Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1980-01-22 Harbor Commission SummaryKENAI HARBOR COMMISSION P.O, BOX 580 Kenai, A1 as ka 99611 AGENDA - Jahuary 22, 1980 REGULAR HARBOR COMMISSION MEETING: HARBOR COMMISSION MEMBERS: EX-OFF ! C I 0 MEMBERS: January 22, 1980 - 7:00 p.m., the Public Safety Building Kenai, Alaska at Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Robert Peterkin, Chairman John Wi 11 i ams, Vi ce-Chai rman Tom Ackerly, Member Wi 11 iam Burnett, Member Bob Tepp, Member Tom. Wagoner, Member' Mrs Betty Glick, Councilwoman Mr. ¥i nce 0 ~ Rei 1 ly, Mayor A-G- E-N-D-A 1. Call to Order 2. Roll 'Call 3. Approval of Mi'nu~es -. January. 8, 1980 ~. Introducti?on of Guests (a) Len McLean, Pacific Alaska LNG (b) Dave Derry, Consultant (Derry and Associates) 5. Communications To' Chester Cone- on his resignation Don Statter- Dept, of Transportation and Public Facilities 6. Reports 7.. Old Business 8, New Business 9~ Persons Present No't Scheduled to Be Heard 10. Adjourn KENAI HARBOR COMMISSION MEETING PUBLIC SAFETY BUILDING KENAI, ALASKA January 22, 1980 HARBOR COMMISSION MEMBERS: Mr. RObert Peterkin, Chairman Mr. John Wi 11 i ams, 'Vi ce-Chai man Mr. Tom Ackerly Mr. Wi 11 i~am Burnett Mr. Bob Tepp Mr. Tom Wagoner EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS' Mrs. Betty Glick, Councilwoman Mr. Vince O'Reilly, Mayor OTHERS PRESENT Mr. Ben Delahay, City Attorney Mr, Jim Swalley, Airport Operations Manager Mrs. Ruby Coyle Mr. Waldo Coyle Mr.. Dan Swan CALL TO ORDER: commissioner Robert Peterkin called the meeting to order at 7'20 p.m, ROLL CALL' AGENDA APPROVAL: Tom Ackerly, Present Wi 11 iam Burnett, Absent Robert Peterkin, Present Bob Tepp, Absent Tom Wagoner, Present John Wi 11 iams, Present The agenda for January 22, 1980 was approved with the fol 1 owing changes; JA~ INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS#4a Len McLean unable to attend, he is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 5 meeting. 4b Dave Derry 'i~ tentatively schedul ed for Feb. 19 meeting. COMMUNICATIONS #5 Port of Seattle visit, Feb. 6. , , , RE.PORTS#6 a. Chairman Peterkin and Mayor O'Reilly on meetinq wi_th Don Statter b, comml.' ss IonerW~" l mi. ams-~'ort of ~)u 1 uth c, Ben De lahay on Roper Lease d. Commissioner Burnett on Port of Entry. e. Jim Swalley - Aircraft accident of Jan.22. OLD BUSINESS #7 a. Discussion of cost/benefit ratio , b. Discussion of PaCific LNG APPROVAL OF MINUTES' REPORTS' ~. MEETING WITH DON STATTER AND CORPS OF ENGINEERS MOTION' NEW BUSINESS #8 a. Resource Devel°pment Council b. Energy Committee The minutes of January 8 were approved with the fol 1 owing correct i on; Page #5 Commissioner Wagoner discussed the fisherman from Hal i but Cove~'~. (1 i ne 1 ) Mayor O'Reilly reported on the meeting that he and Chairman Peterkin had with Chuck Walling, Economist for the Corps of'Engineers, Captain Wayne Reynolds and John Tully. Mr. Statter seems to favor a dry bottom type of harbor, while we have been talking a· wet harbor. We started the meeting thinking we would talk about Site location that had been developed by Mr. Roper. Mr. Statter questioned us a~king how much engineering.had been done. Chairman Peterkin was under the assumption that in the Roper/Dean situation that they had the engineering reports done. This is what he had told Mr. Statter. Commissioner Wagoner remarked that Mr. Roper and Mr. Dean claimed that hydrologists had loOked at .it. Chairman Peterkin~'~ commented that .what we need at this time is research on the old minutes looking for positive statements on engineering Work. Commissioner Wagoner thought it would be about the second or third meeting, sometime in June. Mayor O'Reilly felt that this had caused' a serious spe-~l, o~er the proceedings. Mr. Statter was very understanding of it. Chairman Peterkin reported that the Corps of Engineers made it very clear that they have a~ boat harbor On the Kuskoquim.River at Bethel, and they. must. dredge because the City is not capable of doing this maintenaBce. They have made mistakes in the past but will not make another in Kena~. This harbor would'be the'~first wet boat harbor that would be on a silt laden river, that wouldn't have astronomical maintenance costs. Chairman Peterkin referred to a BLM Outer Cont~ihental Shelf study that had statistics showing that Kenai had more days .when the river mouth was open than Homer. Chairman Peterkin.