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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRes2001-063 I I I Sponsored by: Mayor CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA RESOLUTION 2001-063 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA, SUPPORTING THE MODERNIZATION OF THE SEWARD MARINE CENTER USING THE $1.6 MILLION GENERATED FROM THE SALE OF THE K. M. RAE BUILDING WHEREAS, the Seward Marine Center (SMC) is a major coastal marine experimental facility operated by the Institute of Marine Sciences (IMS); and, WHEREAS, IMS is part of the University of Alaska Fairbanks' School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (SFOS); and, WHEREAS, the Center is the northernmost University marine laboratory in the U.S. and is ideally situated for fjord-related investigations, open ocean work in the Gulf of Alaska, and studies of subarctic and arctic organisms; and, WHEREAS, the SMC has received no physical plant maintenance support since 199J despite providing over $400K (from ship and shore side research grants) per year in overhead to the main campus; and, WHEREAS, the SMC is the base of operation for the 132 ft. oceangoing research vessel Alpha Helix that is scheduled to be replaced in 2006 with a vessel of approximately 220-ft. length that will be capable of operating in ice but cannot be operated at the SMC without upgrading the dock to accommodate a larger vessel; and, WHEREAS, should this dock upgrade fail to occur, SFOS will no longer operate Alaska's deep sea research vessel and if the shore facility is not modernized then the SMC cannot become a major oceanographic research center that combines its shore research capability with that of the Mariculture Center and the SeaLife Center; and, WHEREAS, this lost opportunity will result in the University's decline in standing to that of a third rate oceanographic research center and would be a failure of the University system to serve the State's scientific needs; and, WHEREAS, the K. M. Rae Building plus 2.6 acres of uplands will be sold to the US Park Service and Forest Service in 2001 for approximately $1.6 million. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA, that: CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA RESOLUTION 2001-063 Section 1. The City of Seward supports the growth of the Seward Marine Center by modernization of the facility with the $1.6 million generated from the sale of the K M. Rae Building. Section 2. The City of Seward supports the University fulfilling its promises to expand and fully utilize the property the City provided the University for the Seward Marine Center operations. Section 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption. PASSED AND APPROVED by the City Council of the City of Seward, Alaska, this 14th day of May, 2001. THE CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA {" 9- /? J.....- '-11 Edgar Blatchford, Mayor AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: Blatchford, Brossow, Calhoon, Shafer None Clark, King, Orr None ATTEST: (City Sea~~,......", ~........~ OF S~"'~"" ~.. ~' .......... ""A' 1.. ~ Cj ....o~PO~..")'() ~ I...~ ~\ 1- - . --- ~\ .. .. . . .. : · i BE A T i . : .. ~... s \ -- ! = .. d\..~ . ~ \ ~"~""~ f "\9~~'-:',., ,i~ .....1.... ~~, +" OF A\..~,..,,'" "'''''11'\\