Kodiak's floatplane base needs a new dock, and engineers will offer two ways to build it

The dock where visiting floatplanes tie up at Kodiak's Trident Basin Seaplane Base is sinking, and on Wednesday engineers will show the city two ways to replace it and rebuild the base around it.

HDL Engineering Consultants will present both options to the City of Kodiak's Airport Advisory Board, which advises the City Council. Dock A is deteriorating, shows signs of sinking and doesn't meet FAA requirements for dock height, according to HDL's presentation. It's the base's only parking for visiting planes, and debris sometimes makes it unusable. Chain anchors at the base have failed in storms, and reefs in the water operating area limit use at lower tides.

The public seaplane base on Near Island has three floating docks with 18 parking slips. HDL forecasts that annual operations, takeoffs and landings, will grow from 8,165 to 10,385 by 2045 and that the number of planes based there will rise from 13 to 17. The plan's "critical aircraft," the plane it's designed around, is the de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver.

Both options replace Dock A, widen the water operating area from 200 to 250 feet and remove the reefs. On land, both add a tie-down apron for 10 planes, four hangar lease lots, a passenger shelter and office, paved parking and an aircraft wash rack. The second option adds a fourth dock with about three more parking spots and a floating walkway linking the docks, which HDL says would cost more and take more upkeep.

Neither option has a price yet. In May, acting City Engineer Chris Lynch told the board that replacing Dock A and upgrading the base's electrical system, along with tie-downs in the quarry area, would roughly cost $3 million, with the FAA paying 95% and the city 5%, according to the minutes. The presentation notes that FAA approval of the plan doesn't commit federal money.

Public comments are due Oct. 28, ahead of a Nov. 4 public workshop.