News-Miner Editorial
Reserving judgment
Proof will be in plans for Ruth Burnett Hatchery
Published Sunday, May 11, 2008
Digg
del.icio.us
Facebook
Mixx
Reddit
Stumble It!News last week of bids that came in well over the $26 million estimate for construction of the Ruth Burnett Fish Hatchery in Fairbanks have many of us wondering and worrying about the potential for another state construction boondoggle.
We have supported construction of the hatchery and pushed the state to get the lagging project underway. Seeing low bids come in more than 20 percent over state estimates, however, had us rethinking our position. Perhaps, we thought, if costs are going to soar then maybe it’s time to go back to the drawing board.
But we are withholding that judgment for now.
Charlie Swanton, formerly of Fairbanks and now serving as the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s director for the Division of Sport Fish, said he understands the concern. He wished he could give us a little more information, but as the bid process is still underway he has to keep numbers and information close to his chest.
He wasn’t surprised at bids coming in over the level of the estimate. You don’t start negotiating the price of something by laying out the maximum you possibly can spend. He did say the bids are a bit higher than expected, however. “Is it utopia? No. But it’s certainly not the end of the world,” he said.
But could we see the worst? Could we see a hatchery under construction with Fish and Game coming back to the Legislature ... “no” ... in a year or two looking for money ... “No” ... another couple million or $4 or $5 million ... “NO.”
Emphatically?
“Thank you,” Swanton said. “No.”
We look to state officials to be good stewards of state dollars and, for his part, Swanton said he sees his responsibility as doing everything in his power to bring the hatchery into production within a targeted time-frame and budget.
Exact numbers and the transparency of this process are yet to come, said Dave Kemp, the state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities engineer serving as project manager on the hatchery. Until a bid is awarded, exact numbers are best left out of public venues lest someone perceive an unfair advantage, he said.
We think he is erring on the side of caution, which from the state’s point of view is probably OK for now. It’s our job to be impatient, but that impatience got us nowhere with Kemp this week. “I realize people want to know the answers to these questions,” Kemp said. Discussing the bidding process with the state and contractors he re-emphasized, “I’m in a bit of a poker game right now, and I can’t lay out my hand.”
He expects to offer the transparency we seek in relatively short order. Fingers crossed, it could happen within a week or so. In the meantime, he put things simply: “The goal right now is to keep the functionality as defined with Fish and Game, to stay on schedule and within budget.”
Let’s all keep our fingers crossed.
Community Discussion
Newsminer.com doesn't necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post. Read our full user's agreement.
Hea, how about a barley farm in Delta, we could build shipping docks and silos to store it while waiting shipment overseas,,, all we need is more money,,, come on it's a good idea.. it will pay for itself in only 400 years...
Hatcheries for tourists who are not going to be able to afford to come to Alaska because of fuel they can't afford to put in their land whales, their houses they've seen depreciate or outright lost, inflation in all sectors except pay scales (Golden Parachute execs aren't plentiful enough + they go to exclusive lodges for trophies).
Recession or outright depression?
The Alaska Visitors Association wailing and gnashing their teeth down in the Legislature for more money for fewer people who are going to come here until, if and when the global economy sorts itself out without further war in the next ten years.
These hatcheries seem like "feel good" expenditures, i.e. wish in one, defecate in the other and see which one fills up first.
Best be putting this loose cash in coal to gas to liquids and deal with first things first rather than running blithely along thinking we are not in an emergency as some would have you believe.
Another example of PORK which borough taxpayers neither asked for or want. One more bureaucratic project to add to the cost of taxpayers with high paying jobs and hormone enhanced fish. You egotistic politicians are so out of touch with the common person who is struggling to survive our ever raising cost of living.
Anywhere else but Fairbanks, a hatchery would be a welcome thing-go figure.
I am sure that at least someone there in town, other than the contractors, must be aware that costs are GOING UP over all. Energy, raw materials, and labor are all going to rise or already have started to do so. Hard dollar bidding in this climate means that extra dollars have to be plugged into the bid just to get through to the end of the project without losing your shirt.
Maybe the planners need to reduce the scope a little. How about doing away with windows, doors, and a roof to economize. Maybe you should just put in a shallow ditch and some chicken wire to get the project within budget.
I don't question your premise costs are going up jonpauls, just the cost to benefit ratio.
Hmmm..we could build a gas pipeline, a dam, or retool an existing coal power plant. But instead we are going to build a insanely expensive fish hatchery. How stupid are we? Yep I know the answer.
Cost to benefit ratio? I didn't see that. Was that $60 per fish or was that $40? You know I didn't see that in the article.
The benefits are probably understated and the intrinsic value will not be realized until after it is built.
The information provided yields a statement of 20 percent increase over the estimate. Maybe Fairbanks can make a deal to get 20$ more fish out of the hatchery. And where is the money coming from? Property taxes? Sales taxes? Income taxes? Oil company income taxes. And as I see it, I think their revenues have gone up over 20% as well.
silly little expensive project.....
raise your hand if you think its a waste of money
At some point "costs have gone up" isn't a sufficient answer. The price is way too high. How about if we take half that amount and add as much capacity as we can onto the hatchery at Clear?
Or we could build some more traffic circles, that has provided lots of work for local auto body shops.
Post a comment
Commenting requires registration.