When the Gary Paxton Industrial Park board met earlier this month (12-18-25), it approved a wish list of future shipyard improvements.
The city wrapped construction on its new boat haulout at the park in September. The first phase cost the city just under $11 million dollars, including over $8 million in voter approved funding from the sale of the Sitka Community Hospital building. Most of that money went toward the infrastructure to support the haulout, a 150 ton travelift that hoists boats, a permanent concrete washdown pad and various boatyard equipment.
Park Director Garry White said he’d put pen to paper, and wanted the board to further discuss what they’d like to prioritize in the second and third phase of haulout construction, from essential to “nice to have” additions.
“Of course, we want electricity out there. We want to do the site grading and the drainage,” White said. “At some point, as this yard gets more busy, our bottleneck is going to be a wash down pad” White suggested, noting that adding another washdown pad was a priority further down the line.
White said a list of priorities would be helpful for the Sitka Assembly as it develops its legislative priorities for next year and for securing grants to pay for the additions. Board members reviewed White’s list, which included fencing, electrical work, lighting, and grating for the north boatyard first, followed by similar updates for the west boat yard. Board Member Casey Campbell said he’d move some smaller items up the list, but otherwise liked the look of it.
“I would probably move the anodes on the piling up, because it’s cheap. It’s one of the cheaper things, and it’s something that’s going to increase the longevity of the pilings,” Campbell said. “But then after that, it looks pretty reasonable to me, assuming we can get all this money.”
During public comment, local marine fabricator Jeremy Serka said grading should be at the top of the list. Dustin Cravens works for Highmark Marine– the contractor that operates the haulout. He stressed the need for fencing, and agreed with Serka about prioritizing the grading.
“Some of the stuff that’s sticking up in the yard, we go through and cut it off and take care of it. That’s part of the existing structures that were there previously for the pulp mill. It’s like an archeology project. They come up each time it rains, or sometimes you drive, or if you now are plowing, we’re finding them, and we’re taking care of them as we go,” Cravens said. “That falls into the grading and making sure that that area is good to go.”
White estimated that “phase 2” could cost anywhere from $6 to over $9 million, with the third phase costing between $7 to $10 million. The park board unanimously approved the list of priorities.
