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After finally securing the necessary environmental permits, municipal engineer Michael Harmon announced that construction had begun on the long-awaited haulout at the Gary Paxton Industrial Park.

We’re driving piles out there. We’re there,” Harmon said. “But we do know through digging out debris piles, we do have some contingency costs at this point.”

As with any big construction project, Harmon said there were some “bumps and bruises.” A recent geotechnical report revealed deeper bedrock than anticipated in the area, which meant the pilings for the haulout must be driven farther than expected, increasing the cost. Add that to the subcontract bids coming in higher than expected, and the addition of a permanent concrete washdown pad instead of a temporary pad, and the projected cost of the project has grown. 

“As we were working on this process, it really became apparent that the concrete washdown pad would really be nice to have,” Harmon said. “We have an operator interested now. They’ve stressed that point. The GPIP board’s been stressing that point. So the GPIP board is bringing forward a recommendation that now is the time, we’ll never get that cheaper.”

Mayor Steven Eisenbeisz questioned whether a heated pad was essential, but nevertheless thought a permanent concrete washdown pad was more than just “nice to have.” 

“This is an absolute necessity for this project, the fact that it made it this far, and I don’t know if I overlooked it or what, but to not have a washdown pad, to me, doesn’t means you don’t have a working haul out,” Eisenbeisz said. “Now, I know there’s other options where you can Band Aid it, but that’s not what the community needs. That’s not what the community wants.”

Assembly member Kevin Mosher supported the full ask, with heating which is intended to make it possible to haul out and clean boats during the winter months.

“I think if you’re going to do it, we have one time to do it. Let’s do it right. Let’s get the heating in there,” Mosher said. “I definitely think we need a concrete washdown pad, heated. And $163,000 [from the general fund] sounds like a lot, but in the big picture of what this is gonna mean for this community, I think it’s a small price to pay.” 

All-in-all, the contingency funding and the heated concrete pad would add $850,000 to the project budget. Over $330,000 of that would be covered by a fishery disaster fund grant the city just received. Another $350,000 would come from the GPIP working capital fund, and the remainder would come from the working capital portion of the city’s general fund. Assembly member JJ Carlson said she supported the contingency funding for the deeper pilings, but wished the ordinance had been separated into two items so she could give that part of the request a thumbs up.  

“There’s a lot of pieces here, and I agree with most of them, but not all of them, so it’s hard to vote overall when it’s such a bundled ordinance,” Carlson said. “I think I’m gonna have to say no, because a lot is being asked, and there’s so many what ifs still out there.”

Ultimately, the supplemental funding passed on first reading 6-1 with Carlson opposed. Even with the supplemental expenses being covered now, the overall projected cost for the complete haulout and boatyard is just over $30 million dollars with many millions yet to be funded.  The assembly will review it again on second-and-final reading on December 17.

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