As Kenai administrators drafted the city’s 2017 budget, they were forced to include a $20,000 line item for initial repair costs after the city dock was damaged by January’s 7.1 magnitude earthquake.
Finance Director Terry Eubank…
Eubank: “What you have there is you have steel structural membranes encased in concrete and some of that concrete was flexed and appeared to have cracked as a result of movement during that earthquake. And that’s evident because you can look for a crack that’s been there for a while and you may see rust coming out of it because moisture has gotten to the steel inside and we don’t see that rust.”
The city hired an engineer inspect the dock and says it is currently structurally sound and safe for the public but without maintenance the cracks may speed up the deterioration of the dock.
Eubank says the $20,000 included in the draft 2017 budget will provide for more in-depth engineering study, design for the fix, and the bid documents for the fix.
Eubank: “We’re guessing that’s a $150,000 – $200,000 project potentially. So [that funding is] just to get the design and the specs put together.”
Kenai is still finalizing the 2017 budget which will be introduced to the Kenai City Council meeting on May 18.