Nome Port Commission weighs sliding-scale fees for idle vessels in harbor uplands

Boats and dredges that haven't floated in years occupy Port of Nome uplands, the shore-side yards working vessels need each haul-out season, and the Port Commission is weighing pricing them differently or clearing them out.

A work session Thursday drew a full house of owners, and discussion centered on the lower pads by the inner harbor ramps, not all port uplands. Commissioners raised options but settled none: repositioning idle vessels, a sliding-scale storage fee and eventual removal deadlines. Staff said any repositioning would be worked out with owners, not forced immediately. Owners asked for fee waivers for anyone with a signed contract to scrap or haul equipment away; one said he expects his dredge, the AU Grabber, gone by mid-July.

Project Manager Joy Baker said "vessels that have been in stores for 15 or 20 years in the backland areas are going to be the next layer to address."

Harbormaster Lucas Stotts said users wrongly tell him dredges and containers are already banned.

The commission took no vote and continued the item. It advises the city council, which sets rates: Tariff No. 16.6 charges 9 cents a square foot a week.