03/02/2020 09:00 AM House FINANCE

HOUSE BILL NO. 186                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     "An Act naming the irene Webber Bridge."                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
9:05:20 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SARA   PERMAN,   STAFF,    REPRESENTATIVE   LOUISE   STUTES,                                                                    
introduced herself and provided  an explanation of the bill.                                                                    
The  three  line  bill renamed  an  unidentified  bridge  in                                                                    
Cordova, formally known by  the Department of Transportation                                                                    
and  Public Facilities  (DOT) as  Bridge 406,  Scott Glacier                                                                    
Number 6,  to the irene  Webber Bridge. irene  Webber passed                                                                    
away  in  2018,  and  the   bridge  would  serve  to  remind                                                                    
Cordovans of the legacy she left behind.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Ms. Perman provided detail about  irene Webber. Irene was an                                                                    
Alutiq  woman. She  was born  in Ellemar,  Alaska and  later                                                                    
moved to  Cordova where she  raised her family. She  and her                                                                    
husband  and  three  children ran  a  seining  operation  in                                                                    
Prince  William Sound.  She elaborated  that Ms.  Webber was                                                                    
remembered as a runner who began  running as an adult and as                                                                    
her daughter  Kim [Aspelund] put it,  "running empowered and                                                                    
invigorated  her."  In  pursuing  her  passion,  Ms.  Webber                                                                    
founded the  Cordova Running  Club and  was integral  to the                                                                    
foundation  of  many running  events.  She  is perhaps  best                                                                    
remembered as being  the founder and the sole  runner of the                                                                    
first  Cordova Salmon  Run marathon  in 1986.  She expounded                                                                    
that  33 years  later, the  run expanded  to five  different                                                                    
races      the  King  Salmon  Marathon,   the  Sockeye  Half                                                                    
Marathon, Coho  10K, Humpy  5K and the  Smooth One  Mile Fun                                                                    
Run. She highlighted  that over 300 people  attend the races                                                                    
annually from around the world.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
Ms.  Perman  continued  to  provide  background  information                                                                    
about irene Webber. In addition  to her work with the Alaska                                                                    
Salmon Runs,  Ms. Webber also  was integral in  creating the                                                                    
Cancer 2x2  Walks in  2002. The event  has raised  more than                                                                    
$100,000   for  Cordovans   seeking   cancer  treatment   or                                                                    
screenings. Ms.  Webber was also  involved in  several other                                                                    
philanthropic   efforts  such   as  supporting   St.  Jude's                                                                    
Children's Hospital and the American Cancer Society.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
Ms.  Perman  provided  several anecdotes  about  Ms.  Webber                                                                    
shared by  her daughter Kim.  She detailed that on  the boat                                                                    
everyone knew that "Dad may be  the captain, but mom was the                                                                    
admiral." She  elaborated that participation in  the run had                                                                    
started declining,  but Ms.  Webber started  making homemade                                                                    
clam chowder  and the  attendance soared.  She was  known in                                                                    
Cordova as grandma  irene. She noted that  irene was spelled                                                                    
with a lowercase "i."                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
Ms. Perman detailed that the  bridge was located at 9.5 mile                                                                    
on the road between Cordova  and its airport. The bridge was                                                                    
used by  runners during the  marathon and half  marathon; it                                                                    
was also near  a recreation area used  by families. Members'                                                                    
packets included  two resolutions  from the City  of Cordova                                                                    
and the Native  Village of Eyak in support of  the bill. The                                                                    
bill  had a  $9,680  fiscal note  from  DOT associated  with                                                                    
materials costs  including signage, posts,  and installation                                                                    
materials such as sonotubes and concrete.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Johnston  OPENED  public  testimony.  She  relayed                                                                    
there   was  a   representative  from   DOT  available   for                                                                    
questions.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
9:10:02 AM                                                                                                                    
AT EASE                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
9:10:11 AM                                                                                                                    
RECONVENED                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
KATRINA  HOFFMAN, IRENE  WEBBER'S  DAUGHTER IN-LAW,  CORDOVA                                                                    
(via  teleconference), provided  prepared remarks  about her                                                                    
mother-in-law irene:                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     Thanks  for  allowing  me the  opportunity  to  provide                                                                    
     testimony on  behalf of our  family. irene  spelled her                                                                    
     name with a little "i"  and she had a diminutive figure                                                                    
     but    there    was    nothing   little    about    her                                                                    
     accomplishments.  She  was  raised in  the  village  of                                                                    
     Ellemar,  near  Tatitlek.  She  moved  to  Cordova  and                                                                    
     raised  a family  of three  children with  her lifelong                                                                    
     love   Bill   Webber   Sr,  which   resulted   in   ten                                                                    
     grandchildren  and  many  great grandchildren,  all  of                                                                    
     whom either  live in  Alaska or have  deep ties  to it.                                                                    
     irene  was a  businesswoman, a  good neighbor,  a great                                                                    
     sourdough cook,  and a doting grandmother.  She was the                                                                    
     admiral  on  the   family  fishing  vessel,  overseeing                                                                    
     multiple generations  of our  family who  together make                                                                    
     their living off commercial salmon fishing.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     At  her   memorial  service   one  of   her  grandsons,                                                                    
