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Repairs to Kenai city dock approved

There was another strong earthquake felt in Kenai almost exactly two years ago, though much closer than Tuesday morning's 7.9 event, meaning it caused a whole lot more damage in the Central Peninsula.

Some of that damage occurred to the Kenai City Dock during the January 24th, 2016, 7.1 earthquake.

City Manager Paul Ostrander explained to the Kenai City Council the administration’s plan to repair the damage, using funds left over from two other, completed projects.

“The appropriation that goes into the capital projects fund is an estimation of what the total cost would be. If you look at the second page of the ordinance under section two, You've got the transfer from other funds, which is $106,000, which is the combination of the transfer of the left over funds from public safety boiler replacement and the animal control shelter building recoating," Ostrander said. "So that $106,000 is the portion of the project that's going to be paid for by general fund monies of the city. The $153,000 that's labeled 'restitution' is the estimation that'll be paid through insurance proceeds.

"So those two combined is $259,000, which is the total cost of the project, which includes the damage due to the earthquake and the cathodic protection,” he said.

The city dock uses metal piling, and “cathodic protection” is used to prevent corrosion in the seawater. The city will install a new and improved system to the dock. A memo from Public Works Director Sean Wedemeyer said two different consultants said the current system is not providing adequate protection.

Councilman Jim Glendening asked Ostrander if he had pursued grants for the dock work. He said, no, but then had to clarify.

“You know, we are consistently looking for grant opportunities. And we do get notification of grant opportunities quite often at the city. There were none that we became aware of during this time period for this project," Ostrander said. "But we certainly are and I want you to know we are always looking for grant opportunities. There just none that were applicable for this project that we identified during this period.”

The ordinance passed unanimously.

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