Ferry landing still swamped in dispute

Frontiersman

PALMER — Mat-Su Borough officials say they’ve made progress in discussions with the Municipality of Anchorage over where to land a Knik Arm ferry on the Anchorage side.

Over the past year, the Borough has been seeking to dock its ferry, due for delivery next year, at Ship Creek. Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich has been attempting to steer the Borough to the Port of Anchorage.

“We strongly urge you to move forward with both potential landing sites simultaneously,” Begich says in a recebt letter to Borough manager John Duffy.

Duffy said that’s progress in a discussion where, before, Anchorage had been advocating the port site and not considering the Ship Creek site. Duffy’s reading of Begich’s letter, he said, indicates that Anchorage wants the Borough to put together applications for both sites for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The problem is that so far all indications point toward the application for landing at the port being denied, Duffy said, adding that the process costs about $40,000 per application.

“Forty thousand dollars of the public’s money for what?” Duffy asked.

Duffy said he’s going to see if the Corps would accept an abbreviated application for the port landing to hopefully drive costs down. He is, however, confident the port plan will be shot down, mainly because of a letter received in May from the U.S. Coast Guard calling Anchorage’s preferred site at its port unsafe.

“Vessel traffic concerns; extremes of tide, current and ice conditions; and the potential for a maritime casualty involving passenger-, tank- and hazardous materials-carrying vessels all combine to create an unjustifiable level of risk to public safety,” J.J. Sciuto, a Coast Guard commander, wrote.

The delay is already costing money, Duffy said. When the plans for the ferry began in 2006, the borough had enough money to build both docks. Now, with construction costs rising, the money is only enough for the Port MacKenzie landing and a part of the Anchorage landing.

And with the ferry due to be delivered in 2009, “We’re very likely to have the vessel and not have the landing complete,” Duffy said.

Still, the Borough manager said he’s confident the conflict will resolve in time to get the landing built with at most a two- or three-month delay in the start of ferry service.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiers-man.com or 352-2270.