Assembly calls for postponing AMHS move
City asks for a study of consequences of relocating ferry headquarters in Ketchikan
The Juneau Assembly wants the state to delay a plan to move the Alaska Marine Highway System headquarters to Ketchikan until economic and other studies are done.
The Assembly passed a resolution Monday asking Gov. Frank Murkowski to hold off until an analysis of:
• Effects on the state and the involved employees.
• Ferry system operational changes.
• The economic results in Juneau and Ketchikan.
If information contained in such an analysis supports moving the headquarters, only then should relocation proceed, the resolution says.
But Murkowski spokesman John Manly said the governor has seen enough analysis over the years.
"The governor is pretty determined to go through with this," Manly said before the Assembly met.
The resolution asks for a "reasoned process," Mayor Bruce Botelho said.
The proposed move is under fire because opponents assert the governor's office and Ketchikan officials negotiated the deal in secret without in-depth study and public comment.
The state and Ketchikan would enter into a lease of about 6,200 square feet of office space at the largely vacant Ketchikan Pulp Co.
The move would result in the relocation of about 44 employees and their families. The direct and indirect loss to Juneau would be in excess of 70 jobs and an annual payroll of $3.8 million, according to the Juneau Economic Development Council.
The lone in-depth study of the proposed move is a 1997 report that concluded "top level employees of the AMHS are the individuals who most need to interact with the Legislature and other (Department of Transportation) administration offices," and that movement of their offices "would create significant problems in the operation of the system," the resolution says.
The only study supporting the move is a discussion paper that concludes the move would result in a 5 percent savings in operating costs, according to the resolution.
Proximity to the Department of Transportation, U.S. Coast Guard officials and the governor and Legislature "is important for successful management" of the ferry system, it says.
Botelho said he is "hopeful" but not "optimistic" that the administration will look at the concerns.
"I continue to believe the proposal makes little sense," he said.
• Tara Sidor can be reached at tara.sidor@juneauempire.com.