Legislature(1995 - 1996)
02/14/1995 01:30 PM Senate TRA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SENATE TRANSPORTATION
February 14, 1995
1:30 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Steve Rieger, Chair
Senator Lyda Green
Senator Al Adams
Senator Georgianna Lincoln
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Robin Taylor, Vice Chair
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
Confirmation Hearing:
Department of Transportation and Public Facilities Designee:
Joseph Perkins, Commissioner Designee
P.O. Box 20129
Juneau, Alaska 99801
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 95-3, SIDE A
CHAIRMAN RIEGER called the Senate Transportation meeting to order
at 1:35 p.m. Senator Hoffman joined committee members at the
table. The only item on the agenda was the confirmation of Joseph
Perkins, as the Commissioner of the Department of Transportation
and Public Facilities (DOTPF).
MR. PERKINS informed committee members he did not have a prepared
statement but was available to answer questions. SENATOR ADAMS
asked how Mr. Perkins will handle ISTEA funding. MR. PERKINS
replied the ISTEA funding as it now stands is broken into several
categories: the national highway system; and others. ISTEA funds
have been handled in the past through the state but there is a
provision within ISTEA to share this money with the communities.
Apparently this plan was developed two years ago and then was
stopped. He has created a committee to review that plan to see
what it does and to see if there is the potential to distribute
funds to the communities. ISTEA funds will only exist for two more
years, when the bill will be reauthorized in Congress. He did not
know how the bill will be changed in light of the reorganization of
the federal Department of Transportation, which is currently in the
hands of Congress.
SENATOR HOFFMAN noted the Department submitted its six year plan,
prior to this Administration, which contained phased projected
appropriations. Those have been changed and are now listed as
priorities, and the plan no longer seems to encompass a longer time
period than one year. He asked Mr. Perkins if he intends to keep
the present system, or to reinstate a six year plan. MR. PERKINS
replied DOTPF is going to redo its planning in that a six year plan
will be devised so that projects can be tracked more closely. The
six year plan will identify projects that fulfill the needs of the
national highway system program and hopefully defend our share of
the funds. All interstate roads in the "lower 48" have been
finished, and are now in a reconstruction/maintenance phase.
Alaska is probably the only state that has not finished its roads
in that system.
Number 090
SENATOR HOFFMAN asked how communities provide input into the
process. He added that DOTPF holds hearings in many of the larger
communities, such as Dillingham, Bethel, Kotzebue, Barrow and Nome,
but the smaller communities do not have the opportunity to
participate in the planning process. MR. PERKINS stated he
believed in having as much public participation as possible in
these programs. In Alaska, it is sometimes difficult to reach the
smaller communities, but he pledged to try to ensure DOTPF planning
teams get to as many places as possible to give briefings and
presentations. In places that planning teams do not get to, the
public needs to be notified so that it can respond.
Number 121
SENATOR GREEN discussed a situation in the Mat-Su Borough in which
Mr. Perkins and his staff were quick to ask for community input and
the problems were resolved amicably. She also noted the public
perception of the DOTPF is that it is large and unwieldy with too
much power. It has been argued that it could be reduced,
privatized, or made more efficient. She asked for Mr. Perkins'
view of those perceptions.
Number 135
MR. PERKINS responded that DOTPF is a large organization with
approximately 3,000 employees, with representatives in almost every
part of the State of Alaska. He plans to promote efficiency by
eliminating duplicate functions. Presently he has the three
regional directors reorganizing the regional offices so that each
regional office functions in the same manner. He also plans to
look at whether there are special areas of expertise within each
regional office that could be used by other regions. He felt the
question of privatization is difficult. There are things in DOTPF
that can be privatized, but there are basic services that cannot.
Some of the highway and winter maintenance services in outlying
areas could be privatized. He did not believe snow removal and
maintenance of the Parks Highway could be privatized because no
contractor in the state owns the necessary equipment. Some
services have been privatized, such as air field clearing, and
roads outside of maintenance areas. He was unsure how much more
could be privatized. In the area of construction, DOTPF is
awarding design contracts to private firms, and he felt it is
essential that two capabilities be maintained: a state-owned
capability mandated by the federal government in the highway
program; and a civilian engineering firm capability. A balance
needs to be determined in DOTPF's engineering and design program to
establish what work will be contracted out. DOTPF employees need
to know they are working in a stable work environment to improve
morale. A majority of the physical construction work is contracted
out, but many of the projects are managed within DOTPF. He plans
to do a pilot project in which the project management work would be
contracted out to civilian engineers and project managers because
he felt that capability needs to be preserved in the State.
Number 313
SENATOR LINCOLN noted Mr. Perkins' construction experience on waste
heat facilities throughout rural Alaska. She expressed concern
that inadequate input from communities regarding planning,
feasibility, design, and construction, resulted in wasted funds and
manpower. She asked what Mr. Perkins plans to do to remedy the
lack of community input, and to increase local hire. He restated
his support of local input. He discussed his involvement in public
hearings throughout the State with the Army Corps of Engineers, and
he found the toughest situations to occur when the communities were
split 50/50. He plans to reappraise the entire Copper River
Highway and find out what people think. He promised there will be
plenty of public involvement, but he cannot promise that everybody
will be happy. He thought the DOTPF has done a good job of
obtaining public input in federal aid projects because it is
required. There is a fairly extensive record of those public
hearings. He conducted public hearings throughout the State of
Alaska on the Wetlands Program in 1977 and two people showed up in
Ketchikan, and six showed up in Juneau, yet the law that went into
effect became the monster we are dealing with now. He felt it is
critical to get people to these meetings.
