HomeMy WebLinkAbout04232018 City Council Laydown - Squires Travel ReportMAYORNICE MAYOR REPORT
WASHINGTON, D.C. TRIP
April_ 16-17.2018
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The City of Seward held meetings on April 16-17 in
Washington, D.C. to promote the City's Federal priorities.
Attending the meetings were Dave Squires, Marianna Keil, Jim
Hunt, and Ron Long. Jean Bardarson attended the meetings on
behalf of the Seward Community Health Center. We were also
accompanied by our Federal lobbyists (Katherine Anderson,
Jennifer Ellison, and Brad Gilman). In addition to providing an
overall briefing on Seward, we focused on three issues. A
summary of each of those issues is provided below.
Lowell Canyon Flood Diversion System
There are two issues surrounding the Lowell Canyon Flood
Diversion System: (1) an Army `Corps investigation into safer
and more cost-effective alternatives to the current diversion
levee/tunnel configuration; and (2) the operation and
maintenance responsibility of the existing system.
We met with the Army Corps to discuss the ongoing
Alternatives study, explaining the City's ongoing collaboration
with the ACOE Alaska District. The ACOE's Flood Risk
Management division chief, Jeff Jensen, participated in the
meeting telephonically. Mr. Jensen has oversight authority over
all flood diversion infrastructure. We briefed him on the
history of the existing Lowell Canyon flood diversion system.
There was discussion about the time table for completion of the
study. A preferred alternative and draft report should be
available for the City to review and comment upon in the
summer. The Alaska District hopes to submit a report to
Headquarters for review and approval in early 2019. It is
possible that a project could be identified for the Fiscal Year
2020 budget, but that represents the best case scenario.
Apparently the calculation of "benefits" of an alternative
system remains an issue. Under normal Army Corps evaluation
methodology, Corps economists calculate future revenue
generating capability, cost savings, and economic growth of a
new project (for example, the Seward Harbor breakwater).
This project does not easily fit that model because the intent is
to enhance safety and protect life and property. The Alaska
District is currently evaluating the project on the basis of "life -
safety" benefits. We strongly recommended that the Corps also
include "avoided costs". in the calculation of benefits (costs that
would be borne by federal, state, and local entities if a
catastrophic failure of the diversion system destroys a portion of
downtown Seward).
We reiterated again to the Alaska Congressional
Delegation, the Army Corps, and Senate and House Committee
staff that the City of Seward does not have the financial
capability to maintain the structural integrity of the existing.
tunnel. The City has officially requested that the O&M
Transfer Authority be extended beyond the year 2022 and that
its expiration be linked to the construction of an alternative flood
mitigation system. The staffers handling the issue for the
House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee and the
Senate Environment & Public Works Committee are all new.
We briefed them on the history of the flood diversion system,
the current Alternatives Study, and the history of the O&M
Transfer Authority. Senator Sullivan and Congressman Young
sit on these Committees and have again committed to trying to
extend the O&M Transfer Authority beyond 2022. The
Committees will try and move a Water Resources Development
Act bill this summer.
Home ortin,g Coast Guard Fast Response Cutters
We again raised the issue of homeporting Coast Guard
patrol craft with. our Alaska Congressional Delegation and the
U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard is in the process of
constructing 42 "Fast Patrol Craft" ("FRC"s) between now and
the year 2023. These FRCs will replace the existing seven 110'
Island Class cutters. One of the Island Class Cutters, the
MUSTANG, is homeported in Seward. The remaining six
cutters are homeported in Ketchikan (2), Juneau (1), Petersburg
(1), Homer (1), and Valdez. The Coast Guard intends to
replace the seven Island Class cutters with six FRCs. Two of
the FRCs are already homeported in Ketchikan.
We met with Coast Guard officials to try and get an update
on their Homeport plan. They informed us that a decision will
be publicly announced shortly. They are looking at two
options. Option 1 would homeport three FRCs in Kodiak and
three FRCs in Ketchikan in order to achieve cost efficiencies
with short maintenance crews. Option 2 would be to homeport
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two FRCs in Kodiak, two in Ketchikan, and one FRC each in
two different communities.- Seward remains on the list of
potential homeports.
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The Alaska Delegation is adamantly opposed to the first
option. They want the FRCs to be homeported in a
geographically diverse fashion in the Gulf of Alaska. Senator
Sullivan was extremely angry with the Coast Guard when we
met with him on the 17'. He has temporarily blocked .the
appointment of the new Coast Guard Commandant until he gets
commitments in writing on where the - FRCs are to be
homeported. The Delegation continues to push for Seward to
be added to the mix.
Seward Community Health Center
In the meetings with the Alaska Delegation, we focused
primarily on thanking them for their strong support for the
Federally Qualified Health Centers. The two-year budget
agreement includes a two year extension of the mandatory
funding for the Community Health Centers Program (70 percent
of the program is funded through mandatory funding, with the
remaining 30 percent funded in an appropriations bill). The
combined funding for the CHC Program in FY ' 18 was $5.4
billion, a $300 million increase over FY ' 17.. We emphasized
how important the Seward Community Health Center is to
Seward residents, stating that the Federal funding through the
program is roughly $1 million per year.
We also met with Geoffrey Armes of the Rural
Development Administration. Mr. Armes is a community
programs specialist within RDA with a broad knowledge of
RDA grants and loans. We mentioned that the Seward
Community Health Center is currently exploring the expansion
of its facility to address overcrowding issues with the Seward
Hospital. We focused specifically on the construction of a new
facility on the former site of the Wesleyan nursing home facility.
Mr. Armes was impressed that the City dedicates a 1 percent
sales tax to health care costs for the community, stating that this
would be strong ammunition in justifying a long-term, low
interest loan from RDA (40 year repayment period, interest
currently at 3.8% but fluctuates quarterly). • He says there are
no grants for large brick -and -mortar projects. He recommended
that the Seward Community Health Center put in an application
for a RDA Technical. Assistance Grant, which can provide up to
$140,000 to pay for architectural services or hire someone to put
together a loan application.
We were also informed that the Health Services Research
Administration has received funding in the 2018 budget bill to
provide $1.5 billion in loans to construct or renovate
Community Health Centers. More information from our
lobbyists will be forthcoming on this opportunity.