Ketchikan's Homestead road service area overspent as a new plow contract begins

The Ketchikan Gateway Borough signed a contract in October with Magnum Enterprises to plow roads in the Homestead Service Area this winter for up to $25,000.

On Old Homestead Road, plows go out once new snow tops half an inch. On Fawn Mountain, Big Rock, Anchor Ridge and Misty Mountain roads, they go out once it tops 3 inches. Drifting snow or unsafe ice brings them out on any of those roads, and the contract requires Magnum to "have the road plowed" before 6 am. The service area's board kept those thresholds in August.

Last fiscal year, the service area spent more than twice its budget, according to a borough worksheet in the board's packet. It spent about $61,600 in the year that ended June 30, against a budget of about $27,800. Road maintenance alone cost about $36,900, against $10,000 budgeted.

The account that pays for the plowing contract spent about $21,600, against a $15,000 budget. Overall, the service area spent about $26,800 more than it took in.

Road fees brought in about $7,600, less than a quarter of the service area's revenue. Most of the rest came from two borough transfers, about $10,000 from the general fund and about $13,400 from the local education fund. For this year, the borough kept residential pricing the same and is absorbing the school district's share of service area costs, the board was told in August.

Under the new contract, Magnum gets $90 an hour for plowing, $60 a yard for sand and 54 cents a pound for ice melt. It's paid only for time its equipment is working in the service area, not for travel or repairs.

If plowing isn't done by 6 am, or if Magnum doesn't get a route covered within an hour after a breakdown, the borough can hire someone else and bill Magnum for any extra cost. Plowed snow can't block driveways, and Magnum must repair any damage it causes before June 1.

The contract leaves Fawn Mountain Elementary School's grounds to a separate contract paid by the school district. In August, staff told the board the school property is unoccupied and the borough bus stop may move off it, which could raise the service area's costs.

The bottom of Old Homestead Road is deteriorating quickly after recent patching, according to the August minutes, though the minutes also say that, with continued monitoring, the road should last a couple more years before it needs significant repairs. Board member Chris Arntzen, Magnum's contact for the service area, will keep patching potholes as needed, the minutes say.

The board meets Thursday, Nov. 19, at 5:30 pm at the borough offices at 1900 First Ave. It's scheduled to get an update on the snow contract, final numbers for last fiscal year and a quote for pothole patching.

The contract runs through June 30, 2027. The borough can extend it four more times, a year at a time, if the money is appropriated.