Council approves $673,720 supplemental contract for Easton Beach resiliency work

The Newport City Council approved a supplemental contract amendment with DBVW Architects for up to $673,720 to advance Phase 2 of the Easton Beach resiliency plan, which the administration described as a next-step package that includes beach nourishment planning and detailed assessments of the bathhouses and rotunda.

Manager Riccio told councilors the amendment splits work between nourishment design (roughly $455,000 of the amendment) and a suite of structural and engineering assessments for bathhouses, restrooms, mechanical and electrical systems, and planning for future uses of the rotunda's ground floor now vacated by the aquarium. Riccio said part of the scope includes safely removing certain structures (the snack-bar structure and carousel) and providing designs to support long-term restoration.

Why it matters: Councilor Garland pressed the administration on why the city was paying the same firm again, noting multiple contracts going back to 2018 and asking whether this work duplicates prior studies. Manager Riccio responded that the earlier contracts produced higher-level findings and that the new amendment funds "the nitty-gritty look" needed to convert findings into durable designs and long-term solutions for the beach and related facilities.

The motion to approve the supplemental agreement passed on voice vote with no recorded opposition in the transcript. The item advances planning work tied to a separately proposed bond for larger capital work and restoration discussed elsewhere in the meeting.