By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
A grant application to pay for land acquisition and design of a new seaplane base on the north end of Japonski Island is on the agenda for Assembly action at tonight’s regular meeting.
The meeting starts at 6 p.m. at Harrigan Centennial Hall.
With the grant resolution, the city is hoping to qualify for grants totaling $4 million under an FAA grant program that requires no local match.
The proposed seaplane base has been in the works for decades, and would replace the seaplane float on the town side of Sitka Channel.
“The current base is totally failing,” said Assembly member Kevin Knox, liaison to the Port and Harbors Commission. “And it’s inadequate for the number of aircraft trying to use it now, let alone the aircraft in the future.”
A map shows the location of a proposed seaplane dock at the end of Seward Avenue on Japonski Island. (Graphic provided)
Consultants reviewed seven possible sites before recommending the north end of Japonski Island, in the Sitka Channel, as the best location for a new facility.
The land acquisition grant for $828,248 to purchase land from the Alaska Department of Education, and the $3.2 million design grant request for the design, are in the current FAA federal fiscal year 2021 funding plan.
“Typically, the local match for an FAA Airport Improvement Grant is 6.25 percent; however, during the Federal FY’21 funding cycle, which ends with the Federal Fiscal year, on September 30, 2021, the local match is 0 percent,” City Public Works Director Michael Harmon said in a memo to the Assembly.
The “be it resolved” section of the resolution would authorize the administrator to execute the required documents for the AIP grants and land acquisition for the float plane dock.
A layout for the new seaplane base shows a float with 14 permanent float plane stalls and four transient stalls. The plan also shows a dock, breakwaters, and a ramp. Uplands development includes a parking lot and some haulout space for float planes. The chosen location is at the end of Seward Avenue, between the houses and the Coast Guard Air Station.
Harmon said in his memo that the typical 6.25 percent local match for a grant would be $252,269 for the combined $4,036,314 in grants the city is seeking. But Knox said he and other Assembly members are hoping the city qualifies for the zero percent match. “It gives us the ability to put this facility in without much from the taxpayer base, with a great deal of benefit,” he said.
Knox, a licensed pilot and member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, was on the Port and Harbors Commission when replacement or repairs of the Katlian seaplane float came up.
He said the lack of a proper seaplane terminal is causing Sitka to miss out on key opportunities for economic development. Small planes currently are routing through Juneau, when they formerly used Sitka’s facility. Other benefits of an upgraded facility include more flightseeing operations and better access to Southeast villages, he said.
“We benefit from bringing people here,” Knox said, citing the sales and bed tax revenue from the additional business the improvements would allow.
One of the “whereas” sections of the resolution said the FAA issued a Finding of No Significant Impact from the Seaplane Base environmental assessment.
Rebecca Himschoot said she is leaning toward approving the grant application authorization but wants to hear from fellow Assembly members and the public on the issue.
“It seems to me we’ve been working on this for a long time, we don’t have a seaplane base that’s really operational,” Himschoot said. She’s received correspondence saying this project is “30 years overdue,” she said.
“And I tend to agree with them,” she said.
Valorie Nelson said she has questions about the project, including operational costs and upkeep.
“Who’s going to pay for that?” she said. She also wonders whether the facility would create conflicts with neighbors.
Another resolution on tonight’s Assembly agenda concerns mining development in Canada that affects Alaska coastal waters.
Sponsored by Knox and Himschoot, the resolution calls on the U.S. and Canadian governments to place a permanent ban on tailings dams, and for a temporary halt to the permitting, exploration, development and expansion of Canadian mines along shared Alaska-B.C. salmon rivers until a permanent international agreement is reached on watershed protection.
The Assembly agenda and supporting materials are available at cityofsitka.com. To access, go to the right side of the webpage page, under “Assembly Agenda and Minutes.” Remote attendance is available on the same site.
