After news reports highlighted them, the Anchorage Assembly moved concerns about the Port of Anchorage Expansion project to the top of their agenda at their regular meeting Tuesday.
Recent news stories highlighted that the municipality was keeping a draft study of what went wrong with the port project under wraps until after the Nov. 6 election, just as they were asking voters to approve 50 million more dollars for the project in a statewide bond proposition. The municipality presented a
memo presented to the assembly outlined information that was released by the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration to Anchorage Daily News reporter Lisa Demer, and listed her questions. After reading the memo, Assembly member Paul Honeman asked if, now that more information about problems with the port project was out in the open, the Mayor could put a price tag on the project.
“Is there anything binding us from putting out more information in advance of the Nov. 6 election for this bond that asks about $50 million to residents? I don’t buy the fact that no matter which design we go with we’re gonna need a lot of money. I think we’re going to need a little more than that,” Honeman said.
Information from the 2,200 page draft study is set to be released on Nov. 9, three days after the election. The Municipality says they can’t share it because of a confidentiality agreement. In an email from Kim Riddle with Martime Administration says that the preliminary findings of the study support their concerns
that the design was inappropriate. Because the information Maritime Administration released confirmed that there were problems, Assembly member Honeman reasoned with Mayor Sullivan, that it made sense to just tell the public, before election day, how much more the port project would likely cost.
“Honeman: Would it be fair to say that, either project, whichever way to complete this port project – whatever it looks like – is going to be in excess of $300 million, or $400 million, or something that we can give to our constituents and our residents in advance of the vote? Sullivan: You have that information now sir, feel free to share. Honeman: So, $300 million? Sullivan: At least.”
Sullivan said the municipality planned to request an additional $250 million from the State. Sullivan did revise a request to cover attorney fees, reducing the amount from $2 million to $250,000. The request was unanimously approved by the Assembly. The $50 million port request is the largest in the more than $450 million statewide bond proposition that goes before the voters on Nov. 6.
- Anchorage Assembly Memorandum with ADN reporter Lisa Demer’s questions (PDF)
- Anchorage Assembly Memorandum #AM 623-2012 (PDF)
- Anchorage Assembly Memorandum #AM 623-2012 (A) (PDF)
- Port of Anchorage FY ’13 First Quarter Report (PDF)
- ADN: Sullivan proposes spending $2 million for Outside law firm in port expansion
- ADN: City to get draft of port study, but details secret until after bond vote
Daysha Eaton is a contributor with the Alaska Public Radio Network.
Daysha Eaton holds a B.A. from Evergreen State College, and a M.A. from the University of Southern California. Daysha got her start in radio at Seattle public radio stations, KPLU and KUOW. Before coming to KBBI, she was the News Director at KYUK in Bethel. She has also worked as the Southcentral Reporter for KSKA in Anchorage.
Daysha's work has appeared on NPR's "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered", PRI's "The World" and "National Native News". She's happy to take assignments, and to get news tips, which are best sent via email.
Daysha became a journalist because she believes in the power of storytelling. Stories connect us and they help us make sense of our world. They shed light on injustice and they comfort us in troubled times. She got into public broadcasting because it seems to fulfill the intention of the 4th Estate and to most effectively apply the freedom of the press granted to us through the Constitution. She feels that public radio has a special way of moving people emotionally through sound, taking them to remote places, introducing them to people they would not otherwise meet and compelling them to think about issues they might ordinarily overlook.
