Public Works committee recommends priority list of capital projects to guide federal and state funding requests

The Public Works committee on Monday recommended that the Skagway Municipality assembly adopt Resolution 25-01R, a priority list intended to guide federal and state funding requests for capital projects.

Manager Emily Deach, who led the presentation, said the list is a planning tool used to submit projects through federal portals and to the state legislature. "We actually got $10.2 million, which is pretty phenomenal," Deach said, citing a prior successful federal request for wastewater treatment plant upgrades that was routed through the Environmental Protection Agency.

Deach said the list emphasizes projects that already have some level of design because federal grant programs and congressional portals require clear project descriptions, timelines and cost estimates. She identified projects on the draft list including Skagway School rehabilitation, incinerator replacement, Main Street rehabilitation, terminal demolition, City Garden RV Park utilities and ongoing rock-slope safety and maintenance work.

Committee members pressed for specifics about likely funding sources. Deach explained that the municipality pursues multiple sources: federal grant programs (for which the municipality applies directly or through agencies such as the EPA), requests to the state legislature, and allocations from the commercial passenger vessel excise tax (CPV) distributed through a state portal associated with Sen. Lisa Murkowski. "The first five top ports of call get $5 ahead for every passenger," Deach said in describing how CPV distributions are calculated, and she estimated local CPV receipts could be "in the million-dollar range," though exact amounts vary year to year.

Discussion also focused on harbor dredging. Deach said Anchor QEA is preparing options and cost estimates; she described a full-basin dredge to minus-45 feet as substantially more expensive — in part because of sediment characterization and hazardous-disposal requirements — and said spot dredging in front of Broadway Dock would be a less costly, more immediate option.

Assembly debate touched on the practical value of ranking projects versus ensuring they appear on the list at all. After discussion, a committee member moved and the committee seconded a recommendation that the assembly approve Resolution 25-01R. The committee voted in favor.