Kodiak Assembly revisits a state funding list where most requests are for villages

The Kodiak Island Borough Assembly discussed its state and federal funding priorities at a work session Thursday, starting from a state list where 10 of the 17 requests are for villages, six of them for water and sewer needs.

One is a new water tank for Karluk. Engineering design is done, but preparation for construction stalled for lack of money, according to the list, which the Assembly adopted in January. The project had $987,094 and needed $894,993 more.

The tank is one of two Karluk projects the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium plans to build together. The other replaces the village's water treatment plant. Karluk has been in violation of the Surface Water Treatment Rule's drinking water standards since they were updated in 2005, because of how its plant and storage tank are set up, the list says.

The tank, its foundation, an access road and a 1,500-foot line to the water plant are estimated at $1,882,087, according to the meeting packet. Buying and installing the tank itself was quoted at $223,000. The Indian Health Service put in $924,390, and the Denali Commission added $62,704 for costs the health service can't cover.

A tank already in Karluk won't be used because its configuration doesn't meet current seismic requirements, the list says. In an earthquake, water moving inside it could damage the tank and cause it to collapse.

In June, borough planners approved a permit for the overhaul of Karluk's water system, including the new tank. The list projected construction of the tank and the treatment plant in 2026 if the extra money came through.

The tribe, the Native Village of Karluk, also asks for a $150,000 sewer truck. Generator problems mean the sewer pump can't run automatically, so starting in July, the sewer had to be pumped manually every few days, the tribe wrote.

The tribe also wants $139,444 for two community greenhouses on tribal land. Food arrives by small plane, often delayed by weather. With no gasoline for sale in Karluk, harvesting subsistence fish and game by ATV or boat is "nearly impossible," the tribe wrote.

In Larsen Bay, the spillway at the reservoir that supplies the city's drinking water and hydroelectric power "is eroding and is nearing failure," the list says. The $1.2 million fix has no funding. A separate $7 million request would replace water lines that lose 40,000 gallons a day, even though the city has fixed all the leaks it could find.

Port Lions is asking for $8 million to replace a water and sewer system first built after the 1964 earthquake and tsunami forced Afognak residents to move there. It also wants $35,000 to insulate its fire station. Without insulation, the fire truck has to be kept empty of water in freezing weather, which limits the city's ability to respond to fires, the list says.

Old Harbor is asking for $100,000 for a septic tank downtown.

The other seven requests include $10 million for St. Herman Harbor, $10 million to replace the hospital's aging boilers and sterilizers and borough road paving.

In October, Borough Manager Aimee Williams sought lawmakers' guidance on whether to keep village projects on the list or focus mainly on borough projects, since villages can submit their own requests. The Assembly discussed some of the projects with Rep. Louise Stutes and the borough's lobbyist, Mark Hickey, on Oct. 29, Williams wrote in her staff report.

The packet also has a new draft of the borough's federal priorities for the next two federal budget years. It includes St. Herman Harbor, erosion along the Russian River in Bells Flats and the Coast Guard's plan to base two Arctic Security Cutters in Kodiak, and leaves room for the Assembly to add up to four more capital projects.

The Assembly doesn't vote at work sessions. Once adopted, the state list goes to Kodiak's legislators through the state's capital project system, and the federal list goes to the borough's federal lobbyist, Sebastian O'Kelly, to share with Alaska's congressional delegation.

Editor's note: This story was updated to make clear that the project details come from the list the Assembly adopted in January, and to use the list's own wording on how Karluk's sewer is pumped and on the tank already in the village.