The state has determined that it’s in its best interest to sell a portion of the Mt. Edgecumbe High School campus to the Coast Guard, for construction of a new dock.
The determination is a necessary step before the state can dispose of land.
The state Board of Education met in Sitka on the Mt. Edgecumbe campus in September and voted to enter into negotiations with the Coast Guard for the sale of the property, which includes three lots immediately to the north of the Coast Guard’s existing dock. The total amount of land to be sold is a little over one-and-a-half acres.
One of the lots is currently under long-term lease to the Coast Guard, and is used for parking. The other two lots are directly across Seward Ave. from the Mt. Edgecumbe Aquatics Center, and are designated “student recreation.” The preliminary determination authorizes the Department of Education to negotiate a lease for a second lot until an alternative site for recreation can be built.
The land is needed by the Coast Guard to construct a floating dock for the 154-foot Fast Response Cutter Douglas Denman, which is currently stationed in Ketchikan, awaiting its final homeporting in Sitka. The existing pier for the buoy tender Kukui will be demolished and rebuilt as part of the project. The Douglas Denman is one of six Fast Response Cutters being deployed in Alaska.
The state Board of Education met on December 8 and voted to approve the preliminary determination. A public comment period opened on December 13, and will remain open through the close of business on January 13.
Written comments should be submitted to DEED at P.O. Box 110500, Juneau, AK 99811-0500, or by fax to (907) 465-4156 or e-mail at deed.commissioner@alaska.gov.
