Legislature(2007 - 2008)BUTROVICH 205
03/25/2008 02:00 PM Senate TRANSPORTATION
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB268 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| * | SB 268 | ||
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE TRANSPORTATION STANDING COMMITTEE
March 25, 2008
2:06 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Albert Kookesh, Chair
Senator John Cowdery, Vice Chair
Senator Donald Olson
Senator Bill Wielechowski
Senator Gary Wilken
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 268
"An Act amending the ability of the Knik Arm Bridge and Toll
Authority to make and execute certain agreements, contracts, and
other instruments; and relating to the facility toll charges
that the authority may collect from its operation of the Knik
Arm bridge and appurtenant facilities and to the necessity of
securing the approval of the commissioner of transportation and
public facilities as to the amounts to be collected as toll
charges."
HEARD AND HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 268
SHORT TITLE: KNIK ARM BRIDGE & TOLL AUTHORITY
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) ELLIS
02/13/08 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/13/08 (S) TRA, FIN
WITNESS REGISTER
MAX HENSLEY
Staff to Senator Ellis
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on SB 268 for the sponsor.
GEORGE WUERCH, Chairman
Board of Directors
Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority (KABATA)
Anchorage AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed SB 268.
ANDREW NIEMIEC, Executive Director
Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority
Anchorage AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed SB 268.
BOB FRENCH, Co-Vice President
Government Hill Community Council
Anchorage AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported SB 268.
LOIS EPSTEIN, Director
Alaska Transportation Priorities Project
Anchorage AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported SB 268.
STEVE CLEARY, Executive Director
Alaska Public Interest Research Group (AKPIRG)
Anchorage AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported SB 268.
SUZANNE DIPIETRO
Anchorage Citizen's Coalition
Anchorage AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported SB 268.
DARCIE SOLMON, Vice President
KABATA
Anchorage AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed SB 268.
MARTY METIVA, representing himself
Wasilla AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed SB 268.
CHERYL METIVA, Executive Director
Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce
Wasilla AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed SB 268.
ACTION NARRATIVE
CHAIR ALBERT KOOKESH called the Senate Transportation Standing
Committee meeting to order at 2:06:07 PM. Present at the call to
order were Senators Cowdery, Wilken, and Kookesh.
SB 268-KNIK ARM BRIDGE & TOLL AUTHORITY
CHAIR AL KOOKESH announced consideration of SB 268.
MAX HENSLEY, staff to Senator Ellis, sponsor of SB 268, said the
purpose of this bill is to continue the trend of open and
transparent government. Any potential Knik Arm Bridge, even
given the most optimistic price estimates, would be one of the
most expensive public works projects the state has seen. He said
the amount of money at stake, the long term fiscal commitments
and the effects on the neighborhoods it would impact would
require some kind of governmental oversight and the legislative
body is the appropriate place for that to occur.
This bill establishes a 60-day public comment period for any
contract that the Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority (KABATA)
could sign to build a bridge followed by a 60-day period for
legislature approval. It also contains a consumer protection
provision which would limit price increases for tolls to help
commuters in Anchorage and MatSu who would come to depend on the
bridge.
MR. HENSLEY said SB 268 is supported by the Government Hill
Community Council where the bridge would hit land on the
Anchorage side, the Municipality of Anchorage and the Anchorage
Daily News.
SENATOR COWDERY asked what the financing community would think
about all the legislative oversight. He asked if it was intended
to chill the bill.
MR. HENSLEY replied no; any investor would need to be assured
this project was supported by state government and legislative
approval and public comments would allow them that security.
SENATOR COWDERY said this is a much needed project for public
safety purposes. He asked how many people drive in from Wasilla
every day.
MR. HENSLEY replied a lot, but he didn't have an exact number.
SENATOR COWDERY noted there were lots of accidents. He said this
bridge is needed and that it's almost impossible for a first
time home buyer to buy a home in Anchorage because of the lack
of land.
