The city is looking for a new shipping partner to help finance this $46 million-dollar dock expansion. (Courtesy: City of Unalaska)

City council will take a second look at a proposal to find a new anchor tenant at the Unalaska Marine Center tonight. But after ample public comment, the draft of the request for proposals hasn’t changed much.

Dozens of union laborers and their family members packed City Hall last month to discuss a preferred use agreement at the dock. Those laborers currently work with Horizon Lines -- which was the city’s preferred user until their contract expired in 2013. And the union workers wanted assurances that they would keep their jobs, no matter who got the next contract.

After consulting with the city’s attorney, staff have tried to address those concerns -- adding language to their draft bid request that would score shipping companies on use of local labor.

"This essentially provides an opportunity for local container shipping companies to score better because they have established local labor," writes Ports Director Peggy McLaughlin in a memo to councilors.

Still, it would only account for 5 percent of how the city plans to score companies’ bids. The draft request includes points for details on the amount of cargo that shippers would move at the port every year, plus the dockside space and number of hours a week they’d need to do it.

Half the companies’ scores would be based on the minimum annual rate they would pay to use the dock.

A new memo from the city's attorney says federal law doesn't require a public bidding process for the preferred use contract. But he says soliciting bids would protect against any legal challenges by companies who felt they weren’t given a fair shot at the dock space.

Councilors had asked why the city couldn’t just re-sign an agreement directly with Horizon Lines at last month’s meeting.

Horizon, which is currently in the process of selling off its Alaska assets to Matson, has indicated they want to keep using the dock for domestic shipping. But they’ve said they’re not necessarily interested in signing a long-term contract, or chipping in for upgrades to dockside equipment.

Ports staff say they want to know who will be using the dock in the future, and how, to help secure a bond for a $46 million dollar dock expansion project set for completion in 2017. With no contract currently in place for the dock, they say it’s only fair to put it out to bid.

Council won’t vote on that request for proposals tonight, though. They’ll discuss in a work session when they meet at 6 p.m. at City Hall.

The full meeting agenda is available here.