~commented that if we mi ss the number 107 the Corps of Engineers will wash theim hands Of us. He commented that ~e ~ioped Captain~Reynolds would Come down or we will have to starer ground up.. Commissioner Ackerly moved to ask the City Council for $5,000 matching grant with the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, Division of Harbor Design and Construction for feasibility and prelimina'ry engineering. Commissioner Wagoner seconded the motion. There was general discussion on a wet harbor versus a dry-harbor. It was felt that the commission should do more work before we try to get Mr. Statter here for a ,~ meeting. REPORTS. PORT OF DULUTH REPORTS' ROPER LEASES Commi ssi oner Wi 11 iams re~orted on the 1 uncheon meeti nQ wi th Ed Sonnenbur§ and th ~" port'~of-'D~:l'~jtb There are a number of Parallels, we can ta~e~some .of the laeas that they were using and put them to our needs. We could have the same problems and benefits. One thing that was pointed out is it becomes necessary to see who is in favor of these projects. Commissioner Ackerly added that Senator Gravel will be running for re-e}.ection and has a lot to dowith public fac~'li.ties. We should know where he stands and see if he would support a harbor addition in Kenai, we should utilize him more. Commissioner Williams reported that Mr. Soninberg said by using tax free municipal bonds money was saved .and 'made .for boat 'authority over last several .years. Duluth Transportation Authority is applyi~ng Dunn and Brad Street rating which will save an additional 1/2 to l%'.on all future bonds. The City Attorney reported on the Roper leases. He was asked to check on the insurance and the assignment 1;o the Kenai Harbor Development Corporation. Mr. Roper has two leases. Tract. B is dated July 1978, and Trac.t C, April 1979. In that time span the lease form was changed. Tract B has insurance limits of $100,000 on' personal injury, $300,O00/incident and $50,000 property damage. Tract C has insurance limits of $250,000 on personal injury, $500,O00/incident'and $100,000 on property damage. The Certificate of Insurance of Nov. 1, 1979 covered One policy and didn't meet the obligation of lease. We require 30 day written notice, until then they are still liable. ~Mr Emery said that in the past we got these certificates-, corrected: Mr. Roper hand carried one copy which was still incorrect Eventually I got it corrected. Both leases had $500,000 limitations. Since the policy 1.imitation is for each i~ncident one policy would be satisfactory. Mr. Roper could not assign lease without written .consent of city, any assignment violation would be void and subject to cancellation, for Tract C, lessee could assign with written consent, which would not be unreasonably withheld. The.re was an assignment in the file signed by Mr. Roper bY which Mr. Roper assigned Tracts B & C to Kenai Harbor Development Corporation, in which Miles W. Dean and William Breck were officers, and it subscribed and swore to before a noto'ry. It was put into the file, but was not recorded. This lack or recording dosen't make any difference, he has assigned his lease to this corporation. He has violated both l'eases. Council could revoke. Mr. Breck is not in the Corporation, and there is some controversy between Mr. Dean and Mr. Roper. The City need look. only to Mr. Roper, the CorporatiOn has nothing. Mr; Roper claims he has Corps of Engineers permi't and clai~ms he has done'"work. He thinks Kenai needs'a small boat harbor and he has spent alot of money and.time, M'r. Delahay did not know whether this permit is transferable or not; Chairman Peterkin remarked that Mr, Roper signed under suggestion of the HarborrCommission under Ernie Schlereth.;'s guidence and with the advice of the Harbor Commis~S-.!On, The 'lease fo.rm was the form of' the old REPORTS: BEN DELAHAY ON ROPER LEASE (Continued) RECESS: RE-CONVENE: Airport lease before the Harbor Commission developed it's~ .own lease procedure, Kenai Harbor Development Corporation'would have to be the sole owner on T~acts B, C, and D. The Commission was. dealing w!'th a corporation that did not actually have the lease assignment document, Mr. Roper relinquished permits to the corporation to Ernie, to comp.]