City Moves Forward with Wave Action Study

Jay Barrett/KMXT

On Thursday night the Kodiak City Council approved the next step in replacing Pier 3, the cargo dock leased to Horizon Lines. Scientists at Texas A-and-M University will build a scale model of Kodiak’s waterfront and use data collected by monitors to conduct a study of the wave action at the dock.

City Manager Aimee Kniaziowski said the study is especially important to help the city and its designers, PND Engineering, to decide what kind of dock should be built, one with traditional piling, or a sheet-pile dock, which costs millions of dollars less.

— (Wave 1 56 sec "They presented a design study … that council approve it.")

City Councilman Charlie Davidson, who’s worked as a stevedore at Pier 3 for years, urged approval of the wave study:

— (Wave 2 48 sec "I just wanted to inform the public … location that’s not ideal.")

The study, which will cost about $187,000, was approved on a 5-0 vote, and should be done this spring.

All the studies in the world won’t help the city if it can’t come up with the money to pay for replacing Pier 3. Councilman Terry Haines said the city has a chance to find funding through a statewide bond measure that will go before voters in the fall:

— (Wave 3 31 sec "The General Obligation Bond … a priority for them.")

Mayor Pat Branson reported that she did a lot of lobbying for the Kodiak project while in Juneau recently.

— (Wave 4 23 sec "I was there for a couple of … opportunity this year to do that.")

Senator Stevens said last week that it’s too early to say if the Pier 3 project will make it on the bond, which has to be approved by both the senate and the house and be signed by the governor.

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