2:11:37 PM
SENATOR OLSON joined the committee.
SENATOR COWDERY said the financing community would decide if the
project was feasible or not and he thought all the hurdles in
the bill would kill the project. He asked how much public money
was invested in this project so far.
MR. HENSLEY replied the legislature has appropriated $105
million towards KABATA and approximately $34 million of that has
been spent so far.
SENATOR COWDERY asked if the Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) was done.
MR. HENSLEY replied he thought it was in progress.
CHAIR KOOKESH had to testify in another committee and asked
Senator Cowdery to chair the meeting in his absence.
2:13:03 PM
GEORGE WUERCH, Chairman, Board of Directors, Knik Arm Bridge and
Toll Authority (KABATA) said he was accompanied by the executive
director, Andrew Niemiec. He said he would give them an overview
of KABATA's origins and activities to date.
He said it's almost five years to the day when the 2003
legislature pulled up and looked at a 20-year old bill that
created the toll authority for crossing the Knik Arm River.
Unfortunately, the oil economy went to pieces in the mid-80s and
that project never got off the ground. All it had was a draft
environmental impact statement.
MR. WUERCH said that toll concept was updated and passed by both
Houses in 2003. He explained that the initial efforts were
geared to gather the field data, both technical and
environmental, and start the Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) process using the federal Highway Administration as the
lead agency.
In the initial months they looked for a financing plan that they
referred to as the "three-legged stool." They anticipated one-
third of the cost of construction would come from a federal
appropriation, one-third from the state and one-third from
revenue bonds. Unfortunately, the "bridge to nowhere" label hit
Alaska then and the federal funding dropped from over $200
million to a little over $90 million. State funding was dropped
from the governor's budget in its entirety and the bond market
was telling them it was very unlikely that it could sell revenue
bonds for the total amount needed at that time.
Their new approach was sponsored by Congressman Young who for
the first time arranged for public private partnerships for toll
roads and toll bridges. So, in 2006, KABATA asked the
legislature to amend statute to give it the opportunity to enter
into these new public/private partnership deals; that was
authorized. He explained that the 2006 budget included a little
over $100 million for DOTPF, which was the federal/state match
money the previous speaker talked about. That funding stream is
what has been paying for the EIS, most of the regulatory
permits, and is anticipated to be sufficient to get through the
procurement phases of this project.
Ultimately, Mr. Wuerch said, he hoped that the remainder of
those public dollars would be the equivalent to about 10-15
percent of the constructions cost and would, in effect, be the
state's equity in this project with the balance coming from a
private investor.
2:19:25 PM
MR. WUERCH said in those last five years KABATA has been
successful in qualifying for participation in certain federal
loan programs for transportation projects; one is authorized and
one is pending. He said the final EIS has been published in the
federal register and the final step will be the issuance of a
record of decision by the federal Highway Administration, now
pending. KABATA has qualified through a two-step procurement
policy, following federal Highway and Alaska DOTPF procurement
regulations, two international consortia as potential partners
to the state. The next step is to finalize the conditions of the
request for proposal (RFP) and then get the hard dollar
proposals back from the two qualified consortia.
Next, Mr. Wuerch said he wanted to clarify some misconceptions
about KABATA. He said the Knik Arm crossing is not just a public
works project; it's a public private partnership. KABATA is
selling a revenue stream of tolls that would come in over a
period of 55 years in exchange for the investor financing,
designing, constructing and operating and maintaining the Knik
Arm crossing for that period of time. At the end of that time
the state would own it.
MR. WUERCH said that most importantly, this is a "franchise"
where the investor will be expected to share the revenue stream
with the state (in the form of KABATA) so reserves can be built
up for expanding the system or conducting any other changes that
are wanted as the years go by. He said the RFP will contain the
terms of the "franchise" and the technical provisions for design
and construction of the bridge. That document will be made
public as soon as possible.
