Officials Hear Doubts About Boatyard Fees

Details

Category: News

Created on Wednesday, 29 January 2025 15:09

Hits: 669

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
    The Assembly gave unanimous approval Tuesday night to issuing an invitation to bid on operation of the marine haulout and boatyard at the Gary Paxton Industrial Park.
    There was only one pre-qualified bidder for the contract, Highmark Maritime Services of Kodiak.
    The vote of approval by the six Assembly members present was preceded by public comments encouraging city officials to look more closely at having the city run the facility, expressing concerns about having a private operator from outside Sitka.

Work continues today on the haulout at the Gary Paxton Industrial Park. On Tuesday the Assembly voted to issue an invitation to bid to Highmark Maritime Services of Kodiak for operation of the marine haulout and boatyard at the park. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

    They argued that city management would be in line with the practice at successful boatyards in other Southeast communities, and probably would make it more affordable to users. They said that a private operator could give themselves a competitive advantage over independent tradespeople who might have to pay a fee to do business in the boatyard.
    Assembly members said they’re interested in following through with seeking a private contractor. The present plan is to review the prices Highmark proposes for hauling boats and operating the washdown pad.
    The city has hired a consultant for an estimated rate schedule for a city-run facility, which should be available for for purposes of comparison before the GPIP board makes a recommendation on the bid award, the Sentinel was told.
    The haulout is scheduled to be completed by March 30, and the city’s goal is to have it in operation by the end of April. The waterfront infrastructure is needed to service the boats that are the essential parts of Sitka’s fishing economy. Sitka’s last publicly available haulout service was run by Halibut Point Marine on Halibut Point Road. The privately owned facility was closed in 2022 when the site was absorbed into supporting facilities for a deep water cruise ship dock.
    The Gary Paxton Industrial Park board has been debating private versus public operation of the haulout since the fall of 2023, and agreed to investigate the feasibility of a private operator. A request for qualifications was issued by the city in July, and city staff determined that Kodiak-based Highmark was the only responder that met the city’s qualifications to operate the haulout.
    The contract that now goes out for bids calls for itemized prices on the services Highmark will offer at the haulout and boatyard.
    “We’re three and a half weeks from seeing through this process, and we can move on from that with the information,” GPIP director Garry White said today. “Once we get the proposed pricing we can pivot if we need to.”
    At the Tuesday meeting Assembly members emphasized that the final decision on whether to award the bid will be in the Assembly’s hands.
   “I think in the best interest of stewardship of our resources it makes sense for us to find out what private industries would charge,” said Deputy Mayor Tim Pike, who presided at the meeting in Mayor Steven Eisenbeisz’s absence. “It makes sense for us to figure out what that looks like. And we put it out for bid. ... This is by no means a finished process.”
    In response to comments and concerns by marine tradesmen, Assembly members said they had no interest in approving a plan that would result in fishermen and tradesmen not using the boatyard, which would make the project a failed investment for the city.
    “We’re doing this for the first time,” Pike said, before the vote. “We’re going to take the time, but let’s make sure we have all the information before we make a decision.”
    White said an outside consultant is conducting the “break-even analysis” that will estimate what a city-run boatyard would cost the city, and the prices that would need to be charged.
    Chris Ystad, the Assembly’s liaison with the GPIP board, answered some of the questions from the public. One was about “vendor fees” which Highmark, as boatyard operator, could charge to independent tradespeople working on boats hauled out at the facility.
    “I’ve made it pretty clear to staff that vendor fees will not be tolerated, not on my watch,” he said. Ystad, a commercial fisherman, said the facility will be an “open shipyard,” which White said means boat owners can work on their own boat, or they can hire whichever tradespeople they see fit.
    “We want fair competition between all of our tradesmen,” Ystad said. “I think in the original process of this year, the public made it very clear we wanted what we had at Halibut Point Marine, and I think that’s the direction we’re going.”
    Among the arguments in favor of looking more closely at a city-run lift and boatyard is that it would keep money in town, the decision is “reversible” and the city could hire a contractor at any time to run the boatyard.
    White said today he’s hoping to receive the bid with pricing by Feb. 13. The GPIP board will discuss it at the Feb. 20 meeting, and make a recommendation to the Assembly, which would then decide whether to award the bid.
    The six Assembly members at the meeting were Ystad, Pike, Kevin Mosher, JJ Carlson, Scott Saline and Thor Christianson.