Unalaska, AK – The City of Unalaska is getting less money than it hoped for in this year's state budget, despite the city staff's hope for $5 million to go toward the powerhouse and potentially another generator. City Manager Chris Hladick said he thinks the city can do without it.

"At this point I think we'll be fine. We've already purchased a third engine that will actually be done many months ahead of time," he said.

This summer the city will be working on three major projects - the school renovations, the powerhouse, and the new boat harbor on Little South America. Hladick says these projects should proceed without problems.

Most of this year's capital budget for funding specific projects is coming from the federal economic stimulus package. The city was asking for help with the Ballyhoo Road paving project, but the Department of Transportation decided it did not qualify for that money either because it's not ready to move forward quite yet.

"The theory is, though, is that the projects that have been out there many years will now be off the lists and everybody else's projects will move up," Hladick said.

The city will be getting $390,000 from the statewide revenue sharing program and from other segments of the federal economic stimulus program. At the last minute the legislature also passed the grants for the Alaska Energy Authority. The city will receive $1.3 million for waste heat recovery.

The city also has money to put towards exploring geothermal potential. An additional $1 million federal money was recently added to the $3 million the city already has to explore the area. Hladick said the city still does not have an agreement with Jack Woods to explore his property near Makushin, so geologists will be coming to Unalaska next month to look for other areas.

"We hope to have some geologists here on May 14 and 15 to look at those alternative sites. Eider Point is one, Driftwood Bay, and Makushin Valley. And possibly Glacier Bay, which is on the other side of the island."

The property is all owned by either the Ounalashka Corporation and the Aleut Corporation, or the federal government. The geologists will do surface assessment work in the areas to see if they are good places to drill. If they are, most of the money will go towards the drilling later this summer. Hladick said the city wants to find a more accessible area that would be more cost effective to develop, though with current oil prices no place would be more cost effective than the new fuel efficient generators.