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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Infrastructure, Enterprise and Utility Oversight Committee Meeting - September 17, 2026

Assembly & Committee Meetings — Thursday, September 17, 2026

BodyAnchorage, Alaska

SessionAssembly & Committee Meetings

DateThursday, September 17, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 27:59

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:00

For those on the phone, we will get started in just a second.

0:03

We're getting situated here in the room.

0:09

Can you hear me?

0:10

Can you hear me?

0:13

Okay, members on the phone.

0:15

If you can hear me, we're gonna get started in just a couple minutes.

0:19

Okay, thank you.

0:50

All right, hello everybody.

0:52

Welcome to the municipalities um infrastructure enterprise and utility oversight committee of the whole, which is going to morph into the energy enterprise and utility oversight committee here very shortly.

1:09

And I will no longer be one of your co-chairs, um, which is but that is fine because I am leaving this in very fantastic hands with uh Miss Scout.

1:17

Um so uh welcome.

1:19

We are noticed today from 1115 to 1215.

1:22

It is 1118.

1:24

Uh we are going to begin with member introductions.

1:27

Donald Handelin.

1:29

Sydney Scout, Anna Brawling.

1:31

Aaron Baldwin Day, and on the phone, I believe we have member Silvers.

1:37

Yeah, I'm here.

1:38

Thank you.

1:38

And Member Martinez.

1:42

Fantastic.

1:43

And uh Member Park is also with us today in the present.

1:46

Thank you.

1:48

Okay.

1:49

Um let us uh get rolling.

1:51

We uh today is going to be mostly uh the port.

1:55

So um would you all please introduce yourselves and begin your presentation?

2:00

Bill Falsey, municipal manager.

2:02

Terry Amatum, port director.

2:04

Eric Adams, Jacobs program manager for the PRAMP.

2:09

All right, and with that, the first item on the agenda today was the plan of finance update.

2:13

I don't have a presentation for this, other than to say for those of you who are collecting, the revised second edition has now been published.

2:20

So get yours now to complete your set.

2:22

When we published the first comprehensive plan of finance in its current format in 2024, we said we wanted this to be a document that would be a repository of the program's history and a preview of its trajectory.

2:35

And it was uh an intent to say we want to play all the cards face up.

2:39

So we want to say how we think this actually can go and what happens if we don't get any additional third party funding.

2:45

We also committed to keep the document evergreen, and so we have updated it now twice, and we plan to do that annually, likely in about this time frame, and that is because we want to set the port of Alaska modernized, which go into effect on January 1st, no later than August.

3:07

We actually did that in April this year because we're trying to find a way to be maximally commercially reasonable and accommodate all of the interests who are affected by those surcharges.

3:17

Um this year we realized that we uh even though that meant that we probably could have issued a revised version of the comprehensive plan of finance in May, because our uh program is affected by legislative appropriations, we really needed the dust to settle on the whole of the legislature's action and then the gubernatorial veto period before we could do that.

3:37

So um once that did settle and we had the good news of the MERAD settlement.

3:43

We waited a little bit to revise the comprehensive plan of finance to incorporate all of that information.

3:48

Um we have done that, socialized it with the assembly now with the public and with all the affected users.

3:54

Really, I wanted to just make a space on this agenda to say that that has happened and if there are questions, we'd be happy to field them.

4:00

Otherwise, I'm happy to turn the baton over to the folks sitting to my right.

4:05

And it is posted on the website.

4:10

Questions or comments from members on this item.

4:14

Um one one note, I think uh for my colleagues, the uh so I think several of us have received some uh emails, concerned emails from members of the community who are aware of the surcharge increase and are worried about what the municipality is doing to address the plan of finance.

4:32

Um we I have gotten a lot of questions about grant funding.

4:35

Um there is a fantastic appendix at the back of the port plan of finance that actually outlines all of the grants and and sort of the the the filter through which uh port grant grants for the port are evaluated and pursued.

4:49

So I I really encourage members to get familiar with at least that section.

4:54

And then the executive summary that's at the front of the plan of finance is really helpful because it sort of lays out as Mr.

5:00

Falsey said, what are the cards?

5:01

What are the scenarios if we receive X amount of funding from the state and federal government plus surcharges?

5:08

What is the scenario if we don't?

5:10

And how that looks for the end consumer.

5:13

So would um again encourage you all to take a look at at least the first three pages and the last three pages of the plan of finance.

5:21

It is well worth your time.

5:23

Anything else?

5:25

Okay.

5:25

Uh questions.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Port Management███████████████████████████████████35%

Waste Management███████████████████████████27%

Public Engagement████████████████16%

Infrastructure████████8%

Procedural███████7%

Environmental Protection████4%

Engineering And Infrastructure███3%

Summary of Proceedings

Infrastructure, Enterprise and Utility Oversight Committee of the Whole Meeting - September 17, 2026

The committee met on September 17, 2026, from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. (actual start 11:18, adjourned 11:44) to receive updates on the Port of Alaska modernization program, the storm drain project, cathodic protection, and Solid Waste Services, including the waste-to-energy initiative. Members present: Donald Handelin, Sydney Scout, Anna Brawling, Aaron Baldwin Day, and on phone: member Silvers, member Martinez, and member Park.

Plan of Finance Update

Bill Falsey (municipal manager) reported that the revised second edition of the Comprehensive Plan of Finance has been published and is available on the website. The document is intended to be evergreen, updated annually, and includes a grant strategy narrative detailing past awards and challenges. Members encouraged to review the executive summary and appendix.
Member Brawley asked if any alternative funding sources or project pauses exist. Falsey responded that all options have been explored (self-generated, state, federal, public-private partnerships) and no new alternatives have been identified.