     Christopher,  said he  knew his  grandmother to  be two                                                                    
     people  -   wonderfully  loving   Grandma  i   and  the                                                                    
     formidable  deck boss  whose word  was law  out on  the                                                                    
     water. As  my sister-in-law  Kim would tell  you, irene                                                                    
     committed  to  a  practice  late  in  life  of  running                                                                    
     marathons, which was especially  important to her after                                                                    
     she  found  her sobriety  and  maintained  it for  many                                                                    
     years. She was  the originator of the  Wild Salmon runs                                                                    
     that are a key feature  of the annual Salmon Jam Summer                                                                    
     Festival here  in Cordova.  That racecourse  starts out                                                                    
     on the  Copper River delta  and heads back to  town. On                                                                    
     that course, if  you run the half  marathon or marathon                                                                    
     you will cross this bridge at mile 9.5.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
     When we  learned that this  bridge was available  to be                                                                    
     named,  my husband  and  son  and I  drove  out to  the                                                                    
     location  and just  knew  in our  hearts  this was  the                                                                    
     right bridge  to name after  irene. There  was abundant                                                                    
     fireweed  blowing  [by] the  bridge.  You  look up  the                                                                    
     Scott  River  and can  see  the  Scott Glacier.  People                                                                    
     recreate in the winter on  ice skates and snow machines                                                                    
     up this  river and in the  summer on ATVs and  fat tire                                                                    
     bikes  on  the  trails  that  the  Forest  Service  has                                                                    
     maintained.  Just  beyond  the  bridge  is  the  9-mile                                                                    
     sandpile where families  gather for barbeques, birthday                                                                    
     parties,   water   play,   dune   jumping,   sandcastle                                                                    
     building,  and  it's very  fitting  that  a place  that                                                                    
     brings joy to so many people  would be able to be named                                                                    
     after irene, who brought joy to many people herself.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
     When irene  would pass you  in town she'd say  "see you                                                                    
     on the road," because people  would pass her driving in                                                                    
     their cars  and she  would be out  there running.  I am                                                                    
     happy  to speak  in favor  of House  Bill 186  with the                                                                    
     support  of  the  Webber family.  We  would  be  deeply                                                                    
     grateful if  you took action  to rename Bridge  406 the                                                                    
     irene Webber Bridge with a little "i."                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Johnston  noted  that Representative  Merrick  was                                                                    
online.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Johnston CLOSED public testimony.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
Representative Carpenter asked  DOT to speak to  the cost of                                                                    
the fiscal note.  He had seen many signs on  bridges, and he                                                                    
did  not  know whether  there  was  a standard  installation                                                                    
method. He  wondered if there  was something  specifying the                                                                    
need to  use sonotubes. He  asked if the  only way to  put a                                                                    
sign at the location would cost $9,000.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MATT WALKER,  STATE TRAFFIC AND SAFETY  ENGINEER, DEPARTMENT                                                                    
OF TRANSPORTATION  AND PUBLIC  FACILITIES, answered  that he                                                                    
had not  personally visited  the site and  did not  know the                                                                    
specific site  conditions. He  reported that  sonotubes were                                                                    
regularly used  in the installation of  signs, specifically,                                                                    
signs of the size included  in the fiscal note. He explained                                                                    
the sign  needed to be a  certain size because of  the speed                                                                    
of the road.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Carpenter  asked   how  the  department  had                                                                    
determined the  size and  cost of the  signage. He  asked if                                                                    
someone had  visited the location  or whether  an assumption                                                                    
had been made based on how the process was always done.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
Mr.  Walker replied  that he  had not  been involved  in the                                                                    
cost breakdown. He  reported that the sign would  need to be                                                                    
retroreflective. Additionally, letters  on the memorial sign                                                                    
needed to be a certain  height, which would dictate the size                                                                    
of the sign.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
9:16:38 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Representative Knopp asked if  there were currently signs at                                                                    
the  bridge. He  asked  if there  were  sonotubes and  posts                                                                    
currently in place.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
Mr. Walker replied  that he did not know  what was currently                                                                    
on site.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Representative Knopp  shared that he had  success in getting                                                                    
a bill passed that renamed a  road. He reported that DOT had                                                                    
submitted fiscal  note of about  $1,900. He  elaborated that                                                                    
after going  through all of  the details, the cost  had been                                                                    
reduced  to  approximately  $350   because  there  had  been                                                                    
existing  posts and  sonotubes.  He reasoned  that if  there                                                                    
were already  existing posts, the  fiscal note seemed  to be                                                                    
over inflated. He supported the  bill but noted the validity                                                                    
of   Representative  Carpenter's   question.  He   discussed                                                                    
various ways signs could be posted.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Johnston  communicated that it would  be helpful to                                                                    
have a follow  up on the fiscal note prior  to the next bill                                                                    
hearing.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
HB  186  was  HEARD  and   HELD  in  committee  for  further                                                                    
consideration.