Now that the Assembly has accepted a proposal from Highmark Marine LLC of Kodiak to operate the new haulout at Gary Paxton Industrial Park, local boat-related businesses are working with the GPIP board to make the most of the adjacent properties.
Despite broad opposition from the public to the Highmark deal, the Assembly voted 6-1 in March to direct city officials to negotiate an agreement with Highmark, to be brought back to the Assembly for approval.
The haulout is still under construction, and is scheduled to start hauling boats in late spring, according to GPIP Director Garry White.
Development currently is held up, with builders waiting to apply a grout that needs to be set in temperatures above 45 degrees, and then cure for about a month.
The city is also awaiting delivery of the mobile boat lift, which is expected to arrive on May 6 and must be assembled with a crane once it arrives, White said at a board meeting Thursday.
With the project in process, local maritime tradespeople attending the Thursday meeting weighed in on long-term planning for lands and facilities near the haulout, where more boatyard service facilities could be developed.
Most of the planning is centered on the city-owned Lot 15, a large parcel near the developing haulout.
The city is notifying all current tenants of Lot 15, which now is being used to store industrial materials, that they must vacate the property by the end of September to make way for uses that complement the haulout.
At the Thursday GPIP meeting White asked the board to give him direction on developing the property, as well as other lots nearby, so that he can provide more information in upcoming work sessions and meetings.
Board members focused conversation on how the city can design infrastructure and long-term leases to create space for local tradespeople.
The board also looked at developing a steel-plated “bridge” across the road that separates the haulout from Lot 15 so that the large lot could accommodate hauled out vessels “sooner than later.”
In comments to the board, local shipwright Mike Nurco said that leases for future uses of Lot 15 should be designed for local vendors to provide a wide array of services that would comprise the “lifeblood of the yard.”
Selling land at GPIP would be “to the detriment of the boatyard," while long-term leases would best serve users, Nurco said.
Nurco also asked the city to install electricity and invest in critical services like bathrooms near the boatyard.
He said that “the deck is stacked” in favor of Highmark, as the city is slated to lease them a warehouse near the haulout that has both electricity and bathrooms, which the company could limit to private uses.
Linda Behnken, director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen's Association, encouraged the board to plan Lot 15 development with an eye towards “what it might look like to have a different operating model out there” in case Highmark eventually exits its contract.
Jeremy Serka also commented on development of Lot 15. He said that more storage space is needed in the marine trades, and that the lot could be a good place for “bait sheds and bigger things that we can offload on the dock.”
Serka also encouraged the city to consider appropriating funds for “a larger washpad instead of heated washpad.” The city currently plans to spend $500,000 on a concrete washdown pad with “heat trace” cable heating.
Local shipwrights clarified that, despite their objections to the Highmark deal throughout the city’s bidding process, tradesmen are looking forward to doing business at the haulout and the surrounding GPIP facilities.
Board members discussed the haulout for about an hour, and settled on holding an extended “work session” regarding development ahead of their next regular meeting.
The work session is set to take place directly before the board’s main meeting on May 15.
“Our focus in every meeting going forward is development of the remaining properties (at GPIP) and how we’re going to line all this out,” White said.
Other business
Also during Thursday’s meeting, the Board recommended adjustments to port tariffs at GPIP to align with the city small boat harbor moorage rates, which will increase by 4 percent starting July 1.
The board directed White to make some tweaks to the tariff plan that will go to the Assembly for approval.
Board members also discussed the idea of creating a long-term lease for a small parcel of land (Lot 9B) adjacent to the old water bottling plant, where Serka runs Pacific Jewel Marine. He is is asking to lease the small parcel to eventually build a covered, 60-foot-tall boathouse along the exterior of the warehouse building.
The GPIP board backed Serka’s idea, as it supports the mission of the park, and gave direction to White to negotiate the terms of a lease with Serka.
Board members also supported the idea of granting short-term leases to both Silver Bay Seafoods for a portion of Lot 9C where it seeks to house temporary workers in camper trailers, and to K&E Construction for a portion of Lot 15 to be used as storage.
