By KLAS STOLPE
Sentinel Staff Writer
Garry White, executive director of the Gary Paxton Industrial Park, said a bid of $20,000.10 has been received on the sale of the old Alaska Pulp Corp. administration building at the park.
Speaking at the Monday afternoon GPIP board meeting, White said the bid by Patrick Barker Jr. was the highest of two received at the March 20 bid opening. The bid will go to the Assembly for approval, he said.
Adjustments to the building lot will be needed to make sure some infrastructure is not sold, and some easements need to be addressed prior to final approval of the sale, White said.
White also reported that some commercial fishermen have been asking about space to store bait sheds and nets.
White said one of the missing links at the industrial park is the ability to transport the nets from the dock to storage.
“Anyone out in the community that wants to get into that type of business, this is an entrepreneurial opportunity for someone to get a boom truck or whatever and work with the fleet,” he said. “The city and borough currently does not have that capability.”
The Gary Paxton Industrial Park administration building. (File)
In another report, White, who is also director of the Sitka Economic Development Association, said SEDA will stop marketing bulk water from Blue Lake until the city comes up with the infrastructure needed to actually deliver the water.
The Blue Lake reservoir supplies the bulk of Sitka’s hydroelectric needs, and all of the community’s drinking water, but has about 9.5 billion gallons to spare. For many years the city has been promoting this water for sale in tanker ship quantities, but to date there have been no actual sales. When some prospective customers began inquiring about water loading facilities, local officials realized that there are none in place.
White said he is still working closely with multiple groups that want to purchase bulk water.
“But I am at a loss at what to tell them,” he said. “We are still trying to solve that problem. One of the groups potentially is willing to put in some capital to fix the project but we don’t even know what the fix is.”
In the meantime, the city will stop advertising bulk water on its website, he said.
In its search for ideas, the board has received a letter from Paul Carson of Currents Consulting Water & Power Services with ideas for adding valves and bulk water delivery piping to the Blue Lake penstock at a cost of $1.58 to $1.86 million.
White also noted he wanted to investigate an older system that has come to his attention, and plans to forward the various ideas to the Assembly.
Assembly liaison Kevin Mosher asked the board to include as much information and as many options as possible in the letter to the Assembly, and note any cooperation they have received from the city.
“It was my understanding that this was going to be a team effort between you folks and city staff,” he said. “I would like to know what cooperation you received.”
GPIP board member Wayne Unger said that was his concern as well.
Chairman Scott Wagner said a more detailed plan will be discussed at the April 30 meeting to bring the Assembly up to speed.
In other business at the meeting, the board also approved an agreement to allow Delta Western to install a 10,000-gallon fuel tank at the park for sales to Silver Bay Seafoods. White said all Coast Guard and Department of Environmental Conservation rules were met, and the facility is grandfathered in as a 24-hour unmanned operation.
The month-to-month agreement allows Delta Western to sell fuel off the dock. By regulation requirements, for that type of dock and tank, Delta can sell only to an exclusive buyer. If it wants to sell to other individual fishing boats it would have to have a removable vehicle, the board was told.
White said GPIP would receive $416.67 per month, and more if oil sales are above a minimum figure.
“We have a minimal amount we will get each month and we get more depending on if they sell more,” White said. “It’s a good deal for the city.”
White said he would work with both Petro Marine and Delta with mobile contracts for meeting fuel needs outside the Silver Bay fleet, under similar contracts meeting Coast Guard and DEC requirements.
In new business, the board revisited issues related to the use of GPIP lots by the city electric department to store shot rock from the 2014 Blue Lake dam project. Last August the park notified the electric department that it wanted the rock removed within six months or be charged market rate for storage.
“The rock is still there on those lots,” White told the board Monday.
Park board member Rob Parrish said he saw no movement out there or any attempt to move rock.
After discussion the board decided to write a letter to the Assembly about their intent to begin the lease rate as long as the property is used for rock storage. Two of the lots will be $607.50 and $408 per month, respectively. A third lot will continue to be leased for $383.25 per month to Fortress of the Bear for parking.
