Several Kodiak organizations won’t receive extra state funding this fiscal year.
That’s after Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed over $120 million from the state’s $3.5 billion capital budget on June 28. The largest Kodiak project included in the list of the governor’s line-item vetoes is the St. Herman harbor infrastructure project.
The city prioritized the St. Herman harbor replacement in its list of fiscal year 2025 capital improvement projects, which it submitted to the state and federal government.
Earlier this year, Kodiak’s City Council requested $1 million from the state to help cover the first two phases of permitting and design work, which are estimated to cost $16 million. Altogether though, the project’s total cost is expected to reach $60 million.
But Kodiak Mayor Pat Branson said the governor’s veto won’t make or break the project.
“Senator Murkowski is on the Senate Appropriations Committee. She put a $10 million request into that committee for St. Herman Harbor replacement," Branson said. "We also have a $11.5MARAD [Maritime Administration Port Infrastructure Development Program] grant that is being reviewed right now, that has support from our full federal delegation. And that letter of support went to the Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg. When I was in Washington D.C. a couple of weeks ago I spoke to him and reminded him about that grant."
Turnagain Marine Construction has already begun phase one, and is closing in on a final design concept for St. Herman harbor, also known as Dog Bay.
That major infrastructure project wasn’t the only Kodiak entity affected by Dunleavy’s vetoes.
Kodiak College, a University of Alaska Anchorage campus, requested $477,500 for building improvements to its roof and doors, along with mechanical, electrical and emergency egress work. That money was axed from the budget as well.
Aside from capital projects, the governor also made millions in cuts to Head Start grants and adult day services’ funding, which impact numerous Kodiak residents. Out of the $12.2 billion operating budget, Dunleavy cut roughly $105 million in addition to his reductions to the capital budget.
Branson said she was disappointed but not necessarily surprised by Dunleavy’s budget vetoes. That’s why she said the city council will continue to seek funding from a variety of sources for Kodiak’s capital projects, not just look to the state for help.
“When you have these huge capital projects, you have to do them in phases and look for every piece of money that is available in the different arenas. Certainly we have done that with the library, with the new recreation center, with the fire station, and we’ll continue to do that with the replacement of St. Herman Harbor.”
The fiscal year 2025 budget funds the state government through June of next year. Gov. Dunleavy said in a statement June 28 that his budget vetoes will increase funds to necessary programs while reducing spending from the general fund.