He pointed out that the current statute lets the toll authority
board of seven people review and approve toll changes. They
believe a board of seven consisting of public members, the
administration and elected members of the House and Senate bring
a far broader perspective of the best interests of Alaska than a
one-person toll-setting authority.
SENATOR COWDERY asked how many public meetings he had on this
issue.
2:24:15 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI arrived.
MR. WUERCH replied well over 50, but the list was on page 14 of
this handout. He said KABATA staff also responded to over 100
requests from business groups and service clubs for
presentations over the past five years.
SENATOR COWDERY asked if the MatSu Valley support this concept.
MR. WUERCH replied yes; public opinion polls have indicated 70
percent support and they found an acceptable toll would be
around $5 adjusted for inflation.
SENATOR COWDERY asked if Associated General Contractors (AGC) or
the administration supported this.
MR. WUERCH replied that he hadn't received a resolution from the
AGC and hadn't heard from the administration.
SENATOR COWDERY asked if the Chambers of Commerce for both the
Valley and Anchorage support it.
MR. WUERCH replied yes they have a good list of resolutions from
them in support of the project. In parallel to those are actions
by the various regulatory bodies like the Anchorage Assembly,
the MatSu Assembly and the Wasilla City Council all in support.
2:27:45 PM
ANDREW NIEMIEC, Executive Director, Knik Arm Bridge and Toll
Authority, said he wanted to summarize some of the information
in the handout. People at KABATA recognize that the Knik Arm
crossing is one of the largest projects in Alaska and the public
is interested in it. One of its primary goals is to maximize
value and benefits to the state and extensive analysis has
confirmed the legislature's directive that a completed toll
bridge across the Knik Arm will develop, stimulate and advance
the economic welfare of the state and further the development of
the state's transportation system. They also endorse the
governor's policy of open process.
He said that SB 268 proposes to severely limit KABATA's ability
to enter into a public private partnership and as well as other
contracts. But, their proposed partnership allows KABATA to
leverage limited public funds to deliver a significant
infrastructure project for Alaska.
MR. NIEMIEC said they have prequalified the two consortia that
Mr. Wuerch identified and the second portion of the procurement
is the RFP from qualified developers. These proposals would
include firm financial and technical commitments.
He said generally the public and the administration are
concerned about risk allocation and the financial obligations
that would fall to the state and potential impacts to the
federal highway program and other projects. Developers require a
viable investment opportunity and they need to know the state is
behind the project. KABATA shares all these concerns and needs
to resolve them prior to completing its procurement.
When the RFP is finalized, it will be made available to the
public for review. Moving forward with the project development,
he said KABATA's primary focus is on completing the NEVA process
which involves supporting the Federal Highway Administration as
they address comments on the final EIS and develop the record of
decision. They also must apply for the necessary environmental
permits.
MR. NIEMIEC said they would continue the public involvement
process and develop a recommendation that addresses the concerns
raised. However, he said that SB 268 is not compatible with
their procurement process and ultimately does not insure the
best value to the state. He respectfully urged the legislature
to take no action on SB 268 or on HB 365.
SENATOR COWDERY asked if other transportation entities like
trucking support this.
MR. NIEMIEC replied that the trucking association's support of
the project is geared towards getting a lot of truck traffic out
of the Anchorage area so it would go directly north and not
through Anchorage and up through Wasilla.
SENATOR OLSON said he didn't see how traffic could stay away
from downtown Anchorage if the project was going to start at
Government Hill.
MR. NIEMIEC responded that some of the traffic going north out
of the Kenai and Seward would probably continue up the Glenn
Highway instead of going through town.
SENATOR OLSON said one of the concerns is the $105 million, $34
million of which has already been spent. He asked what the $34
million had been spent on.
