As part of their yearly lobbying trip to Washington, D.C., local officials from Unalaska travelled to the nation’s capital in late March. Speaking to Alaska’s legislative members, government agencies, military commanders, and others, they promoted the community.
Meeting in person may help garner funding for high-profile projects, such as geothermal development, which Unalaska has been seeking for decades, according to city manager Bil Homka. Geothermal development is “one of the hardest projects in the world,” according to him. Homka remarked,
“We’re still just getting our bearings in terms of ensuring that the resources are available in the capacity that will be worth the investment.”
The visit coincides with nationwide financial reorganisations brought on by new federal cost-cutting initiatives. Grants to several Unalaska organisations that rely on federal funding have decreased. For the Captains Bay waterline project, which would have updated infrastructure along a highway linking to many industrial locations, the city lost around $3.4 million in congressionally ordered funding.
According to Homka, demands to recoup that money in the upcoming fiscal year have been made by Unalaska’s federal lobbyists, the qualified advocates who attest to the city’s requirements throughout the year. He did, however, add that the projects may need to be modified in the interim.
“We have to wait and push back our timelines if that’s what we’re waiting for,”
he stated.
“That’s a huge deal out here because our construction season is so short.”
Additionally, the Unalaska group met with members from the Coast Guard and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. According to Homka, a scheduled meeting with the Navy was eventually cancelled.
The military is showing fresh interest in the Aleutians, especially farther down the chain, nearer Russia. According to federal officials, Adak, the westernmost municipality in the United States, is seeing a sort of comeback.
Reopening the naval base in Adak might strengthen the nation’s security against escalating foreign threats, according to Sen. Dan Sullivan during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in February. Adak, which had housed 6,000 troops during the Cold War, now has around 50 permanent people and a large amount of abandoned military infrastructure. A new launchpad for launching satellites into low Earth orbit is also anticipated to be built near the city.
The military’s connection with Unalaska is improving. Last year, the Coast Guard station on the island was transformed into a Marine Safety Unit. The Navy responds to an increasing Chinese and Russian presence in the Bering Sea and often pauses in Dutch Harbor. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is still cleaning up World War II-era contaminants and debris.
The future of the military in Unalaska is still up in the air, according to Homka.
“Don’t we all want to know?”
he said.
It’s how we make a living out here. It encompasses many different aspects of our community.
On this year’s federal lobbying trip, Homka, Mayor Vince Tutiakoff Sr., Vice Mayor Alejandro “Bong” Tungul, Councilmember Anthony Longo, municipal lobbyists, and Ounalashka Corp. CEO Natalie Cale represented Unalaska. Like the state lobbying trip to Juneau, the travel to D.C. is a longstanding tradition. Last month, local initiatives were also promoted by city leaders in the state capital.
