City officials in Kodiak are moving forward with an ambitious plan to rethink the community’s decade-old waterfront master plan.
The city has already identified some areas – like Near Island’s St. Herman Harbor – as high priority for upgrades.
City Manager Mike Tvenge said there’s a lot of interest, noting the standing room only crowd last Friday at the ComFish forum.
“I was glad to see such a full room, we got some good questions,” said Tvenge. “This is just the beginning of the work to be done.”
Kodiak’s harbormaster and a representative from Fairbanks-based engineering firm RESPEC presented on the project’s next steps as part of the $100,000 consulting contract. Three quarters of that contract was paid for with a grant, and it includes soliciting residents’ feedback for the future of the Kodiak waterfront.
RESPEC will be rolling out a series of community feedback surveys in partnership with the city in the coming months – including an interactive map where users can tap a location and leave a comment about needed improvements. The timeline for those surveys has not been released.
Tvenge said going through the public input phase with the help of a consulting firm will allow the city to look at city-owned coastline more holistically.
“That’s what this is all about. It’s not just boat slips, it’s more about the adaptation of downtown waterfront for walking tours, for who knows yet what the public wants,” he said.
Developing Gibson Cove – a small harbor adjacent to the Cargo Dock – and improving parking for Near Island have already come up as areas the public would like to see addressed after Friday’s forum. The city last updated its waterfront masterplan in 2010.
Kodiak’s Port and Harbor Advisory Board is slated to discuss the masterplan overhaul when it meets on Friday, April 1. The city hasn’t yet announced when it’ll begin taking public comment on the plan, although Tvenge said the city expected the roll out to be later this spring.