MR. WUERCH explained that the board is not salaried and the
original statute authorized a stipend of $300/day plus expenses
for board time. The $34 million paid for the final EIS, which is
a substantial body of work, the cost of all those studies, the
technical data gathering and the development of conceptual
designs. It also paid for all the bidding documents, the draft
RFP, the draft contract and the technical provisions. He stated:
This is not like just going out and buying a bridge;
we're selling a revenue stream. This is a trade-off.
We say you can have a portion of this revenue stream
if you do these things and pay the State of Alaska for
the privilege of having that transaction.
SENATOR OLSON asked what the EIS has cost so far.
MR. NIEMIEC replied $25 million plus.
SENATOR OLSON said a project like this that at one point was
budgeted at $600 million is probably going to be significantly
more than that. He asked if an EIS of $30 million was comparable
to other projects of a billion dollar magnitude.
MR. NIEMIEC replied yes and added that it is also telling of the
actual work that has gone into addressing the concerns that are
associated with this project.
SENATOR OLSON asked how much federal money had been spent on it.
MR. NIEMIEC replied that the bulk of that $104 million is
federal funds matched by state funds.
MR. WUERCH said roughly 10 percent is state money and no private
money had been spent on it yet.
SENATOR WILKEN asked the current estimate of a complete project.
MR. WUERCH said the final decision of whether to finance the
project is up to the investors and why would people be willing
to do that? He said that other countries like Australia and
Spain put their retirement funds in the hands of private banks
not the government like the United State does and they are very
anxious to find long term investments. The United States is kind
of slow to come to the party, but it is starting and Alaska is
in the vanguard of this concept. He emphasized that if KABATA
attracts investors, those investors are the ones that will share
the risk.
2:39:04 PM
SENATOR WILKEN said he saw it a little differently because there
is an option to this bridge - the distance between that bridge
and Wasilla is a matter of a half mile if the tolls get too
high. He asked if he had a range of tolls that would be required
to support this project.
MR. NIEMIEC replied the current modeling centers around a $5
toll in each direction.
SENATOR WILKEN mused a $10/day round trip to pay off $105
million in state money and $260 million in federal
transportation loans and the expectation that the private
company would float tax exempt bonds of around $600 million.
That says there is about $965 million in debt of which $105
million is grants.
MR. WUERCH replied those numbers don't have to be added together
because KABATA has asked the federal programs for a line of
credit that investors can have access to if they want it -
that's the $261 million and the $600 public activity bonds. And
there is no guarantee that the investor will want it. He
explained they applied under Special Experimental Program 15
(SEP) and asked for pre-qualification so potential investors
could take advantage of it up to a certain dollar amount.
MR. WUERCH said, however, that Senator Wilken hit a critical
point in that it's going to cost more than just the construction
cost. You prepay debt by borrowing upfront, a delicate balance
that is not uncommon in many projects.
SENATOR WILKEN asked if the project costs $850 million and the
toll is $10/day, how many people have to use it each day for the
first five years to make it work financially.
MR. NIEMIEC replied he didn't have those numbers; it obviously
has a ramp up period that changes fairly quickly. He offered to
get that information for him.
SENATOR WILKEN said a couple of years ago the estimate of tolls
was a low of $6 and high of $9 and now it's down to $5, but the
cost of the bridge has gotten to be more. And this is the key
question. It can be built for $1 billion if it is financed, but
the financing community has to decide what the people who use it
are going to pay. He is a little nervous because not every car
that drives the Glenn Highway tomorrow is going to drive that
bridge. He is a little nervous that they are just going to let
the finance community decide. He didn't know if everyone had the
right information; questions from three years ago haven't been
answered.
MR. WUERCH said he would provide him the latest information on
how the estimate was compiled.
2:45:33 PM
SENATOR COWDERY said other meetings have indicated that the
Alaska Railroad would have a crossing there and the integrity of
the bridge would have to be stronger because of it; and if the
Railroad was going to cross the bridge, shouldn't it pay for its
share.
