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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04232018 City Council Laydown - Squires Travel ReportMAYORNICE MAYOR REPORT WASHINGTON, D.C. TRIP April_ 16-17.2018 /60�fz� or-q 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 &q 23 (/�dw two FRCs in Kodiak, two in Ketchikan, and one FRC each in two different communities.- Seward remains on the list of potential homeports. St 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.