Kodiak Assembly to review Municipal League proposals on Alaska LNG and harbor grants

The Kodiak Island Borough Assembly will review proposed Alaska Municipal League resolutions on Alaska LNG and state harbor grants at a work session Thursday, Nov. 12, at 6:30 pm. Mayor Jared Griffin casts the borough's votes Dec. 11 at the league's business meeting in Anchorage, according to the work session agenda.

The LNG resolution backs an economically viable Alaska LNG project. It says municipal fiscal agreements, impact commitments and infrastructure obligations for each phase should be substantially resolved before or at that phase's final investment decision. The project would come in two phases: a pipeline from the North Slope to Southcentral, then an LNG export phase.

The resolution notes that lawmakers considered several tax proposals in 2026 but enacted no new framework. House Bill 381 had proposed replacing municipal property taxes on the pipeline with a volume-based tax and a split of revenue between the state and boroughs. In April, the league urged state senators to let local governments negotiate their own tax deals with the project.

One harbor resolution asks the state to fully fund the Municipal Harbor Facility Grant Program, at about $20.6 million in requests the state transportation department identified for the 2028 budget year. The grants pay for construction of small-boat harbors and require a 50 percent municipal match. Another would raise the top award to $7.5 million per project, up from $5 million per community a year.

The City of Kodiak sought the $5 million maximum for St. Herman Harbor Phase 2A. Its council agenda says the bid ranked second of six projects scored in September. The city estimates replacing the harbor will cost about $33 million.