Things are looking up for possible project financing needed to replace float facilities at Shoemaker Bay Harbor.
In a budget draft released by Gov. Bill Walker last week, the Department of Transportation and Public Facility’s harbor maintenance program would have $5,000,000 in its coffers for next year, precisely the amount Wrangell would need in order to proceed with its renovation at Shoemaker. The Wrangell project has been given precedence this year over other applications from around the state, after being passed over last year due to lack of funding.
“That’s the first step we’d hoped that would make it,” harbormaster Greg Meissner said of the funding’s inclusion in the governor’s budget. The decision is far from set in concrete however, as the budget will go through both the Alaska House and Senate, which will each produce versions of their own that will have to be reconciled.
The Legislature will be tackling an enormous spending deficit when it meets next month, estimated at around $3.5 billion for the coming year. With few changes to state revenues the multi-year issue has seen cuts to departments across the board, with capital projects such as that at Shoemaker making comparatively uncontroversial targets for cuts.
With Senate Republicans and a bipartisan majority in the House heading up the two chambers, differing views on how to approach reducing the deficit are likely. As a result, the harbor facility funding will need to weather discussions between the two as they reconcile a complete budget.
“The hope is, for us to get any funding, that funding needs to stay in there in its entirety,” said Meissner.
Within the program, applied-for projects have to be fully funded to receive any funding at all. If the amount in next year’s budget drops below $5,000,000, Wrangell’s project would be passed over for whichever application is next in line, and so would have to wait another year for another shot.
“It’ll be a compromise situation between how much more we need to trim from the budget, and how much to bring in with new revenues,” explained Rep. Dan Ortiz (I-District 36), who will be sitting on the House Finance Committee with the majority.
With some consensus reached on restructuring the permanent fund, he expected the session ahead would be dominated by expenditure details, particularly in the areas of public health and education. “That’s where our negotiations and compromise are going to have to come in,” Ortiz explained.
“I’m very excited and gratified that that money’s there,” said Ortiz. “It’ll be a lot easier for us to protect that money than to add that money to the budget.”
“A lot can happen, but we’re hoping it stands,” Meissner commented.
If approved, the state’s money would be more than matched by the city for the $10.7 million project, which would replace the aging, in some places unusable, wooden floats at the harbor. The new layout would better suit modern vessel designs in a more
efficient fashion, and would
use more resilient synthetic materials.
Wrangell’s share for a match would come from two sources, with $3.2 million coming from available harbor replacement and commercial fishing reserve funds. The other $2.5 million would be raised through the issue of revenue bonds, which the Assembly approved in 2015.
If the state grant is approved for the renovation project, after applying for the bonds Meissner expected they could have the project bid advertised by late next year. The job will be more complex than the construction of Heritage Harbor had been, as pre-existing infrastructure and moored vessels would need to be taken into consideration throughout the process.
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