Unalaska, AK – City staff and community members heard presentations on the two potential designs for the new Carl E. Moses Boat Harbor Wednesday night. Each team of engineers presented and answered questions for about two hours.

The first team of presenters was Pacific Pile & Marine and PND Engineers. They've previously done harbor work in Juneau, Adak, and Kodiak. They presented two designs one with slips for individual boats, as was requested by the city, and one with open moorage that allows for boats of all sizes that can be stacked, like they are at the Spit Dock. Their floats were made with large, corrosion proof, steel pontoons and are anchored down with piles. The steel grated surface allows for snow to easily fall through and can be removed for easy access to utilities, like water and electricity for each mooring site. The team said that nothing in the design is pre-fabricated, it's all tailored to Unalaska's needs, and was designed to last 50 years. City engineer Tyler Zimmerman was pleased with their proposal.

"Their layout was a pretty robust float, a steel float, similar to what we see at the Spit Dock with a few modifications. They call them upgrades."

The second design was presented by the Dutra Group, which is currently doing the dredging at the new boat harbor site. Their design uses large, extremely heavy duty plastic tubes filled with foam for the float's pontoon system. Unlike the other design, they say their float system is made of easily replaceable, standardized parts for easy maintenance. They have some of the same amenities, like pilings, easily accessible utilities, and grates that let the snow fall through. Zimmerman said the layout of their floats is also unique.

"One of the biggest differences between the two is the Dutra group moored most of the larger boats on the inside because you can use shorter piles on the inside for the loading and because the bigger boats were on this inside with the shallower water made it a little bit more cost effective design. But the flip side of that is you have a bigger boat that has to go all the way up the inner harbor to moor."

Zimmerman said both groups created proposals that met all of the city's requirements. "Either one will suit our needs really well, and we're going to be really happy with what we get."

Both companies presented design options that offer individual slips, as well, since the city found that most boat owners want that, and have pedestrian paths and showers.

City staff will now continue to evaluate the proposals and give them a technical score. Once that is completed, they'll look at the price estimates from each company. Using a formula they'll figure out which proposal both suits the needs and fits in the budget. Zimmerman said they hope to make a final decision by next Thursday. After the design-build team is chosen, they will gather input on the design from community members, fishermen, and other stakeholders. The inner harbor should be completed by fall of 2011. Full federal funding for the completion of the floating breakwaters is still not secured.