Haines Borough manager David Sosa is asking the assembly to appropriate $100,000 from the Lutak Dock enterprise fund for continued planning and assessment of the deteriorating structure.
The assembly introduced a budget amendment ordinance Tuesday that, if passed, would take $100,000 from the fund for expenses, including funding assembly member and harbormaster visits to Wrangell, Hoonah and other ports to tour the facilities.
“Trips are useful to see how things function,” Sosa said. “We would of course have phone conversations etc., but if we are going to spend $20-plus million on a dock, I feel it is a worthwhile investment to get a good look at other projects.”
Sosa said the need for dedicated funds to support the Lutak Dock project came out of the recent “strategic doing” sessions held by the borough.
Sosa acknowledged he is asking for a lot of money with only a general description of how it would be spent. A “core group” of stakeholders interested in closely participating in development of the Lutak Dock plan would oversee spending of the $100,000, Sosa said.
The core group, which has yet to be identified, would vote on expenditures.
“The oversight the core group would provide is to keep me from making unilateral decisions on how the money is spent,” Sosa said.
In his manager’s report, Sosa identified other expenditures the $100,000 would likely be used for in addition to the trips to other docks. One would be a review of the 2012 Northern Economics study that looked at prospective dock customers.
“The Northern Economics study is two years old, so the option exists to contact Northern Economics and fund an update to see if anything has changed. My hope is that this would be significantly less expensive than a new project,” he said.
The borough could also pay the University of Alaska Anchorage or the state’s Department of Commerce and Economic Development to revisit the study, Sosa said.
The money also could be used to “fund efforts to coordinate with Skagway and Whitehorse to determine infrastructure needs and determine the appropriate balance of capability for the Upper Lynn Canal,” as well as conducting outreach to state and federal legislative representatives to encourage support for the project.
Who is part of the core group will be “driven by who participates” in Thursday’s follow-up meeting to the “strategic doing” sessions that were held Dec. 4 and 5.
“The facilitators emphasized getting people who are excited for the project, so this second meeting will help assess that. It is then a matter of ensuring we have the right mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities represented,” Sosa said.
The follow-up meeting is set for 5 p.m. Thursday in assembly chambers.
The budget amendment ordinance also includes a separate item for emergency stabilization of the dock. A $30,000 stabilization has already been completed, but the assembly has to amend the budget to reflect that emergency action.
Chief fiscal officer Jila Stuart said the Lutak Dock enterprise fund was initially projected to hold $823,000 at the end of the current fiscal year. If the assembly approves the $100,000 for exploration and planning, and $30,000 for the emergency stabilization, that number will drop to $778,000, Stuart said.
PND Engineers recently released a $33 million estimate for replacement of the existing sheet pile bulkhead dock with the same footprint.