The Senate Transportation Committee advanced a bill Tuesday to add a 12th seat to the Alaska Marine Transportation Advisory Board, an expansion proponents say will improve local representation for communities on the Kenai Peninsula and Kodiak Island.
Senate Bill 24 would take several communities currently represented by Unalaska Mayor Shirley Marquardt on the board — which advises the governor and Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities commissioner on issues related to the Alaska Marine Highway System and is intended to represent public and industry interests — and place them under a new seat.
An aide to Sen. Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, who introduced the bill, testified that S.B. 24 was crafted at the request of the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce.
“Really, at the request of the local Chamber of Commerce in Kodiak, we took a look at this and thought that this would be a way to get more voices in a larger area of the state to have a say in the Marine Transportation Advisory Board process,” Doug Letch said.
Trevor Brown, executive director of the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce, testified in support of the bill by telephone. He said Marquardt does a “great job” on MTAB, but that the interests of other Southwest Alaska communities included in the region Marquardt represents are different from those of Homer, Kodiak, Ouzinkie and other communities that S.B. 24 seeks to incorporate into the 12th seat.
“We have different needs than the Aleutian chain from our service, and we would prefer to have our own representative on MTAB,” Brown said.
S.B. 24 would also update a list of communities included in the seat for northern Southeast Alaska to include Gustavus, which began receiving regular ferry service earlier this decade.
Sens. Fred Dyson and Anna Fairclough, both Eagle River Republicans, asked Letch whether it would create a problem for MTAB to have an even number of members in case there were a tied vote.
“It seems that the meetings are fairly amicable in terms of getting a quorum together and discussing the types of issues,” Letch said. “We had some thoughts about the even number of board members, too, and I think it’s really just the idea that in order to minimalize the cost, we’ve just proposed one seat for it. If it was within the purview of other committees or anywhere down the line to add anything else, that’s a different discussion but we don’t think that there’d be a big problem with an even number of votes.”
Asked about it later Tuesday, Stevens concurred.
“I think they very seldom have controversial votes,” Stevens said of the MTAB members.
The committee ultimately advanced the bill to its second committee of referral, the Senate Finance Committee, on a motion offered by Dyson.
S.B. 24 carries a fiscal note indicating it would cost the state an estimated $3,000 per year, an impact Letch described as “very minor.”
“We don’t feel like that’s a very overwhelming concern,” he said.
The Senate Transportation Committee is chaired by Sen. Dennis Egan, D-Juneau. Egan expressed support for the bill after Stevens introduced it last month, although he has not signed on as a cosponsor.
• Contact reporter Mark D. Miller at 586-1821 or at mark.d.miller@juneauempire.com.
Comments (8)
Add commentIf only
If only DOT and Kemp and the rest of his "roads only" guys would listen to MTAB, maybe it would be worthwhile. Otherwise it is a waste of time and money. Kemp and his ilk don't give a damn about AMHS and wish it would die a quick death so those budget dollars can be spent on pavement instead.
same MTAB?
This is the same MTAB that the governor and DOT ignore?
@kjashen... As someone
who supports the Road and the AMHS, your vitriol against DOT and Mr. Kemp seems more than a bit misplaced. This is not an "Either-Or" choice. Time was, Alaskans didn't balk at tough jobs that needed doing. We can build that road, and greatly improve AMHS service to other communities in SE in the same stroke.
Misplaced
I think not, Mr. Kemp scratched the Alaska class because of cost overruns, but the road which has doubled in cost in the last 5 years is not to be scratched? His own statements while not specifically stating the road will be close in winter, say the shuttle ferries would run to auke bay during wintertime which means the road will be closed..what 7 months a year? Mr. Yost jokes that "private industry" will step up to the plate to provide access for walk on passengers from juneau to katzehin...what bus or taxi company is going to provide that service without major state subsidy, cause a 150 dollar one way trip really isn't in the cards. I have watched AMHS for over 30 years and whenever a road guy runs the show, service has declined or been switched around so much as to [filtered word] off the public, maintenance been deferred etc so I am not that optimistic about DOT at this point.
kjashen......
"what bus or taxi company "?.......
" a 150 dollar one way trip really isn't in the cards".
How did you figure that out?
The Seward Bus Lines has been running between Anchorage-Seward- Whittier for years. They operate all year round.
The winter weather along the Seward HWY/ Turnagain Pass is just as nasty as Lynn Canal weather and often times much worse.
It snows a lot more in Seward-Whittier-Turnagain Pass than it does in Juneau.
There are avalanche chutes along that route and it doesn't bother people much. The road traffic is heavy year round with many daily drivers.
Miles to Seward.....127. Miles to Whittier.....60.
Cost of the bus ride....$40,one way, in the summer. $ 50 ,one way in the winter.
kjashen....
Seward Bus Lines is not subsidized by the state.
If someone in JNU doesn't set up a Juneau- Katzehin bus route people from "up North " will do it for you.
good
glad to see that it works up there, here in juneau we can't even get a bus line to go to the ferry terminal at auke bay anytime even in summer, and heaven forbid getting a cab in the winter, you need to call one and wait...don't think that will work well at katzehin.
a comment often heard in JNU.....
" it won't work here."
A comment often heard " up North".............. "When do you want it?"