Washington’s dockmaster’s office is getting an ancillary structure — a new storage shed.

The City Council, during its Sept. 12 meeting, gave the green light to the project. The city budgeted $20,000 for the project. Jeff Woolard Builders submitted the low bid of $16,100 to build the 12-foot-by-26-foot shed in the Maritime Quarter of the Stewart Parkway waterfront.

Councilman Doug Mercer called the shed a “very expensive building” and indicated he believes the city could have paid less for a similar, suitable structure. City Manager Bobby Roberson conceded the approved shed is expensive.

In August, the Washington Historic Preservation Commission approved a certificate of appropriateness for the city to build the shed next to the dockmaster’s office, which replicates the former Pamlico Point Light. The shed would be used to store the golf cart used by the city’s dock attendants, kayaks, canoes and other equipment, according to John Rodman, the city’s director of community and cultural resources, and Roberson. The shed’s appearance would blend with the dockmaster’s office, according to city officials. The shed will use gray siding and a red hip roof that matches the lighthouse in style and color, according to Rodman.

The new shed is part of the city’s ongoing project to improve the downtown waterfront promenade. For this fiscal year, the city budgeted $30,000 to clean and paint the promenade’s railings, benches, trash receptacles and posts.

The city’s Waterfront Docks Advisory Committee recommended the shed be built. The state’s Division of Water Resources and Division of Coastal Management approved the site for the structure.

The site plan shows picnic areas near the shed site.

In other business, the council awarded a $77,753.80 contract to Dudley Landscaping & Tree Service for drainage improvements in the city. Roanoke Electric Corp. and Bridgeview Contractors Inc. each submitted bids more than $100,000. The project includes regarding stream banks, herbaceous wetland seeding and erosion control matting. The project area includes an area from Harvey Street to East Eighth Street, an area from East Eighth Street to East Ninth Street and the Willow Street area.