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Ports & Harbors reviews maritime capital priorities; floating breakwater option under study
Summary
The committee reviewed a living maritime capital projects list that prioritizes the BlueTAC dock replacement, Letnikoff work and drive‑down workflow; staff discussed a purchasable floating breakwater with a casual full estimate of $5 million and smaller deployable options around $1 million.
The Ports & Harbors advisory committee spent significant time reviewing maritime capital priorities and phasing, emphasizing the need to be selective given the aggregate scale of projects.
Harbor Master Henry Paul said the BlueTAC dock replacement, Letnikoff Harbor floats and the drive‑down workflow (phase 4) are among the highest priorities. He cautioned that combined phasing for multiple harbor projects could total tens of millions of dollars and urged careful ranking of projects by cost and community impact.
Paul reported on floating breakwater sections known as the Bar Harbor system, which have a 20–25 year lifespan and could be purchased and towed to Haines. A casual estimate for the entire breakwater with anchors, chain and towing was about $5,000,000; Paul said smaller sections could be obtained for roughly $1,000,000 and might be repurposable inside the boat harbor. He asked the committee to consider whether to pursue a letter of intent to acquire some sections as an interim, repurposable measure while pursuing larger grant funding for permanent work.
Committee members also discussed specific project costs and priorities: an upgraded programmable logic controller for the ice house (~$130,000), replacing aging floats and gangways, launch ramp improvements and fuel dock replacement planning. Members recommended staff sharpen the project ranking and return with numeric priorities to guide funding decisions.