MR. WUERCH replied that it's pretty clear as they struggle with
just building a highway bridge that KABATA will be reluctant to
take on the cost of adding a railroad bridge or adding a
railroad to a bridge because the loading characteristics of
railroads are far higher than 18-wheelers and personal vehicles.
KABATA is, however, following an alignment that would be
"railroad compatible." For instance the grade changes and
radiuses of curvature would be such that a railroad could be
laid in along side of the highway.
SENATOR COWDERY asked if the Alaska Railroad wanted to have a
crossing there, shouldn't it participate in paying for the cost
of putting it in.
MR. WUERCH replied yes.
SENATOR COWDERY asked what the shelf life of KABATA's plans is.
MR. WUERCH replied the biggest concern is the shelf life of the
financing. The financial community is under great stress right
now and federal programs have an expiration date. Generally
speaking they have about a year to put a deal together. The
final EIS will last for three years; the technical provisions
are long-lasting. The terms of the public private partnership
contract would be long lasting although the numbers would change
with the costs. This is a 55-year contract; it's huge and
exhausting.
2:49:24 PM
BOB FRENCH, Co-Vice President, Government Hill Community
Council, said he wanted to pass on some of the little-known
facts about this project. He said when the public private
partnership was first projected for the Knik Arm Bridge,
relatively little was known about the potential pitfalls and
problems. They have benefited from others mistakes and SB 268
provides an opportunity to make changes to the authorizing
statute for KABATA, which generally follows the transparency
Governor Palin seeks with AGIA.
It would seem that the two foreign consortia are concerned about
the light that would shine in on this process, so to speak.
Contrary to what Mr. Niemiec said, SB 268 is not a road block,
but it allows the legislature to perform thes necessary checks
and balances that is so important for a project of this
magnitude.
MR. FRENCH said a vote for SB 268 is not an anti-growth vote,
but one for transparency and accountability to insure that
KABATA's proposed contract with a foreign investor is a good
deal for all of Alaska. KABATA has shown it would like to
conduct its business in secret. This was seen in its last two
board meetings in Juneau on February 13 and in Anchorage on
February 28 when they went into executive sessions not long
after coming to order. Its decision to vote 30 percent pay
raises for their top staff in 2006 is a better known example of
their closed door executive sessions.
He said the public had not had a chance to review the most
recent RFP and the fact that the two bidders can not only
review, but change the terms to meet their needs, is why he is
concerned about the legislature needing to review the contract.
MR. FRENCH said KABATA says the two consortia's interest proves
the project is financially feasible, but they are still involved
in the process because they know they will be paid for their
efforts. On August 17, 2007, KABATA passed Resolution 2107 to
facilitate payments of stipends to the consortium. They
authorized themselves to pay the foreign investors up to $2
million for their trouble if bridge doesn't go forward. The
Daily News reported on Sunday that the cost for the expansion of
the Port of Anchorage went from $227 million in 2003 to $700
million in 2008, an increase of over 300 percent. KABATA's
estimate of the costs were around $600 million in 2003 and is
still around $600 million for the cost of the bridge alone, not
including all of the financing costs.
He said the bridge was originally envisioned was a four-lane
bridge with four lane approach roads; now it's a two-lane bridge
with two lane approach roads with a future expansion taking
place, as KABATA says, when necessary to meet the demands. He
said just imagine how long it would take to clear out an
accident in the middle of a two-mile long two-lane bridge. This
is not a real viable asset for the state's transportation
system; he said the approach road on the MatSu side is not even
being built with proper underlayment or foundation. They are
just applying pavement over the existing gravel road where
feasible and he predicted it would need to be repaired or
replaced by the time the bridge is finished.
MR. FRENCH said KABATA's contract with the investors has too
many impacts and implications for Alaskans for the terms to
remain secret until it is signed and he believed the legislature
needed to review it.
SENATOR COWDERY asked what his profession was.
