By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
The director of the Gary Paxton Industrial Park says the city is on an “aggressive” schedule to have the new boat haulout ready for use by February 1, 2025.
“We’re trying to be very aggressive with our timeline,” Garry White said.
PND Engineers of Juneau has been hired to design the haulout and manage construction. Plans call for starting construction next summer and finishing by February 1, 2025.
Sitka has been without a haulout since last spring, when Halibut Point Marine closed its facility to pursue tourism projects. Building a replacement has been identified as a priority for Sitka because of its importance in maintaining the boats in the local fishing fleet.
In the 2022 city election voters approved a proposition to dedicate the $8.18 million the city received from the sale of the old Sitka Community Hospital real estate to construction of a new haulout.
White said the $8.18 million should be enough to “get boats out of the water,” with infrastructure that includes a Travelift, haulout piers, washdown pad, and water treatment facility. Additional infrastructure improvements, such as upland development and utilities, would bring the cost closer to $10 million to $12 million, potentially, White said. The city is applying for grants to cover the cost to complete the project.
“Part of Phase I will be getting an updated cost estimate for the project,” he added.
The city issued a request for proposals for a project manager in December 2022, but received no responses.
PND Engineers expressed interest but said they didn’t have enough time to submit a proposal to meet the deadline, White said. But since there had already been a competitive process with no responses the city was able to approach PND on turning in a proposal, he said.
“They ended up submitting a proposal and the team is solid,” White said.
The team includes Greg Meissner, who has nearly two decades of experience as Wrangell harbor master. The proposal to the city said his work there included development and management of the haulout and boatyard in Wrangell, White said.
PND Engineers is currently gathering information about available sites for the haulout at the industrial park, White said. Two possible sites previously identified are one near the Northern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association’s hatchery and another near the multipurpose dock.
An aerial photograph with overlay shows the areas being considered for a boat haulout at the Gary Paxton Industrial Park. (Graphic Provided)
White said the consultants have committed to conducting multiple public meetings on the wants and needs of potential users, including fishermen and those in the marine trades.
“We’re hoping to have that later this month, but we don’t have a date for it yet,” White said.
