The Letnikof Dock rebuild passed a major design checkpoint this month, but there is not yet funding for the construction.
The dock float has been out of operation since it broke almost a year ago. The float had been at the end of its projected lifespan, and was recommended for closure in 2023 by then-harbormaster Shawn Bell.
A replacement float is being designed by engineering firm Moffat & Nichol, whose 65% design was approved by the Haines Borough Planning Commission earlier this month.
The new design would occupy roughly the same footprint as the old dock, enabling use of dock infrastructure still in place, including the existing gangway, pilings, trestle, and launch ramp. The rebuilt dock would carry a projected lifespan of 50 years, Moffat & Nichol engineer Charles Balzarini said.
Harbormaster Henry Pollan said the new design also offers potential improvements to dock users.
In the new design, the steel float, facing out toward the mouth of the cove, has been extended, which should provide more protection from wind and waves than the old float. That, combined with space for mooring on both sides of the timber floats — which run perpendicular to the steel float — would increase mooring space by at least 40% over the old float, Pollan said.
The proposed new timber float system is technically an “additive-alternate” to the project, meaning it’s not a core component of the design. The borough has an existing float system that it could retrofit, instead of spending the estimated $540,000 for a new one. But Pollan said retrofitting old-infrastructure would “continue the pattern of pushing the buck down the road,” potentially increasing long-run maintenance costs.
“It’s my opinion that we include [timber-float construction] in any portion of this project that we continue onto construction,” he said.
As the design advances towards the 95% complete phase, future costs loom. The rest of the design phase is funded, but actually building the design would cost over $5 million, according to a Moffat & Nichol cost estimate. That $5 million figure includes the timber floats and rebuilt trestle, but additional elements to the project, like a rebuilt launch ramp and parking lot could bring the total cost to roughly $9 million, Pollan said.
That could be funded in part by a state harbor facility grant. At a Ports and Harbors Advisory Committee last month, borough grants administrator Helen Alten called the borough a “shoe-in” if, and when, it applies for the funds.
However, it’s not guaranteed those funds will exist in the future. Funding for the program is granted annually by the state legislature, and Alten said the state Department of Transportation told her lawmakers did not put money into the program this year.
And even if Letnikof is selected for funding under the program, the grant would require a 50% funding match by the borough. That would mean the state, in a best-case scenario, would fund around $4.5 million of the project, and the borough would have to find $4.5 million somewhere else.
Pollan said he and borough tourism director Rebecca Hylton are preparing a public presentation on possible funding sources, but don’t want to reveal specifics until details are finalized. The range of options included in the funding search “has not been limited in any way,” including “state grants, federal grants, government-to-government partnerships, and public-private partnerships,” Pollan said.
At least one option that has been discussed publicly is an offer from American Cruise Lines to fund part of the project. The preliminary offer the company extended to the borough was a $2 million contribution to the project in exchange for 20 years of “priority docking rights” at the rebuilt dock, with two options to extend the deal for another 10 years each. The proposal did not appear to offer further payment for the 10-year extensions.
Until funding is secured, Pollan said the design can theoretically “sit on the shelf” indefinitely, though he warned doing so could result in costs rising with inflation.