~y with lease requirements for getting consent and the corporation would exchange for a lease for Tracts B, C, and D. Mr. Delahay didn't believe the City should, take act'ion against Mr. Roper. In his examination of this lease and investigation · t~ere was no way he could tell that it'was made at the suggestion of this Commission. This dosen'tt change the fact that he still is in ¥iolation if we mislead him. Commissioner Wagoner commented that ~he' Harbor Commission wanted to deal with one entity, and that was- the reason for Kenai Harbor Development Corporation, Mir, Delahay replied that Mr. Roper should have gotten approval Of~'.P!anning and Zoning to assignment, Chairman Peterkin remarked that Mr, Roper never did turn it over to the-" corpo'ration. M~, Delahay replied that you can si§n a deed, but i'f you don".t deliver it you can tear it up. Commissioner Williams stated that the corporation is defunct. Commissioner Ackerly suggested that just for information, shoul'dn't someone look into the Corps of Engineer permits. Commissione'r .~ Wagoner said it had already been checked into. At 8:25 p.m. by general consent, a recess was ca 11 ed. At 9:00 p,m, Chairman Peterkin called the meeting back to orde'r. REQUEST ON ROPER LEASE' Commissioner John Williams made a request to the City Attorney through the Chair that he furnish the Harbor Commission with information regarding any potential litigation now in progress, between Mr. Roper and Mr. Dean, that may reflect on the leases of Tract B & C by the City to Mr. Roper. Mr. Delahay stated that he would check into the i~,'.~ REPORTS' PORT OF ENTRY COMMUNICATIONS' Chairman .Peterkin remarked--that Commi. ssi.'oner Burnett was not here, and would have some informatiOn on the Port of Entries in Alaska. Chairman Peterkin did not have the list with him but remembered that Anchorage has three separate Port of Entries. At'l':t~B~e~POE's~were .... old permits,:wlth'Valdez "being the newest. Commissioner Burnett is getting this together so we can contact the proper departments. Chairman Peterkin extended an invitation to the commissioners'to attend meetings with the Seattle Port of Entry people who will be in Kenai on February 6. Mayor O'Reilly said there would be a reception at the §heffield House between 6-00 and 8-00 p.m. He was reasonably sure that'they would be a part of Chamber that day, and felt it would be an excellent opportunity for this commission to meet them. It was'~agreed that Mayor O'Reilly would find out how many members would be here and there would possibly be dinner and a meeting with them. REPORT: AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT: Chairman Peterkin asked if Jim Swalley would brief everyone on the aircraft accident that happened that morning on Flight 101. Mr. Swalley had distributed to the Commission a summary of events that happened that morning. Several factors cOuld have bee.n involved, one certainly is weather.-The primary reason for this summary is to insure the City did everything expected of them, and even more so in this case. The sequence of events he got from the FAA Flight Service Station .and from Chief Ross as to what happened. The Standard emergency control plan 'pertains to accidents that happen on the Airport. Off the Airport it belongs to the Troopers and their rescue control center. But mutual 'agreement by the agencies involVed they help when they can. Snow machine patrol consisted of volunteers from the police department, fire department and Nikiski. Later it was found out that at the time the helicopter took off and snow machine patrol, the entire Kenai Fire Department was on hand at the station in case additional people were needed at the crash scene. No one knew the fate of people aboard the aircraft, until shortly 16efore 8:00 a. m. The ai.rplane suffered ,~..crumpled nose gear, damaged right propeller, and possibly damaged right wing tip which was buried in the snow, All Nav-Aids were operational with the exception of the Glide Slope which was NOTAMed out Sunday, At the time of the accident snow' had been removed from the airport. There would have been ,~ no problem in landing at the airport. Another AAI plane landed just prior to the incident, The National Transportation Safety Board arrived shortly before 3'00 p.m. and are investigating now. REPORTS (Continued) Mayor O'Reilly added that eventually the Harbor Commission would probably have Airport responsibility and~'this.f~lls into.