Borough votes to pump $1.6 million toward fixing Port Mac dock

PALMER — The Mat-Su Borough Assembly gave the thumbs up to a $1.6 million fix for the Port MacKenzie dock and a thumbs-down to the land application of biosolids at Tuesday evening’s regular meeting. It also introduced a proposed sales tax to help fund borough schools (see separate story).

Ordinance 17-087 calls for appropriating the needed funds to repair an October 2016 failure on Port MacKenzie’s sheet pile barge dock. A sinkhole developed exposing a wall tear and pressure bulged a barge dock face and adjoining fascia beams and railing. The fix is an expensive one for the port which has seen limited use since it was built.

Several members of the assembly said although reluctant, they approved moving forward with the repairs.

District three Assemblyman George McKee was the sole nay vote on the question. Prior to the vote, he noted this marked the second structural failure at the port.

“The question is what happened to the insurance claim on the first damage,” McKee questioned.

Borough Manager John Moosey said the claim remains unpaid and is currently under review by the insurance company for a continuance. Moosey said he wasn’t sure if reimbursement on the claim was a done deal, adding he felt the process was an uphill battle and payment is in doubt.

McKee said he was at odds with his vote because of liability issues for the businesses that signed long-term leases with the borough. He noted much money is still needed to connect the rails between the Mat-Su and Anchorage. “We can’t get out from under it (but) I can’t in good conscience vote to spend another nickel on that turkey.”

District 7 Assemblyman Randall Kowalke said he felt repairing the dock is better than the alternative.

“I support this move and I recognize the grief that everyone involved has suffered through,” said Kowalke. He said the borough could cut its losses on the approximate $110 million project and “go home”. He added doing so would guarantee the port will see no future if it did. “I’m holding my nose in some regard. I believe we have to do it.”

Kowalke said he feels the day will come when the proposed bridge connecting the point to the City of Anchorage port and moving the current Ted Stevens International Airport to the adjacent area will come to pass.

“I can guarantee it won’t if we let it sink,” said Kowalke.

District One Assemblyman Jim Sykes said the borough is walking a fine line in the matter. He wondered whether he and his colleagues were visionaries or just “…pouring more money into a black hole”. Sykes said the second round of repairs seems to offer more guarantees of solving future problems.

District 5 Assemblyman Dan Mayfield said he was well aware that this was the second round of needed repairs. He said the difference in the revisit is that the borough has taken steps to ensure a fix that will work. Mayfield said he felt the port was a very, very valuable asset that needs to be protected.

District 4 Assemblyman Steve Colligan was the last to speak on the matter before the vote. Chastising state bureaucrats for not getting more financially involved with the project, he said now is a great time to argue but it’s time to move ahead and put the question behind.

“It’s the right thing to do,” Colligan said.

When the question was called, it passed 6-1 with McKee opposed.

Banning the application of biosolids on borough lands has been on the burner for several months. Ordinance 17-029 banned such applications. Officials from both the City of Palmer and the state Department of Corrections (DOC) are on record opposing the ban citing additional costs and safety concerns if the byproduct had to be shipped to a licensed facility in Anchorage. Several attached amendments quashed those concerns.

Biosolids are the remains from wastewater treatment plants. The product continues to gain worldwide acceptance as a suitable fertilizer and the product has been treated. However, those opposed to the use in the Valley cite the fact that more and more pharmaceutical products and smaller levels of heavy metals and other contaminants remain after processing.

Opposition also cites the fact that most application studies have been conducted in climates which are not at all like those in Alaska.

More than a half-dozen audience members addressed the body under public comment. Of those, five supported the move. Palmer City Manager Nathan Wallace was one of those who spoke.

Palmer currently produces biosolids as a byproduct from its treatment plant. The plant’s holding ponds are outside the city limits and would be affected if the ban was put into effect. The DOC produces the product at its Goose Creek Correctional Facility near Point MacKenzie which is spread at a nearby farm.

Wallace said he was not opposed to the ban and that Palmer’s biosolid output is well below the threshold set by the state. He said every two to three years, biosolids are pulled from holding ponds, dried, and then on city-owned adjacent lands. Wallace said the product is not sold and stays within the city limits.

Sykes’ amendments resolved the city’s concerns and gave the DOC additional time to resolve its. The first exempted municipalities and municipal-owned land. The second extended the time of enforcement from one, to three years. Sykes said he spoke with many local farmers who were conflicted about the topic. He said with the unknowns, it was better to take a pause and if down the road, the product is deemed safe, the ordinance could be appealed.

District 6 Assemblywoman Barbara Doty concurred with Sykes stating the number of unknowns makes the ban an easy decision, while Kowalke issued similar sentiments stating the topic “…absolutely scares the daylights out of me.”

Mayfield said he felt the product shouldn’t be applied on any borough lands calling it unconscionable.

McKee said he was conflicted on his decision. He cited the fact that every vegetable grown in Japan is fertilized with biosolids and it is the sole source to do so.

“Every vegetable you eat is fertilized with human waste, there are no others available,” McKee said. He said there are not enough studies, particularly in arctic climes, to give a definitive answer. “I’d like to abstain but every time I do, the six assembly members and the mayor threaten to tar and feather me.”

With that, McKee said he would have vote against the ban and when the question was called, he cast the only no vote.