Ketchikan’s Upper Water Street Trestle Completed

Thursday, July 18th, 2019

In the 1970’s a narrow road was built on wood pilings in Ketchikan known today as Upper Water Street. In the summer of 2016, a large and unique construction project began to replace the old, deteriorated pilings and the roadbed those pilings support.

The project was accomplished in 7 phases to minimize the effect to homeowners on Upper Water Street. The construction process was very technical and complicated by the steepness of the terrain and the narrowness of the right-of-way they had to work in.  Click here to watch a time-lapse video of one section of the new road under construction.

The Ketchikan folks affected by the construction of this project have been very patient and accommodating. In fact, I was informed some homeowners had to relocate to a rental for almost a whole year. I am thankful to the Alaska Department of Transportation and Dawson Construction for cooperating with homeowners throughout the process.

The project also included a complete renovation of the utilities: including water, sewer, power, and telephone services.

It is always satisfying to see construction projects completed in Southeast. No matter how conflicted our state’s fiscal situation is, it is imperative that we move forward on our infrastructure projects, whether they be new projects or replacements of older assets.

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Senate Finance Committee Update

Monday, March 25th, 2019

The Senate Finance Committee has been plugging along since the 31^st Alaska State Legislature convened in mid-January.  We have held several informational hearings regarding the state’s fiscal standing.  These meetings are very educational & instructive to members of the committee, other legislators, and to you – the folks at home.

If you are interested in watching any of these meetings, please click on a topic below:

• January 16: Revenue Forecast
• January 17: Oil Production Forecast & Highlights
• January 23: Legislative Finance Overview w/David Teal
• January 24: AK Oil & Gas Conservation Commission
• January 25: AK Permanent Fund Corporation
• January 30: PRS/TRS Update
• January 31: AK Mental Health Trust Authority
• February 1: Indirect Expenditures
• February 4: State Debt Overview
• February 5: Savings Accounts & Budget Reserves, then Labor Contracts
• February 14: FY20 Operating Budget
• February 15: FY20 Operating Budget (cont.)
• February 18: FY20 Operating Budget (cont.)
• February 19: FY20 Operating Budget (cont.)
• February 20: FY20 Operating Budget (cont.)
• February 21: FY20 Operating Budget (cont.)
• February 22: FY20 Operating Budget (cont.)
• February 25: FY20 Operating Budget (cont.)
• February 26: FY 20 Operating Budget – David Teal Response
• February 28: Investment Funds Update & Cash Flow Plan
• March 6: OMB – Economic Overview of FY20 Operating Budget
• March 7: ISER – Economic Overview of FY20 Operating Budget
• March 18: Spring Revenue Forecast
• March 22: Oil Severance Tax
• March 26: K-12 Education Funding Considerations
• March 27: PFD Discussion – begins at 9:58am
• April 2: AK Retirement Board
  
• April 5: Deferred Maintenance Update
  
• April 8: Medicaid Cost Containment
  
• April 10: Legislation: Appropriation Limit & PFD Split
  
• April 18: Updated Labor Contracts
  
• April 23: Legislative Finance – PFD Scenarios
  
• April 25: Legislative Finance – PFD Scenarios cont.

Please note this is not an extensive list of Senate Finance Committee meetings.  We have held other hearings on legislation, confirmation of Governor’s appointees, and other topics not directly pertaining to the state’s fiscal situation or the budget.  A complete catalog of Senate Finance Committee Hearings can be found here.

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Katlian Bay Road Contract Awarded

Wednesday, March 20th, 2019

I am very pleased to announce the Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT) has awarded a contract to build the Katlian Bay Road to K&E Alaska, Inc. The company is based in Sitka. My staff and I worked hard for many years to advance the project with DOT as a priority project that needed to keep moving forward.

I want to thank Governor Michael Dunleavy and DOT Commissioner John MacKinnon for recognizing the value of the road to the community of Sitka, Shee Atika, and Sealaska, and moving quickly to get the project awarded.
In addition to good paying construction jobs, the project provides access to Katlian Bay with opportunities for recreation, timber, subsistence, and remediation of the Katlian watershed and salmon runs. Access is provided to Shee Atika and Sealaska lands as well as state lands.