-Police- Fire Emergency' Services, You may have who is running this airport type of questions raised, Personally, everyone acted in a fine fashion even though it. was outside the City limits. The best philosophy for the-Commission to adopt'is do~hat must be done and take the heat from anyone who raises questions later. Oim Swalley pointed out that at the time no one knew whether the aircraft was inside or outside of the City limits, Where there are lives involved it wouldn't matter, CommissiOner Williams stated that there was alot of time involved from the last ~radio contact and the time the helicopter got into the air, and the time they were found.,, Jim Swalley pointed out the bad'location, time to confirm inj.ury, the time of day the aircraft was over due, getting the paramedic's alerted and into the air, wi th 6 - 8 inches of snow. Everyone~ involved should get a pat on the back. It was also mentiOned that it was~-~- wh~-te plane. Mr. Swat ley explained that there were. generally bad weathe'r conditions; 600 foot ceiling, snow and fog. The ELT was working though combing the.area with a search light is a pretty tedious .process. Commi'Ssioner Williams asked who would bear the cost of the operation. Mayor' O:~Reilly commented that we would probably get a.~?bill from Kenai Air and we may rebill AAI, Jim Swalley added that i~ a Situation like this we can turn the bill over to the Rescue Coordination Center and there are also proceedings through the State Search and Rescue to cover th~. There were three dispatchers on call due to a shift change. They,'were ~e~tremely busy for that 2 hour period and afterwards notifying FAA in Anchorage, the State Troopers to notify their Rescue Control Center and the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center. If we had not been able to locate it, we would have had the Air Forces support and the support of the CAP. Judge Hanson called and I returned his call after they"~were confirmed safe. OLD BUSINESS' .BENEFIT/COST RATIO Chairman Peterkin had a list, which is: not in priority increments with regards to the benefit/cost ratio~ This concerns the windshield study and some of the background this Commission~ .can handle so that when the Corps of Engineers shows up we can have this information available. ~ _- (1) Values of Boats - Tom ACkerly (.,2) Damage to Boats - Tom Ackerly Basically insurance - boa ts damaged, burned,- sunk (3) Head Count of Boats - Tom Wagoner a. Resident owned b. Non-resident owned or companY boats c. Charter boats (4) Quality of F'ish - John Williams (.Frank McIlhargey is doing some work on this) (5) Loss of energy basis - Tom Wagoner (Boats running up and down inlet) BENEFIT/COST RATIO: (6) Recreation - Chairman Peterkin (.Continued) (7) Halibutj Herring, other species that could be harvested to Commissioner Bob Tepp. (8) Aquaculture Activities There was some discussion here on the cost/benefit ratio. Commissioner .Nagone? stated that he could write up a proposal for future development, Mayor O~'Reilly reported that he had met with Mr. Tom Waterer and he .a§reed~that if.we had a more efficient harbor he would be able to pay' top~pPices. The less efficient the harbor, that in any way results in a lesser quality of fish, he'll pay lower prices, ~'e is geared to respond that way to the Corps. Chairman Peterkin replied that whoever ends up with "Quality of Fish;' realize that, that is the key. Commissioner Wagoner mentione~"'~that he could ~contact the Marine Advisory at the University of Alaska and Per Haglin in Seattle~~ The canneries ~will have alot 'to say abou.t fish quality. Cha~irman Peterkin remarked that the current dollar basis on a 4 million dollar boat harbor we are looking at $595,000 per year, If it goes up from the 4 million dollar figure that benifit ratio will go up. We are going to have to have something, more substantial to coier cost/ benefit ratio.~ Chuck Walling said even if all the congestion is out of the river, the canneries aren't going to be a.ble to unload the fish any faster. Commissioner Wagoner stated that wasn't true and was provable. The canneries are making those provisions to handle fish. Columbia Ward just put in a brand new 120 foot dock and R Lee Seafoods put in a dock last year, Commissioner Williams asked if the value of the process property in the Kenai River would have any bearing on whether or not we had a harbor Possibly a surVey should be done to determine how much our industrial worth is between the six processors and Royal Pacific. There was some discussion on this and Chairman Peterkin asked for statistics and ~istorical fact. Chairman.Peterkin mentioned he had asked the Corps "How about if one of these processors would take halibut?" Chuck Walling said we must have a signed contract wi th proof of '.