Port Commission creates maintenance reserve fund

At its Feb. 18 regular meeting, the Nome Port Commission approved a new tariff on port services for the purpose of creating a maintenance reserve fund. A deposit of $150,000 goes into the fund right away. The tariff will increase every year on January 1 by an amount determined by the consumer price index in Anchorage. This year that number was 1.66. “I think that to move forward with anything else we’re going to need a maintenance fund,” said Commissioner Derek McLarty. Every year money from port revenue will be added to the fund. “We need to build the fund to roughly a million to cover unanticipated catastrophes or opportunities over time,” said Commissioner Charlie Lean. Before the regular meeting the commissioners held a work session for discussing the tariff and the fund.

In mid-week Nome got a visit from two Corps of Engineers generals and a colonel, each with a staff member. All three are key people in the expansion of Nome’s port. They met with City Manager Glenn Steckman and Port Commissioner Charlie Lean. Lean described their visit as a familiarization tour. “All three of them said ‘This is the big project,’” said Lean. “I came away with a very positive message, that they were optimistic about our project, they’re trying to figure out to make it work.”

“They understand we’re strapped for cash because we’re such a small town. But they were encouraging, saying ‘There’s got to be a way, we think we have some ideas,’” Lean reported.

According to Lean they asked a lot of questions, trying to verify what they’d heard and read about the Nome port project. “I think they knew all the answers before they asked the questions,” said Lean. “They came up here with the message that the City of Nome needs to participate well and they wanted to ensure themselves that there wasn’t strong opposition. I didn’t see them raise any red flags.” Neither of the generals had been in Nome previously.

Commissioner Gay Sheffield raised the question about Nome losing control of the port because so much of it is to be paid for by the federal government. “At what point will the federal government say ‘We paid for 99.9 percent of this’ and then the City of Nome doesn’t have control of the port?” asked Sheffield. “Is the City of Nome going to lose control of the port because so much federal funding is part of the match?” Charlie Lean commented the FBI had come to town to discuss potential Chinese investment in the port. “Every partner is going to want something from the port,” said Lean. “Nobody is going to donate money to this port for free. Except perhaps the federal government. We need to find partners we are comfortable with. Maybe it’s OK to have research ships come to port at a discount, maybe it’s OK to have Navy ships at a discount, if we can get the port built. But let’s try to make enough to make maintenance costs.”

“I think there are a lot of perceptions about the port that may not be correct out in the community,” said City Manager Glenn Steckman. “Getting onto the water bill was a tremendous accomplishment with Joy being very involved in that and interacting with port people.”

In the Harbormaster’s report Lucas Stotts said 2021 cruise ship numbers are looking grim and likely to get worse. But 2022 looks better. He said commercial cargo vessels are ready to make port in Nome as soon as the ice allows. There is a 60-foot gold dredge on the way as well as one over 80 feet. A prospective gold miner putting a barge together contacted the port. He’s just starting work on the barge and expects to arrive first thing this spring. “A lot of optimism there,” said Stotts.

Stotts also reported a University of Alaska Anchorage seismologist wants to install six seismic sensors at the port. He wants to see how quakes and permafrost interact.

In the Port Director’s report, Joy Baker said they received a draft design agreement from the U.S. Corps of Engineers, Alaska District. “The sooner we get the design agreement to the administration, the council and the attorneys and get it signed the sooner we can get rolling on the twoyear schedule,” said Baker. Hopefully, she said, the actual work can begin for the 2023 season.

In the first citizens comments session Dr. Barb Amarok, director of Northwest Campus, spoke to the commissioners. “I’m here to offer the campus to the City of Nome Port Commission as a resource and a partner,” she said. “Through UAF we have agreements with various researchers who normally come to Nome during the summer months. And we partner with other groups during the year. Any way we can support you the Port Commission we’d be happy to work with you,” said Dr. Amarok.

“I’m the chair of the Norton Sound Fishery Advisory Committee. Today I submitted a petition to the Alaska Board of Fish and the Commissioner of Fish and Game to close the Norton Sound Red King Crab fishery for 2021,” said Commissioner Charlie Lean. “In case you didn’t know, it is open for winter fishing right now, although there’s no buyer. That could change.” Lean reported there is no depth in the age class that are of legal size. “I submitted a proposal to turn the fishery off,” said Lean. NSEDC is also against the season. According to Lean, crab that are returned to the water in the winter suffer high mortality with 50 percent probably dying.

After adjournment Gay Sheffield presented information about Russian ice-capable liquid natural gas tankers transiting the Bering Strait and operating in the Arctic.