The fenced-off torpedo building overlooking the airport long-term parking lot in May 2013. /Courtesy: Peggy McLaughlin

City officials and local residents say they want the WWII torpedo building near Unalaska’s airport torn down.

That’s after pieces of lumber and debris flew off the building into cars in the airport long-term parking lot during last weekend’s windstorm.

City Manager Chris Hladick said at last night’s city council meeting that Troy Larue, from the Alaska Department of Transportation, is in town assessing the building’s condition.

Hladick said the city has tried to tear the building down in the past and failed because of its historic status. But he hopes this time will be different.

"We’ve seen debris come off of the facility before, but not like this," Hladick said. "So I had a discussion with Troy Larue and said, ‘We’ve got to do something about this and we’ve got to do it now.’ So he’s in agreement. We’ve closed down the parking lot until we get something done."

The issue arose when long-time Unalaska resident Jim Touza stood up to speak during community input. He said he wants to see the building gone before someone gets killed.

"It’s been that way for a long time. We’ve been lucky so far; we almost didn’t get lucky last week," he said. "I realize it’s supposed to be a historic structure and I think there’s also clean-up costs involved, and I’d be the last one to want to destroy a historic structure ... but in any case, we had a lot of damage in this last windstorm. This is going to keep happening, and I think the time has come to remove the hazard."

Touza asked Hladick who would pay for damage or potential injuries the building caused. Hladick said anyone whose car was damaged at the airport last week should contact him directly to start the insurance process. Hladick’s own car was among those hit with flying debris.

He said they’ll work with the state on other details. Mayor Shirley Marquardt said she hoped they’d find a solution quickly.

"It sounds like we’re finally going to get some action after being stymied on that for so long," she said. "It’s going to be hard for them to say no at this point."

Also at last night’s council meeting, the city set up this year’s paving capital project. That includes resurfacing on Airport Beach Road and East Broadway, plus paving at the City Hall, library and high school parking lots and on the Unalaska Community Park trail.

Council expects to approve paving work for Biorka Drive at their next meeting, once some sewer work is complete.

They awarded paving contracts to PND Engineers and R&M Consultants, both groups they’ve worked with before. PND got a $388,000 contract to do construction administration work. R&M’s contract is for $344,000, for inspection and testing.

There were no comments during a public hearing on a budget amendment to shift $4.75 million from old paving projects into the new paving fund, among other smaller items. Council approved the amendment unanimously.

They moved another budget ordinance to a public hearing at their next meeting. It includes a $754,000 boost for the waste heat recovery project at the powerhouse. The increase would nearly double the cost of the project for the city. Public utilities director Dan Winters says it’ll pay for upgrades to hook the old powerhouse into the waste heat system.

Council also approved the acquisition of about three acres of state tidelands in Captains Bay. The parcel comes at no cost to the city and covers OSI’s dock expansion. The city plans to lease the tidelands to OSI once the acquisition is complete.

Council also approved some appointments to city boards last night. Matt Lightner and Karie Wilson were reappointed to the Parks, Culture and Recreation Advisory Committee. And council approved the mayor’s appointment of Jessica Earnshaw to the Planning Commission.

Council meets next on Feb. 25.