MR. FRENCH replied that he is a mechanical engineer.
SENATOR COWDERY asked him what he thought the purpose of an
executive session was in our system.
MR. FRENCH answered the express purpose is to discuss things
which would be harmful to the body if they were discussed in
public.
2:58:32 PM
SENATOR COWDERY responded that the executive sessions he has
been in have to do with an individual or something they don't
want to expose to the public. He asked Mr. French if he would be
in favor of the bridge if it started somewhere other than
Government Hill.
MR. FRENCH replied that Government Hill has never been opposed
to the bridge; it has opposed the choice of routes. The 1983
draft EIS actually chose a Boniface route. The current route
would have tremendous impacts on downtown Anchorage.
SENATOR COWDERY said the port supplies the whole state basically
and trucks already come through downtown to pick up the freight
and he asked if he thought it would be worse with the bridge
than it is now.
MR. FRENCH replied that is a possibility. The Alaska Railroad
presently provides most of the gravel that is used throughout
Anchorage to build. The railroad could possibly have 850 gravel
trucks per day going through downtown because there is good
gravel available at Pt. MacKenzie and that would come down C
Street to O'Malley at south Anchorage where most of the major
gravel pits are. Now the gravel being shipped by railroad
doesn't affect Anchorage traffic.
3:01:25 PM
LOIS EPSTEIN, Director, Alaska Transportation Priorities
Project, said this is a statewide transportation watchdog
organization composed of conservation groups, transit advocates,
community officials, engineers, cargo shippers and others who
are interested in promoting sensible transportation systems and
policies in Alaska. She also wanted to enter the letter from
Mayor Begich to the bill sponsor as of yesterday.
CHAIR KOOKESH noted that it was already in their packet.
MS. EPSTEIN said she often refers to SB 268 as the Knik Bridge
Openness and Accountability Act. It provides needed changes and
updates to KABATA's authorizing statute which includes language
allowing it to enter into a public private partnership (P3)
contract concessions or agreements. The first change in the bill
and the one she wants to focus on today requires public review
and comment on private investor submittals to build and operate
the Knik Arm Bridge as well as documentation by the state that a
proposed contract would sufficiently maximize benefits to the
people of the state. It includes a legislative vote before the
contract is signed.
The second change the bill requires is that toll increases be
predictable and be based on inflation. Without such a change,
private investors could raise tolls without regard to traffic
impacts on alternative roads or on lower income users of the
toll road.
MS. EPSTEIN said with respect to public transparency on investor
submittals and a legislative vote serving as a check on KABATA's
decision-making, these provisions mirror similar provisions and
language in AGIA that allow for public comment and requires the
state to document that an applicant's proposed project will
sufficiently maximize benefits to the state and requires the
legislature to vote on a pipeline license and its conditions.
She said the need for a transparent process has been recognized
by other states like Indiana, Virginia, New Jersey, and Texas.
The federal model on P3 on the federal Highway Administration
website supports public transparency as well as national
publications. She said that KABATA has not shown itself to be
transparent and accountable under the current statute, nor has
it fully acknowledged the full range of public concerns based on
its testimony today.
MS. EPSTEIN said both the MatSu and Anchorage were not involved
in the most recent and most sophisticated cost estimate review
performed in June 2006. KABATA's most recent meetings consisted
of a few minutes of public discussion followed by the board
going into executive session. It has also refused to release its
draft RFPs while simultaneously releasing the document to
private sector P3 applicants. She said:
In summary, KABATA expects to sign a P3 contract this
year that could have enormous financial, social and
transportation system implications for Alaska. We are
greatly about leaving all decisions to KABATA's very
small and I would argue non-representative board.
She said the language in SB 268 might need some slight
modification to address KABATA's consultants' concerns regarding
tolling.
SENATOR COWDERY asked her background.
MS. EPSTEIN answered that she is a license professional civil
engineer in Alaska and Maryland.
