GPIP board members want to develop a fee schedule for the new dock to make it self-supporting. They anticipate that the fishing fleet may want to use it for general work and repairs, much as they use the existing work float in the Sitka Channel. The work float, however, is funded by the Harbor Department, and charges no additional fees for permanent residents. Deputy harbormaster Chuck Hackett believes that the new GPIP dock will attract repair work for larger boats that can’t be accommodated elsewhere in the harbors, especially with its drive-down ramp. “They can go to (vessels of) 150-feet or more, and bring in welders and divers. It’s a good thing for Sitka,” he told KCAW.

The construction of a $7.5 million multipurpose dock for Sitka’s Gary Paxton Industrial Park is ahead of schedule.

Park managers met Thursday (8-24-17) to discuss coming up with a management plan and fee schedule for the dock, as soon as it hits the water.

The finished product — a 250-foot refurbished barge — will likely be installed well ahead of the February 1 completion date, possibly as soon as the end of the year. The barge is currently in dry dock in Ketchikan receiving a variety of upgrades, including anti-corrosion treatment.

The early completion date has left the board of the industrial park scrambling. This is executive director Garry White.

“We’re going to have a piece of infrastructure that’s going to be in the water before the end of the year. So I’m going to get you a fee schedule for that dock at the next meeting, so you can vote up or down. I’d like to have the rules and regulations posted, and have you approve it. So that gives the dock function. Whether we are able to collect any fees off of it, we haven’t figured out our management scheme yet.”

White told the board that he had consulted with port officials in other communities, and he thought that Port Townsend, Washington, might serve as a model for Sitka.

But board members were also thinking bigger. Hugh Bevan posed this question to the city’s chief administrative officer, Jay Sweeney.

“Jay, have you guys ever talked about a port authority? Harbors, airport, and Sawmill Cove?”

Sweeney nodded in the affirmative. A port authority would be an elected body that set management policies, collected fees, and assumed responsibility for all of Sitka’s city-owned transportation hubs. A port authority could also bond debt for construction projects. Bevan said, “It might be a better system than we have now.”

Other board members thought a port authority was worth considering, however there was concern over whether there would be sufficient interest among the public to serve on a new body. Public works director Michael Harmon observed that it would also require amending Sitka’s municipal charter.

Park director Garry White agreed to take all suggestions from board members about the proposed management and fees for the new multipurpose dock and fold them into a single document for review at the board’s next meeting in September. He also recommended a joint meeting with the harbormaster to discuss what role the dock would serve, in relation to the existing fishing work float.

The design and construction of the park’s multipurpose dock was awarded to Turnagain Marine Construction in October 2016. The award was challenged by former Sitka mayor Marko Dapcevich, who argued that the procurement process violated Sitka’s municipal charter. Dapcevich’s lawsuit has not affected the timeline of the dock project. The case is scheduled for trial in July 2018.

The board did not discuss the pending litigation.