The fishing boat New Sunrise waits for low tide this afternoon on the city grid off Katlian Street. Without a public haulout in town, boat owners are either working on the grid during low tides or traveling out of town to Hoonah or other Woutheast towns. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
The Assembly authorized submission of three grant applications Tuesday night, seeking funds to build a boat haulout and to make repairs to a seawall on Katlian Street.
In other business at the regular meeting, the Assembly approved two ordinances appropriating funds for the city’s FY 2023 budgets for the general fund and capital improvements, the internal service funds, special revenue funds and enterprise funds. The ordinances will be up for final reading May 24.
Haulout and Seawall
All three resolutions authorizing the grant requests were approved by unanimous votes. They were:
– two grant applications for $870,000 from the Denali Commission with local match of $99,480 for a concept design and “all components needed to complete the environmental assessment” for a planned haulout at the Gary Paxton Industrial Park. One of the applications is through Denali’s Infrastructure Program Area and the other is through the commission’s Transportation program.
– one grant application for $7,842,488 from the U.S. Department of Transportation, with a local match of $1.96 million, to repair the Katlian Street seawall and crane at the Marine Services Center.
The Denali Commission is described on its website as “an independent federal agency designed to provide critical utilities, infrastructure, and economic support throughout Alaska.”
Sitka has had no public boatyard and haulout since the privately owned Halibut Point Marine facility closed this spring so the owners could use the property for purposes related to their deep water dock business, the Sitka Sound Cruise Terminal.
The city is making its third attempt for grant from the federal RAISE program for the haulout and seawall projects.
City Administrator John Leach stressed the importance of getting projects to the point that they are “closer to shovel-ready” and not just “shovel worthy.”
“When it comes down to the tie-breaker on who’s going to receive grant funding they’re going to go with the one that’s more shovel-ready and closer to final design,” Leach said, relaying information from DOT officials, from the lobbying trip to Washington, D.C. The target given was to get to 65 percent design.
“They do want municipalities ... to assume some of that risk themselves, and put some skin in the game,” he said. “This is us looking for yet another opportunity to help us move this along. Even if RAISE grant doesn’t happen we’re one step closer to getting this shipyard and haulout to come to fruition.”
Garry White, GPIP director, said the last time there was a conceptual design and cost estimate for a travelift and pier was in 2014; the last time the city had an analysis on costs for a ramp and amphibious lift was 2019.
“When we were trying to build cost estimates for the RAISE grant (the last two years) we were doing CPI adjustments going forward,” White said. “We really didn’t think CPI adjustments were sufficient, based off of what we’re seeing with the economy and inflation right now.” The city lobbyist also suggested updated figures in going after the RAISE grant.
White said the city has tried a few Request for Proposal processes for the haulout but none of the projects have worked out so far. A proposal from a newly formed LLC, the Sitka Community Boatyard, did not come to fruition due to capital challenges and cost increases.
White thanked all who have tried to make the project happen, putting in their own time and money toward the goal.
“We’re all working toward the same development goals of getting a nice haulout in town,” he said. The grant would provide the funds needed for updated plans and cost estimates and “some engineering,” all which is required for the next step, the environmental assessment.
The Boatyard LLC representatives stressed the importance of getting a haulout built soon, because boat owners are having to go to Hoonah and Wrangell for repairs.
White said today that he and city officials are looking into issuing another request for proposals for the haulout, which still needs GPIP board review and Assembly approval.
Representatives of the Boatyard company outlined their efforts so far which have resulted in a 35 percent design for a haulout.
“Before we responded to the RFP we had sufficient funds to build a boatyard at GPIP but then costs increased, almost doubled, on us and we weren’t able to raise that delta,” said fisherman Linda Behnken, “We have been working towards an interim solution, recognizing the community – the fishing community in particular – is really in a crisis right now without all our boatyard and all the money leaving town,”
The boatyard group has laid out short-term and long-term solutions that included loans and grants, including $100,000 from the Denali Commission for pre-engineering and design, and permitting process.
“We’ve got the 35 percent pre-design pretty much complete for the piers and haulout, and put that on hold when we relinquished our lease and started working toward a different solution,” Behnken said. “That said, we’re supportive of the city moving forward with this.”
While she and others in the group recognize cost estimates need to be updated, they question the line item “that seems to duplicate the work that we’ve already done and the funding we already have from the same commission.”
“Our understanding is, from talking to them, that it would strengthen the proposal if it was clear there was some coordination going on here in the community to move this whole project ahead,” Behnken said. “But overall we support both the DOT funding request as well as the request to the Denali commission.”
Jeremy Serka, one of the other partners in the SCB project, said the city should be able to use some of the work already completed from the private company.
“If there’s any way we can work together with the city ...” he said. “The key is that we do not create something that can be lost ... You’re just now going to see the repercussions of not having a haulout.”
The haulout and seawall are on the list of legislative priorities for the city’s “working waterfront.”
The grant application for the seawall is through the port infrastructure development program. The application estimates the cost at $9.8 million, with a requirement that the city put in 20 percent ($1.96 million).
General Fund, Other Funds
The budget for the various funds passed without much discussion but Assembly members noted the considerable work that went into a successful budget process.
Leach commented on the financial uncertainty that has defined the last two years in the city, and “the associated budgets were constructed with caution in mind.”
The administration noted the impacts of the pandemic and the federal help through the American Rescue Plan act.
“Despite significant impact to sales tax revenue in July – September 2020, we saw overall FY21 sales tax receipts nearly rebound to 2019 levels with revenue exceeding our budget estimates by $377,000,” Leach said in the letter accompanying the budgets. “Currently, FY22 sales tax revenue for the first half of the year is exceeding budget by $1.8 million and is on track to exceed pre-pandemic revenue levels.”
The letter notes that recent revenues are cause for optimism, but the city is approaching next year’s budget with caution due to the “tapering effects of the pandemic inflationary concerns and possible impacts of international events.”
“Sales tax revenue is estimated at a 7% increase from conservative FY22 projections,” the letter says. “There is an estimated $10.9 million increase in overall property valuation, and a 2.2% increase from FY22 levels has been budgeted.”
The letter says that revenue streams are recovering and are on track to exceed prepandemic levels, but the cost of capital projects and government services is continuing to increase because of the historically high rate of inflation.
“Our assumption in the FY23 budget is that inflation will slow as we near the summer of calendar year 2022 (Q1 FY23). Maintaining status quo services will likely cost more due to supply chain challenges, a shortage of available labor, and rising fuel costs,” the administrator’s letter says. “The inflationary effects in the economy will translate to cost-of-living adjustments for non-represented CBS employees and be a factor in the ongoing labor negotiations for CBS union represented employees. Employee turnover could prove to be very costly given the current labor market.”
Consumer rate increases in the budget 4 percdent for electricity; 5 percent for water; 8 percent for wastewater; 7.5 percent for solid waste, and 8.3 for moorage.
The administrator’s letter includes plans for capital improvements totaling $4.2 million, including paving of Lincoln Street.
Other Business
Also at the meeting the Sitka Tree and Landscape Committee provided a report on the group’s history and projects. Shortly later, Elias Erickson was appointed to a three-year term on the committee.
Under reports, Leach told the Assembly that Environmental Superintendent Shilo Williams had been awarded System Manager of the Year by the Alaska Water Wastewater Management Association, and was selected to serve a term on the American Water Works Association’s Water Utility Council.
In other business, the Assembly approved a resolution for the 50-50 matching fund application for the U.S. Justice Department bulletproof vest partnership, to purchase bulletproof vests for the police department.
Other details of the Assembly meeting were reported in Wednesday’s Sentinel.
