A pair of projects have moved toward their next phases after a special midday meeting of the Wrangell Port Commission Tuesday. Commissioners approved plans to finance float reconstruction at Shoemaker Bay Harbor, as well concepts for a Mariners Memorial at Heritage Harbor.
The current concept for updating Shoemaker features four fingers built using polyethylene tubs as floats rather than wood and metal. Three of these envisioned fingers will be enough to accommodate the currently berthed boats, with the fourth offering space for longer, wider craft.
PND Engineering’s preliminary cost estimate for the Shoemaker project is $10.7 million. The Harbor Department would put forward $3.2 million in harbor replacement and commercial fishing reserve funds and issue $2.5 million in revenue bonds.
Under the plan, the remainder would have to come from an Alaska Department of Transportation (ADOT) matching grant focused on harbor facility projects. In order to apply for that funding, the City and Borough of Wrangell would need to submit an application with the Alaska Municipal Bond Bank and establish its ability to service the debt.
Consulting with the bank, Wrangell finance director Lee Burgess explained the city would have to issue 20-year bonds with an interest rate conservatively estimated at about four percent.
“It would probably be a little less than that, but for planning purposes it would probably be better to aim for that four,” Burgess said.
Annual payments would run at $182,778 under this estimation, which would be repaid in part through stall rent monies currently deferred to the harbor reserve fund. Stall revenues are approximately $450,000 a year, with additional stalls at a new Shoemaker bringing in an additional $25,000. Forty-eight percent of this revenue goes toward the reserve fund, from which the money to repay the debt would come. Under this scheme, the Harbor Department would still reserve $45,222 per year for the fund.
After its approval by the Port Commission, the financing plan will move to the Assembly at its June 9 meeting for a decision, ahead of an Aug. 1 deadline to file the ADOT grant application. If approved, the renovation project could be completed by 2017.
Securing the capital project funding remains a concern as state legislators look to tackle a $3.9 billion deficit. In previous commission meetings, Harbormaster Greg Meissner has indicated that the Shoemaker refurbishment could not proceed without assistance from the state. However, he has expressed confidence that the application will have a fair chance due to the project’s single-phasing and local impact.
“I know this has been a long time coming, and in its current state Shoemaker has become more of a liability than an asset,” commented Clay Hammer, presiding over the commission.
Corvus Design architect Chris Mertl also presented plans for the new Mariners Memorial at the southwest corner of Heritage Harbor. The first phase, so far envisioned, would include the permitted fill and landscaping, followed by construction of the concrete courtyard, memorial wall and pavilion.
Future phases could include installation of a wooden boardwalk, garden and sponsors area, but Phase 1 would form the memorial’s core. Its cost is currently estimated at $255,000, plus a ten-percent contingency.
“We’re at or below the budget that we’ve started out with,” Mertl explained.
The memorial would be a curved wall of steel evoking a ship’s hull, with bronze placards inscribed with the names of those to be remembered. In the event more names need to be added, the design takes the addition of two or three further walls into consideration. The upper portion of the eight-sided, concrete pavilion is based on the iconic St. Mary’s Lighthouse in northeastern Great Britain and would feature a lighthouse component.
“We’re pretty much done,” Mertl said. “I think we’re 99 percent there; there are just some small details.”
Among the details still to be determined are how to arrange names on the wall and whether to install plates within the pavilion. At the moment, Mertl said it was possible around 400 names might be submitted for initial inclusion on the memorial. Port commissioners also need to decide how best to arrange for the memorial’s continued upkeep, a conversation which may be continued at its next meeting.
Reader Comments(0)