Governor Sean Parnell has approved millions of dollars in funding for Petersburg’s three major harbor improvements. When the Governor signed the legislature’s Capital budget Monday, he didn’t veto any area projects in the spending plan.
That means there will be nearly ten million dollars for major port improvements in Petersburg, including the replacement of North Harbor, a new commercial drive down dock, and an upgrade for the crane dock.
The budget also has 350 thousand dollars for design of a new police station and 275 thousand dollars for replacement of the roof at Petersburg Medical Center. There’s 50 thousand dollars for repairs and improvements to the local shooting range and 250 thousand for more renovations and upgrades at the Sons of Norway Hall. There’s also 65 thousand for improvements at Sandy Beach Park.
With his signature, Parnell also approved a controversial, 40 million dollar appropriation for the Department of Transportation to build a gravel, one-lane road between Petersburg and Kake. After hearing testimony from Kupreanof and Petersburg residents earlier this month, a majority of Petersburg City Councilor’s voted to draft a resolution asking the governor to veto that project. That was primarily because of concerns about the state’s preferred route, which would run through the roadless community of Kupreanof. However, the resolution itself wasn’t slated to come up for a vote until the 21st. State officials have pushed for the road as a means of economic development, transportation, and as a maintenance corridor for the proposed electrical intertie to Kake.
The newly-approved capital budget also has 3.5 million dollars for the DOT refurbish Nordic Drive from Haugen Street to the ferry terminal and 400 thousand to replace a local DOT Storage Building.
