THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 16, 1994 TAG: 9411160475
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
DATELINE: BUXTON LENGTH: Short : 35 lines
The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse should be much brighter by now. But plans to paint the Outer Banks beacon have been put on hold because of contractual negotiations, Coast Guard officials said Tuesday.
The black-and-white spiral-striped tower needs to be cleaned before it can be repainted. All of the lead-based paint has to be scraped off - and contained. Workers will have to do that by hand.
``The contractor had planned to use water blasting to clean the lighthouse and had hoped to be finished by now. But we were concerned that method wouldn't allow them to contain the lead-based paint chips. Our environmental compliance section said that plan wouldn't work,'' Coast Guard Lt. Commander Robert Desh said from his Cleveland, Ohio, office. ``So now they're going to have to use paint scrapers attached to vacuums. It's a much more labor-intensive process.''
One of the Outer Banks' most recognized icons, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse will be repainted by the American Lighthouse Restoration Company of Florida. Coast Guard project manager Lt. Andy Kimos said work could begin as early as next week. Between four and six people will spend about a month on the project.
Although a final contract price has not yet been negotiated, Kimos said the federal government has budgeted about $70,000 for the lighthouse cleaning and repainting. The tower is owned and managed by the National Park Service. But Coast Guard crews oversee the upkeep of its light and navigational aids - including the exterior markings. by CNB