After delaying the decision for over a month, when the Sitka Assembly met on Tuesday (1-26-21), it took another step toward its goal to develop a marine haulout at the Gary Paxton Industrial Park. For the next two months it will be seeking a developer to privately fund the haulout project–but that now comes with a stop-gap if the developer wants to purchase city-owned property outright.

The Sitka Assembly and the industrial park board have pushed to build a marine haulout at the park over the last year. But they’ve hit some snags along the way. A haulout is necessary for Sitka’s fishing fleet, and after Halibut Point Marine announced it would soon shut down its haulout operation, many called for the city to fund a shipyard.

The city was unlucky in its quest for federal funding, and its first attempt at seeking private developers for a haulout didn’t pan out, so the assembly went back to the drawing board.

This is the second ‘request for proposals’ the assembly has issued for a privately funded haulout- and it’s been amended several times. And on Tuesday, the assembly tweaked it again, in an effort to retain city-control over the property, at least until a haulout is up and running.  Member Thor Christianson proposed the amendment– it said that developers who want to purchase the property would need to meet a few benchmarks first. 

“It’s essentially saying that even if you want to buy it- you have to lease it first,” he said. “We expect any ownership plans to put a lease portion first so we’ll get a chance to see them in action beforehand,” he said.

Developers would have to assure the city that once they develop a haulout, it would stay a haulout in the long-term. The assembly unanimously approved the change (6-0). 

While several assembly members have voiced preference for long-term leases, the city is also accepting proposals to buy the property outright, which has generated some concern from the public. Member Kevin Mosher said he felt the RFP needed to “cast a wide net.”

“I know there are some concerned people about having the option to purchase in here, but I do not believe that the language as written and amended will tie our hands so to speak,” he said.

A second amendment to give a higher score to the “rates and fees” section of the RFP also passed, and the RFP was unanimously. The city will advertise and seek proposals for sixty days. A committee of GPIP Boar d members and city staff will then review them.

In other business…

-The assembly took another step toward selling the former Sitka Community Hospital building. It approved a $30,000 dollar appropriation that will go toward an appraisal and inspection of the property.

-The Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) bought the business, but not the building, in 2019. SEARHC now leases the building to house the long-term care clinic, and recently signaled an interest in purchasing the property, as part of its hospital expansion plan.

-The assembly will likely seek competitive bids, and will need to decide whether to put the property sale out to an advisory vote of the public in the next municipal election.

-The assembly also approved a $75,000 grant application to the Department of Homeland Security. If the city receives the grant, it will fund the installation of a communications repeater at Mud Bay on Kruzof Island. According to a memo from Sitka Police Chief Robert Baty, the radio infrastructure would improve radio coverage that’s crucial for the city to respond to emergencies in remote areas.

-The assembly also unanimously granted an appeal made by Andrew and Becky Friske, after they were denied a refund of sales tax paid on home construction. 

 -It unanimously approved direction given in January 12 executive session regarding the former Sitka Community Hospital Closeout. This is to write off certain unpaid accounts with Sitka Community Hospital, deeming them uncollectible or not in the best interests of the city to continue to collect- more details, like the total and a breakdown were not made available- it was discussed in executive session at the assembly’s previous meeting.