Expansion of the City of Ketchikan’s downtown cruise dock is the subject of a special meeting Tuesday.
On the agenda is a review of consulting firm Moffatt & Nichol’s design for Berths 1 and 2, which is at the 35-percent stage. The work will involve a floating concrete pontoon, drivedown ramps, passenger gangways, dolphins, and catwalks at each berth. The end result will allow a mega cruise ship to dock at Berth 1.
The city is negotiating with Ketchikan Dock Co. to expand Berth 4, which the city leases from that private business. The city-owned Berth 3 already can handle some of the larger cruise ships entering Alaska waters over the next few years. This year, the Norwegian Bliss is the only mega ship scheduled to visit.
Also on Tuesday’s agenda is approval of an approximately $60,000 budget transfer for Phase 2 of the design project. The transfer would pay for cost increases since the original estimate, bringing Phase 2 to about $1,027,000.
Another budget transfer calls for paying the firm about $70,000 for baseline monitoring of currents around Thomas Basin. The information would be used to assess how the finished project might affect currents.
A final item on the agenda would authorize final design for plans to remove a navigation hazard in the Tongass Narrows off Berth 2. The rock pinnacle will need to be blasted, and then dredged.
Tuesday’s special meeting starts at 7 p.m. in City Council chambers. Public comment will be heard at the start of the meeting.