Port Construction Update

Eric Adams (Jacobs program manager) provided a terminal one construction update: demolition of fuel one is complete; deep soil mixing (286 holes, six-foot diameter, 100 feet deep concrete columns for seismic resilience) finished; intertidal fill at trestle one B nearly complete; pile installation ongoing. Marine equipment expected to depart around Halloween.
Member Handelin asked about the deep soil mixing process; Adams explained it creates concrete columns to prevent land sloughing during earthquakes.

Storm Drain Project Change Order

Terry Amatum (port director) reported that the assembly earlier approved a change order to include system five for compliance with a $15 million grant. During construction, unexpected contaminated soil (petroleum, oil, lubricants) requiring out-of-state disposal was discovered, and a pipe size change from 48-inch to 60-inch was needed. Project completion expected May 2027.
Member Park asked about contaminants; Amatum identified them as petroleum, oil, and lubricants.

Cathodic Protection Term Contract

Eric Adams stated the port selected two firms for annual cathodic protection engineering support, a routine recompete of existing contracts.

Solid Waste Services Presentation & Waste Energy Update

Kelly Toth (director of Solid Waste Services) introduced department overview, service area, and recent initiatives. Demonstrated bottom ash, metals (ferrous, non-ferrous, zinc, copper) recovered from waste energy process, noting 90% volume reduction through incineration.
Updates: public tipping wall demolished, new semi-covered facility under construction (completion before spring 2027); 56th Avenue road closure will clear by Saturday; accepted 22,000 pounds of salmon from a Seward spill (mixed with hydraulic fluid) for composting, now nearly decomposed.
Waste-to-energy project: under negotiation for designer, construction manager at risk, and operations manager at risk. Plan of finance to be presented to assembly in October 2026.
Member Scout announced a public port tour on September 27 at 1:30 p.m. organized by operator Tote.

Key Outcomes

The Comprehensive Plan of Finance revised second edition is published and available online.
Deep soil mixing for terminal one trestles is complete.
Storm drain project change order includes addressing contaminated soil and pipe size increase; completion by May 2027.
Cathodic protection term contract awarded to two firms.
Waste-to-energy project moving toward final plan of finance submittal in fall 2026.
No public testimony was received; no formal votes were taken.

Meeting Transcript

For those on the phone, we will get started in just a second. We're getting situated here in the room. Can you hear me? Can you hear me? Okay, members on the phone. If you can hear me, we're gonna get started in just a couple minutes. Okay, thank you. All right, hello everybody. Welcome to the municipalities um infrastructure enterprise and utility oversight committee of the whole, which is going to morph into the energy enterprise and utility oversight committee here very shortly. And I will no longer be one of your co-chairs, um, which is but that is fine because I am leaving this in very fantastic hands with uh Miss Scout. Um so uh welcome. We are noticed today from 1115 to 1215. It is 1118. Uh we are going to begin with member introductions. Donald Handelin. Sydney Scout, Anna Brawling. Aaron Baldwin Day, and on the phone, I believe we have member Silvers. Yeah, I'm here. Thank you. And Member Martinez. Fantastic. And uh Member Park is also with us today in the present. Thank you. Okay. Um let us uh get rolling. We uh today is going to be mostly uh the port. So um would you all please introduce yourselves and begin your presentation? Bill Falsey, municipal manager. Terry Amatum, port director. Eric Adams, Jacobs program manager for the PRAMP. All right, and with that, the first item on the agenda today was the plan of finance update. I don't have a presentation for this, other than to say for those of you who are collecting, the revised second edition has now been published. So get yours now to complete your set. When we published the first comprehensive plan of finance in its current format in 2024, we said we wanted this to be a document that would be a repository of the program's history and a preview of its trajectory. And it was uh an intent to say we want to play all the cards face up. So we want to say how we think this actually can go and what happens if we don't get any additional third party funding. We also committed to keep the document evergreen, and so we have updated it now twice, and we plan to do that annually, likely in about this time frame, and that is because we want to set the port of Alaska modernized, which go into effect on January 1st, no later than August. We actually did that in April this year because we're trying to find a way to be maximally commercially reasonable and accommodate all of the interests who are affected by those surcharges. Um this year we realized that we uh even though that meant that we probably could have issued a revised version of the comprehensive plan of finance in May, because our uh program is affected by legislative appropriations, we really needed the dust to settle on the whole of the legislature's action and then the gubernatorial veto period before we could do that. So um once that did settle and we had the good news of the MERAD settlement. We waited a little bit to revise the comprehensive plan of finance to incorporate all of that information. Um we have done that, socialized it with the assembly now with the public and with all the affected users. Really, I wanted to just make a space on this agenda to say that that has happened and if there are questions, we'd be happy to field them. Otherwise, I'm happy to turn the baton over to the folks sitting to my right. And it is posted on the website. Questions or comments from members on this item. Um one one note, I think uh for my colleagues, the uh so I think several of us have received some uh emails, concerned emails from members of the community who are aware of the surcharge increase and are worried about what the municipality is doing to address the plan of finance. Um we I have gotten a lot of questions about grant funding. Um there is a fantastic appendix at the back of the port plan of finance that actually outlines all of the grants and and sort of the the the filter through which uh port grant grants for the port are evaluated and pursued. So I I really encourage members to get familiar with at least that section.

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