City goes to D.C. to express needs

“These trips are well worth it because the relationships that we have are very valuable...,” Branson said in an interview with KDM. “It’s all about building relationships, and that’s why we’ve been successful with some of the federal legislative priorities and getting them into the Appropriations Committee.”

During the trip, Branson and Whiddon also lobbied for Kodiak’s infrastructure needs based on the expansion it will be seeing related to the crews and dependents needed to staff two fast-response cutters and two offshore-patrol cutters it will be homeporting. In addition, the city has been seeking to homeport a Coast Guard icebreaker.

Branson and Whiddon met with John Clark Rayfield, majority staff director for the House sub-committee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation; Steve Kopecky, deputy chief of the Northwestern and Pacific Ocean division of the Army Corps. of Engineers, on feasibility studies for homeporting an icebreaker; and Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, on Coast Guard projects and new grant funding opportunities.

Whiddon said he thought their best conversation was with Coast Guard representatives. Whiddon and Branson had the chance to speak about infrastructure needs for incoming Coast Guard families and get updates on several new Coast Guard vessels that have the potential to be homeported in Kodiak.

“I thought it was a very, very productive trip,” Whiddon said in an interview with KDM. “[We] really went there to, just first of all, thank them for their efforts, but also to bring them up to date on the issues that pertain here in Kodiak.”

They also highlighted several important infrastructure components for Kodiak, which have funding requests from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. One is a request for about $1.5 million for a new fire truck and another request involves design funds for Kodiak’s wastewater treatment plant project.

After the trip, Murkowski, Sullivan and Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, signed and sent a letter to Pete Buttigieg, secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

“We are writing to express our support for a FY 2023 Port Infrastructure Development Program grant application by the city of Kodiak, Alaska. The city is seeking to upgrade the maritime infrastructure at Saint Herman Harbor, its major commercial harbor,” the letter wrote, in part.

Branson and Whiddon also spoke with Peltola, seeking her support on several different federal priorities and the National Marine Fisheries Service on needed surveys.

“It’s really important that somebody goes to represent the community on a regular basis because it helps bridge that distance gap…,” Whiddon said. “I think we have a much greater impact and can convey the message of the communities’ needs much more effectively.”

An in-depth report on the trip will be given to the City Council next week.