The borough assembly has approved two contracts totaling $606,000 for preliminary design work and surveying of its proposed deepwater industrial port at the former 6-Mile Mill site, with the primary intent of attracting a private company to build a shipyard there.

The municipality purchased the roughly 42-acre property almost four years ago in the hope that it could be redeveloped for new uses to boost the town’s economy, helping to replace the loss of the sawmill and timber jobs 20 years ago.

The assembly on Feb. 10 unanimously approved a contract with Miami-based Pearlson & Pearlson to develop preliminary cost estimates and design for a proposed shipyard at the 6-Mile site.

The borough is working with JAG Marine Group, which is considering the site for a new shipyard, marine fabrication and repair services operation. JAG operates shipyards in Ketchikan and Seward, and also in Virginia and Michigan.

The borough will pay $550,000 of the $750,000 Pearlson contract. JAG is paying $200,000.

The borough will draw from the $1.3 million Mill Property Development Fund to cover its share of the contract.

“A professional, third-party design and cost analysis is a critical next step” in the joint effort between the borough and JAG, according to a borough report.

The Pearlson & Pearlson report would provide a “technically credible foundation to evaluate the feasibility, scale and phasing of a state-of-the-art shipyard at the deepwater port … to better define site requirements, infrastructure needs and capital investment,” according to the staff report prepared for the Feb. 10 assembly meeting.

The Pearlson & Pearlson proposal calls for completion of its work by the end of June.

The company provides shipyard master planning, feasibility, project and construction management services worldwide.

The assembly also approved without objection a “mutual non-disclosure and exclusivity agreement” that sets out terms for the borough and JAG to exchange “non-public and proprietary information while evaluating the potential project.”

The staff report to the assembly explains that the non-disclosure agreement “protects confidential business and technical information.”

If JAG goes ahead with a shipyard, it would turn the municipally owned land into a property tax-paying operation.

The assembly on Feb. 10 also approved a $56,000 contract with Juneau-based PND Engineers for surveying the property for subdivision into industrial lots, including laying out roads and utilities. A federal grant will cover 100% of the cost of the contract.

“The field work will be performed when snow and ice conditions are clear at the site and when the ground is unfrozen to allow recovery of survey control monuments,” the company said in its proposal. “The field work, research and base map can be completed within eight weeks of commencing field activities.”