The project would build about nine miles of new single-lane, unpaved road with bridge crossings, beginning at the northern end of Halibut Point Road, extending east along the south shoreline of Katlian Bay, crossing the Katlian River, and ending four miles east of the estuary.

The road project was funded as part of a statewide bond package of transportation projects in 2012. The bond project was approved by voters statewide by a nearly 2 to 1 margin. It is great to see one of our projects in Southeast moving forward and onto construction.

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Seasoned Navigator

Wednesday, March 13th, 2019

Editorial reprinted with Permission From Ketchikan Daily News.

Link: https://www.ketchikandailynews.com/article/20190301/ARTICLE/190309994

To navigate safely in difficult waters requires a seasoned mariner who fully understands the situation and draws upon a wealth of experience and skill to plot the best course ahead.

By now, most Ketchikan residents know of the State of Alaska’s difficult situation and its potential impact on Ketchikan. Gov. Mike Dunleavy has proposed a budget that, in parts, would end the Alaska Marine Highway System on Oct. 1; remove about $7 million in funding for Ketchikan schools; take raw fish tax revenue away from our municipal government, and end state assistance on paying bond debt. Worse, Dunleavy and his administration have made it abundantly clear that the impacts of these changes are not their concern — it’s just a numbers game to them.

Fortunately, there is separation of powers in Alaska’s government. It’s the state Legislature, not the governor, that holds the actual power of appropriations. Thus, Dunleavy has submitted his proposed budget to the Legislature for consideration.

The Dunleavy budget has now landed in the Senate Finance Committee. This is where Ketchikan — and the rest of Alaska — can take heart. Why? Because at the helm of the Senate Finance Committee’s consideration of the state operating budget is the one legislator who, in our opinion, is the most qualified and capable of navigating Alaska through the Dunleavy budget storm.

Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, is the right leader in the right position at the right time.

Stedman understands many things — business; government and private sector finance; the workings of state government; and the people, place, cultures and economy of Southeast Alaska.

Stedman has worked in commercial fishing, construction and as the longstanding owner of a Sitka-based investment services firm. He has served at the municipal government level with the Sitka City and Borough Assembly and the Sitka Planning Commission.

He has served as Ketchikan’s state senator since 2003. He has extensive experience with the Senate Finance Committee, having previously served as its co-chairman from 2007 to 2012. He knows Dunleavy, who served in the Senate with Stedman from 2012 to 2018.

Stedman also understands the oil industry, having served on The Energy Council and the National Petroleum Council.

On resume alone, Stedman is the legislator most capable of steering the Senate Finance Committee and Legislature as a whole toward a rational budgetary solution.

Beyond resume, the handling of the early Senate Finance Committee hearings by Stedman and Co-Chair Natasha von Imhof, R-Anchorage, indicate a firm grasp of the Legislature’s key role in the budget process. Stedman, in particular, has put the Dunleavy administration on notice that the Legislature will have its say.

Most important for Ketchikan, Stedman understands how Dunleavy’s proposed budget would affect this community.

“The overall impact to the community of Ketchikan, I figure, with the other facets of the budget as presented, would probably eliminate about 20 percent of the economy,” Stedman said in a video commentary posted Wednesday on his Senate Majority website. “The pulp mills eliminated about a third (of the local economies) when they shut down. These are staggering numbers.”

Indeed they are. And it’s worth repeating the rest of Stedman’s comments here.

“So, clearly there’s a better solution — and we’re going to pursue it as vigorously as possible,” he continued. “And I look forward to sitting down with Gov. Dunleavy and working through some of these issues.”

Stedman said he believes that Dunleavy “has no interest in shutting down the economy of the state of Alaska.

“We have a cash flow problem. In other words, we have a deficit issue that we’ve got to fix over the next couple of years, and we’ll work with (Dunleavy) to accomplish that goal and keep the economy going,” Stedman said. “But taking out 20 percent of the economy is not the solution, and I personally believe that (the Office of Management and Budget) did not think through the proposal to its ultimate conclusion, which is the annihilation of 20 percent of one of the largest towns in Southeast.”

Stedman understands the situation. Better yet, he has the experience and skill to navigate the Legislature’s response in crafting a solution that won’t sink the economy of Ketchikan or any other Alaska community.

Dunleavy can still play the spoiler later with line-item vetoes from the Legislature’s budget. But for now, and throughout the process, Stedman is the legislator needed at the helm.

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