Fishermen, divers and kayakers should have a new replacement for the Harper Pier near South Colby.

Port of Bremerton officials said the new $1.4-million steel structure could be finished by mid-September. The announcement came May 29 during a meeting with port officials, project engineers and a few residents.

Bids for construction of the replacement pier have been advertised in the newspaper, according to Port of Bremerton CEO Jim Rothlin during a May 29 informational meeting in the Bill Mahan Conference Room at the Bremerton Airport.

Rothlin said work on the replacement pier — located in Yukon Bay near South Colby — could begin July 2 and his goal was for it to be completed by the end of September. The new pier will be smaller and will include a float for kayaks and smaller water crafts.

“I still like to see people use that dock while it’s still fishing season,” Rothlin said.

Mitch Berg, a staff engineer for PND Engineers Inc. of Kirkland, said he expect bids back in two weeks and a pre-bid meeting is set next week.

Rothlin said there is enough time for construction, but timing is important to make sure the contractors can get the materials ordered and delivered on time.

“It going to be highly dependent on whether they can get the piling for supports and if their individual schedules can accommodate this project,” said Berg. “I hope we can have it finished between the middle and end of September.”

Rothlin said the port worked with the Friends of Harper Pier on the design of the new steel pier.

“This time the pier will have a float that was part of the requirement for the grant for kayaks and canoes,” said Rothlin. “I’m not familiar with piers, but the biggest issue was where to put the float.”

Berg said the plan is to attach the pier to the bulkhead.

Heyfelt said the bulkhead was not in good shape.

“There is no foundation on the bulkhead,” said Heyfelt. “To keep the bulkhead attached, two pilings were left to keep the tow from coming out.”

Berg suggested building the pier first and dealing with the bulkhead issue later.

“The way we have it designed, there will be very little weight on the wall,” he noted. “It is going to be a maintenance issue.”

Volunteer cleanup planned

Rothlin said part of the mitigation for the project was volunteer cleanup.

“I have been working with Jim Heyfelt and Molly Rainey of Friends of Harper Pier and we have talked about this and we want to get a volunteer effort to do the clean up” said Rothlin.

He said the mitigation is 500 feet on both side of the pier.

“The goal is to get a certain amount of square footage of clean up,” Rothlin said.

Shawn Mahugh, the port’s design and project engineer, said during the cleanup that no heavy motorized equipment will be allowed on the beach.

“We envision using yard carts to remove concrete and other debris,” he said. “We’ll wheel it up to the bulkhead, dump it into truck and haul it off site.”

Mahugh said some residents wanted to make sure no buoys, anchors or stairs are removed.

Joe Callaghan of Geo Engineers and the port’s environmental consultant, said the intent of mitigation was the remove materials for the pier.

“What the Department of Fish and Wildlife wants form us is remove material in the same area as the float, but that’s not very feasible,” said Callaghan.

Resident Bob Peterson said some of the concrete pieces are 8 inches thick and 3 feet in diameter.

Port Facilities Manager Lamar Wright noted that air-powered equipment is not allowed to be used during the cleanup.

Mahugh suggested the cleanup be scheduled on a Saturday during low tide. Dates for the cleanup will be announced.

“Depending how many people turnout, it could be done by early afternoon,” he said.

Mahugh said roles would be assigned to the volunteers for the work that is need. Volunteers will be needed to collect debris, dumping into trucks, taking photographs of the debris and measuring the pieces.

“We will need to document how much material has been removed,” he added.

Heyfelt said his group would notify area residents about the date of the cleanup.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we got a hundred to show up,” said Heyfelt.

Stokes said the port pledged to help replace the pier, but it is time for the volunteers to participate.

Wright said if enough volunteers show up, they could use a fireman’s line to carry out the debris — one piece at a time.

Rothlin said the port would work with addressing the parking.

“Maybe we can get the county to help us,” he said. “They have an easement that would make it easier to put parking by the pier.”

Port Commissioner Larry Stokes said once the pier is completed, he would pressure the Kitsap County officials for money.

“We did our share and we need the county to step up,” Stokes said.

Removal and disposal of the old pier was completed in March 2013. It included 128 creosote-treated pilings, 7,500 square feet of “overwater structure” (pier decking, stringers, pile caps, cross beams, etc.) and 15 tons of subtidal piling stubs and remnants, and detached pilings on the seafloor, which was removed with the aid of a dive team.