~ financial backing that they will process. Chairman'Peterkin said that'no cannery, is 'going to spend anY'money until the City Of Kenai puts in a small boat harbor or facilities to upgrade. Commissioner Williams suggested that we gather as much information on this fishing related business as we can and build a perspectus of the opportunities of the fishing industry in the Kenai area, such as development of aprons, the availability of lands, the value and size of fleets. Chairman Peterkin added that if we build this perspectus, we should send that perspectus and the 1976 Corps of Engineers study, red lined to Senator Gravel and tell him of the historic problems with Kenai and the Corps of Engineers and have him sitting on it in the Washington end. Commissioner Ackerly mentioned that he saw an add in the paper on Whittier!~s expansion. It was a questionaire asking "Do you plan to own a boat? Do you plan ever to use the harbor at Whittier? We would like to have your feedback so we can justify expenditure. BENEFIT/COST RATIO' Commissioner Acker!y suggested' that we could do something to this (Continued) effect. There was some discussion on this, !t could be split for. boat owners and perspective boat owner~-, ~t should ~lso be put in the Anchorage paper, Commissioner Williams asked what stipulations ~n recreation boats, Chairman Peterkin~replied tha~t Senator Tillion said to make sure you don~t make it a commercial boat harbor ~nly, He was not sure whether you can draw several state .agencies in on the other half of the money or not, There was general discussion on why recreational boating was not mentioned in the 1976 Corps~.Of Engineers report. It was felt that Don Tewksbury who was Chairman of the Harbor Commission at the time would have more information on cost/benefit ratio.. It was asked of the administrative assistant to write Mr. Tewksbury. Commi ssi oner Wi 11 i ams as.ked Commi ssi oner Wagoner what the general feeling of the processors in regards to a boat harbor was. Commissioner Wagoner replied that they were all behind it. It would clear the congestion of the River so the tenders can get up and back safely and fast. Some tenders a're brine but most don't take the time to brine fish in the inlet. He felt that the processors were quite concerned. Chairman Peterkin stated ~that with the "Quality of Fish" we talk to the cannery owners and managers and see if they would be willing to come in. Commissioner Williams suggested processors letterhead favoring a small boat harbor. · Chairman Peterkin replied that, that would be fine, anYthing we 'can do. NEW BUSINESS' Chairman Peterkin then asked for volunteers to attend a meeting in Anchorage, January 25 and 26 with the Resou'rce Development Council. Anyone that could get free was to call Mayor O'Reilly or Chairman Peterkin. POWER COMMITTEE' Commissioner Williams brought up .the point that the Harbor Commission is still short one member. .Mayor O'Reilly explained that We are wai ti ng on an approval of ordinance to create two new positions, Chairman Peterkin asked for nominations. Commissioner Wagoner nominated Mr. Bob Bielefeld, he was on the Council previously, and knew?the ~istorY of some of these things, the airport and airport lands. There was further discussion and it was agreed that some names wOuld be added for Council- Mayor O'Reilly commented ~that he was looking for a committee of three people. Pacific LNG needs 15 megawats of power, Total power usage on the Peninsula is 65, Homer Electric early 'on showed an interest in providing that power, but as the years have gone by they have shown less inte~rest. Pacific LNG is now. getting serious about where their power will cOme from, Beluga, Susitna, coal generated, oil generated dosen:t fit the bill, The 'C~t.y of Kenai has 7500 mcf. Per day of gas available for the next several years. KUSCO, the local gas ut,~lity distributing company has a maximum use of 3,500 mcf. This leaves 4,000 mcf per day to the city, This is an asset that the City isn:t using, Andy Johnson converted that into 15 megawats. What the Mayor would like to do is appoint~..a three person committee, which would report to 'the Port Commission or Port Authority, The committee shOuld conSist~"of a person ~hat OLD BUSINESS