Loring Service Area Board to discuss dock grants after ending FY26 with $60,625

The Loring Service Area Board meets Friday, Oct. 9, to weigh dock grant options and spending authority, with its fiscal year 2026 ending fund balance, $60,624.55, well short of the cheapest stabilization concept engineers have priced: $8.5 million for a breakwater float.

At the July 23 meeting, PND Engineers presented three concepts based on eight years of wave data collected at Guard Island, ranging from the $8.5 million breakwater float, which would cut wave height by 7%, to a $63.5 million extended rubble mound breakwater that the minutes describe as reducing "the wavelength to 80%." Float replacement alone was estimated at $2.3 million. PND's Brandon Ivanowicz said anchor chains carry a reasonable life span of 15 to 20 years.

The minutes record no clear direction and no motion; board member Rich Stage favored replacing floats and hinges and continuing routine maintenance, while Mariah Cogswell favored pursuing Tier II state grants. Three grant programs bear on that choice, each with different terms: the state harbor grant requires a 50-50 match, caps awards at $5 million a year, and closed in August; the Denali Commission allows up to $1 million per community per application, with an Aug. 28 deadline; and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game's boating access program requires a 25% nonfederal match and excludes subsistence or commercial fishing uses. The FY27 budget allocates $10,000 for dock maintenance.