3:09:45 PM
STEVE CLEARY, Executive Director, Alaska Public Interest
Research Group (AKPIRG), said AKPIRG has been focusing on
consumer protection and transparency since 1974 and that is why
they support SB 268. They believe a project of this importance
should be reviewed by the public and the legislature. The
fluctuating cost estimates greatly influence the tolls consumers
would be paying each way and they are happy to see the consumer
protections in this bill to make sure those are based on
inflation and not the fact the private investors need to recoup
their investment.
He also said the state needs to show that it is behind the
project and SB 268 represents a way for the state to show that.
They view SB 268 not as sidelining the project, but adding
transparency to it.
SUZANNE DIPIETRO, Anchorage Citizen's Coalition, supported SB
268. She said the public's involvement so far has not been
focused on the financing, but more on the routes the alternative
and the impacts on environment and social resources. The reason
this is an important bill is that KABATA's main mission is to
build a bridge if it is financially feasible and she thought the
legislature was in a better position to make that decision for a
project like this in Alaska, because it sees the overall budget
priorities much better than a small board.
3:15:17 PM
DARCIE SOLMON, Vice President, KABATA, said he is also the
previous mayor of the Matsu borough. He explained when they
discussed the construction of the Matsu port with Senator
Stevens who got them the money to do that, the comment was
always made if we can get some activity on that Matsu side, then
we can build the bridge. The rail spur was intended to go there
and the prison is being built there. The intent has always been
a 360-degree intermodal transportation corridor linking South-
central's economy and creating prosperity, progress and
opportunity for our children and our children's children and
beyond.
He said it is disingenuous today that every speaker in support
of this bill has been ardently and vocally opposed to the KABATA
and this project since it first came under legislative purview.
He said KABATA is just trying to build a bridge, not prevent
building a bridge. When the earmarks were changed, it created a
situation in which they had to move forward on a different path.
The P3 is an opportunity for them to get a major project with
limited liability for the State of Alaska and it is disingenuous
to assume that the DOTPF, DOR, the House of Representatives and
Senate, the past mayor of Anchorage, the past mayor of the Matsu
Borough and the past director of DOTPF and their incredible
staff that they are not capable of negotiating this contract
with these two private concessionaires. It is also quite
insulting to say that they have gone into an executive session
as though there is something going on. The attorney general's
office is also represented in the executive sessions and every
step they take. They are there to offer the transparency and if
the board were to violate or sidestep any issues, they would put
their foot firmly on their necks and stop them.
MR. SOLMON said Alaska is currently poised to be a major player
in a global economy and this bridge is the lynchpin. Anchorage
is out of land and the Pt. MacKenzie side has it. He said SB 268
is a delaying tactic.
MARTY METIVA, representing himself from Matsu, said this bridge
can provide economic development for the Matsu Borough and
provides connectivity to the largest city in Alaska. This is
where the future is and SB 268 delays it. It begins by delaying
it for four months, but that can grow to six months and so on;
it could result in actually killing this project.
CHERYL METIVA, Executive Director, Greater Wasilla Chamber Of
Commerce, opposed SB 268. She said this project has been in the
planning stage for five years. For each month it is delayed, the
price of construction and materials goes up. They need to
continue moving forward in a positive way. She refuted the
statement that KABATA has not been open and transparent, because
this board has been very forthcoming. Its staff has approached
the Greater Wasilla Chamber and chambers throughout the state on
a regular and continuous basis offering to do keynote
presentations and keep people in the loop. "We have had nothing
but 100 percent transparency." From the business standpoint, Ms.
Metiva said this [P3] was a beautiful partnership between public
and private and Alaska needs a lot more of them.
CHAIR KOOKESH found that no one else wanted to testify and
closed the public testimony. He held SB 268 for a further
hearing. There being no further business to come before the
committee, he adjourned the meeting at 3:25:14 PM.
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