DISCUSSION FOR PACIFIC LNG' NEW BUSINESS' would represent the consumer or homeowner, and technical person, (continued) and all should have. good balanced judgement. Andy Johnson who POWER COMMITTEE ~ has retired frOm_ Homer Electric and is familiar with the situation, has volunteered Mayo'r O'Reilly asked the Commissioners ¢o. nside? further nominations, Chairman Peterkin stated-that this four million cubic feet' a'daY has been going on for some time and if it's not used that day it's.gone, The City has no reaps, it isn't stored. The current contract ~i~'ll expire in 1984. Where this contract comes from, it had to go across City grounds,~ This is a transportation fee type of.si~tuation. With the new find across the river mouth, they're going to have to come back to the City so this contract will be extended for sometime The City should be getting some of the use, Pacific Light and ~as used approximately'3 million feet. ~f the City was to have a power plant it~Coul~d~-prov~e-the.~ --~ ~ City with their own' utiliti~es. There was further discussion and Commissioner Wagoner suggested that we would be in a position to ~o give that to .Homer Electric. Now we are at the mercy of Anchorage. Commissioner..Williams added that if we were to offer municipal bonds for the purpose 'of building a power' plant and sell them the gas at a reasonable rate. We would then have revenues for the gas and still incorporate in the design room for excess amount of power. Chairman Peterkin mentioned that the engineers that were supposed to come down .with Len McLean had another meeting. Mayor O' Re~ 1 ly suggested that Chairman Peterkin and he make a conference call to Mr. Cole with Pacific LNG the following day at City Hall. MR. DELAHAY' Mr. Delahay mentioned that he had been at the meeting for 3-1/2 hours and only gave a 10 minute report, He fel~ it ~was not necessary for him to attend every meeting. Chairman Peterkin agreed. Anything that was to_go to Ben Delahay could go through the Administrative Assistant. If necessary he could come a,nd leave early. PORT DEVELOPMENT' Chairman Peterkin requested that'~Commissioner Williams supply the Admin. Assistant with the name of the man that Ed Soninberg knew in Duluth and .she write and ask for contacts in Anchorage that could help us with development in the Port area and how .to get money and legislative action. TELECONFERENCE' Commissioner Ackerly reported that there was a teleconference scheduled for the first and third Thursdays of every month at 7'00 pm to our State Representatives. Chairman Peter~<in asked if we Should have something prepared for first telecon meeting? CommisSioner Wagoner replied that we should make a brief statement that we are still in progress and will be in further contact. Commissioner Wagoner fel.t that we should designate 1 person to be'.~our spokesman. It takes a well coordinated effort and~felt that Chairman"Peterkin would be.a good representative. Chairman Peterkin agreed that we should have one spokesperson and agreed to be he. Commissioner Williams added that what we are looking at is a c~ntinQed ...... communications link between our legislators and us, How about a prepared updated report such as~ as you will remember we requested X number of dollars for a harbor, This is where we ~are at now;. We have done these things, We want You to be aware of the fact we are progressing full steam ahead and will continue to keep you informed. We are gathering data, we~'re build~ng a perspectus for TELECONFERENCE- (Cont i nued) the City of Kenai and we will be using it as far a as a windshield study, commissioner Wagoner commented 'that Chairman :Peterkin :. ~ let them know that he is the contact person. Build our case, basically, If they want some information on how our Harbor Commission feels or w-hat oUr philosophy is on what we~'.'-.me doing. .- . ~C-ommissione? Wagone? commented that. he felt a !~etter should be written to Colonel Nunn thanking him for sending do.wn his personnel. Mayor 0~Reilly agreed and he would do so, NEXT REGULAR SCHEDULED MEETING DATE. ADJOURN- The next ~egul ar schedul ed meeting date is February 5, 1980, at the Public Safety Building, at 7;00 p;m. At. I0-30 PYm, by unanimous consent the meeting was adjourned, Respectful ly submitted, Kim Howard Admin, Assistant Rob~~k~t'~r~ '~ ~ \ ~n, Ch irman Harbor Commi s s i on Seconded b.,v~ Page ACKERLY BURNETT PETERKIN NO YES TEPP ~ WILLIAMS i/ -I NO