HOLLINGSWORTH/The Virginian-Pilot

Virginia Beach wants seven bulk-heads near the 2400 block of

Sandfiddler Road to come down. Residents say they need them.

Randy Zehmer

VP MAP KEYWORDS: BULKHEAD SANDBRIDGE

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