SENATOR LINCOLN asked how Mr. Perkins intends to lower the costs of
transportation. MR. PERKINS replied that will be a very difficult
problem and he is unsure what he can promise. DOTPF will continue
to improve airports and the necessary safety criteria upgrades will
be emphasized. He does not have much of an impact on what carriers
charge. All he can do is provide good facilities which will result
in more efficient and cost effective transportation. He felt
confident he could influence the costs of building and maintaining
the overall transportation system. SENATOR LINCOLN clarified that
she is referring to the whole system including the ferry system,
the railroad, the roads, and the airplanes. She felt many
commissioners have failed to recognize that, contrary to the belief
that Alaska has a family of one, Alaska has a family of three: the
urban family; the rural family; and the bush family, and their
lifestyles are very different. Those differences need to be
recognized, and not molded together. Regarding the ferry system,
she asked whether MR. PERKINS planned to connect the Southeast
ferry to the Southcentral ferry, and to connect Valdez, Whittier,
and Cordova. Prince William Sound residents are concerned that the
ferry system is inadequate, and that a road will not go in. MR.
PERKINS has not had time to dig deeply into the problems of the
ferry system, therefore he was unprepared to answer at this time.
He will look at the problem and provide information at a later
date. SENATOR LINCOLN asked Mr. Perkins to provide the committee
with the information. He agreed. SENATOR RIEGER remarked the
committee will also be taking up the Task Force recommendations
that were forwarded last October.
Number 347
SENATOR LINCOLN questioned whether Mr. Perkins has thought about
eliminating certain top level management positions due to
duplication of efforts. She also questioned what other
technologies are available to resolve the dust control problems at
rural airports. MR. PERKINS stated technology has not provided a
magic substance to control dust. He promised to look into the
recent advances in this area. Regarding the mid- to upper-level
management positions within DOTPF, he is looking into restructuring
DOTPF to increase efficiency. There will be one or two exempt
positions that will not be filled. He is looking at other
positions individually to decide whether or not they are required.
So far, he has reviewed the regional positions. There are three
top level positions in each of the three regions that are basically
duplicate positions. One of the positions is not filled in
Southeast. He plans to reduce the number of these positions. He
added a very large percentage of the Department's budget is funded
with federal dollars, therefore if there is a cut in federal
funding, the Department size will decrease substantially. The only
thing funded by the General Fund in an operational mode, is
maintenance and operations. Those budgets have been cut as much as
possible without decreasing service and equipment. If there is a
decline in funding, there will be a decline in services provided.
He cannot use the designer or construction worker funded by the
federal CIP funds to do state maintenance work. The majority of
the planning effort done in the Department, that is federally
funded, includes almost all of the design and construction workers.
Over the last ten years, the budget has remained constant, but the
workload has increased. This has lead to deferred maintenance
because there are no people to do that work. The fact that so many
of the DOTPF employees are federally funded may give the public a
false impression of the State's costs.
Number 418
SENATOR ADAMS asked what alternative plans, such as a fuel tax,
might be submitted by Mr. Perkins, in the form of legislation. MR.
PERKINS replied he is currently examining several things and
developing a plan. He is reviewing the possibility of instituting
a fuel tax and a dedicated fund for maintenance purposes, but he is
not prepared to present that at this time. By next year DOTPF will
have a package put together that addresses maintenance. Whether a
tax is included in that package has not been decided. There have
been recommendations from the Transition Team and various others
that considered a fuel tax and dedicated fund for maintenance of
State facilities.
SENATOR ADAMS asked if Mr. Perkins would be willing to transfer
some of the excess funds generated by the Anchorage airport to
other areas of the State for airport maintenance. MR. PERKINS
replied DOTPF already transfers funds from Anchorage to Fairbanks.
SENATOR ADAMS asked who the three division directors are. MR.
PERKINS answered the Central Region Director is John Horn, the
Southeast Director is Jon Scribner, and the Northern Region
Director is Stephen Sisk.
SENATOR HOFFMAN remarked that the mayor of Anchorage is looking at
the possibility of proposing to take over the operations of the
International Airport, with the primary goal of preventing the
state from losing money. MR. PERKINS stated DOTPF does not have a
position on the airport authority proposed by the mayor of
Anchorage. Beginning next week, he will be visiting the airports.
SENATOR HOFFMAN felt the possibility of creating a transportation
authority should be examined, to prevent splintering of the
transportation system, and to benefit all citizens. He asked Mr.
Perkins' opinion on the sale of the Alaska Railroad. MR. PERKINS
felt he does not have the knowledge to comment on that question.
SENATOR LINCOLN asked Mr. Perkins' position on studded tires. MR.
PERKINS replied the issue of whether the studded tires are damaging
the road is clear, but that damage needs to be weighed against the
safety factor. He stated if lives are being saved by the use of
studded tires, they need to be used. Maybe some method of
returning money from the purchase of them, or a tax, to help repair
some of the damage, is feasible. SENATOR LINCOLN remarked that
someone within DOTPF stated the problem with the road in Juneau was
not caused by studded tires, it was caused by inadequate paving
material that was used. MR. PERKINS was unsure, but had assumed
the cause was studded tires.
SENATOR GREEN moved that the committee forward Mr. Perkins name on
to the Legislature. SENATOR RIEGER clarified there is a standard
form used which says there is no stated objection; it is not an
indication of support or opposition. There being no objection, the
motion passed.
SENATOR REIGER adjourned the meeting at 2:13 p.m.
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