The North Fill Development Park may soon become the home of a new community processing facility for seafood, kelp, and shellfish.
Cordova City Council members earlier this month indicated support for a proposal from the Prince William Sound Economic Development District (PWSEDD) to build a shared seafood cold storage and processing facility on a municipal lot in the development park. The organization offered to lease the lot, with an option to buy it outright after the structure is built, for $180,000.
Cordova Mayor Kristin Smith is the executive director of PWSEDD, however she was absent during the April 1 City Council meeting when members discussed the project. Additionally, newly minted Council Member Lee Collins declined to discuss and vote on the proposal – citing a potential conflict of interest with his day job, which would likely utilize PWSEDD’s new facility.
The city originally released a request for proposals (RFP) for Lot 2 Block 7 in January. The parcel is zoned specifically for marine-oriented purposes.
Multiple community user groups have voiced their support for PWSEDD’s proposal, noting that the facility will fill a desperate need for smaller-scale business owners in the fishing industry.
“We’ve seen this model succeed in communities like Valdez, Petersburg, Sitka – we’re long overdue for this in town,” Kelsey Hayden, operations director for Cordova District Fishermen United, said during testimony.
“Fishing is the backbone of this town and a through-line across the entire economy,” she added. “This project builds on that foundation.”
Other supporters of the project include the Copper River/Prince William Sound Marketing Association, Native Village of Eyak, Drifters Fish, Slack Tide Seafoods, Simpson Bay Oyster Company, and others.
The facility would operate primarily as a cold storage, supplying ice to fishermen and accommodating a loading dock for refrigerated vans, according to PWSEDD’s proposal. The facility would also include processing space for fish and seaweed, as well as a small commercial kitchen.
PWSEDD estimates the 4,800 square-foot facility would cost nearly $4.7 million.
Bayside Storage, which is owned by Paul and Linda Kelly and has been operational in Cordova for 36 years, was the other RFP applicant for the municipal lot. The owners proposed turning the parcel into a mixed-use commercial and residential space for small businesses and live/work opportunities.
In March the Cordova Planning Commission ranked the two proposals, scoring PWSEDD’s one point higher. However, the commission ended up recommending the lot go to Bayside Storage.
Council members acknowledged the benefit of both proposals.
“This was a hard one, I’ve struggled going back and forth on this,” Council Member Wendy Ranney said, noting that she’d like more information on how PWSEDD plans to manage the facility once the building is completed.
In the end, however, the council leaned more toward PWSEDD’s proposal.
“As we’ve heard from participants in the room and through the reading, this is a niche that doesn’t have the facility to fulfill the need,” Council Member David Zastrow said. “All these businesses that will take advantage of this are already existing, and something like this will provide an opportunity for them to continue doing what they’re doing, and maybe even grow a bit.”
The council passed the preliminary motion to approve PWSEDD’s proposal during the April 1 meeting. Ranney was the sole “no” vote, and Collins abstained due to conflict of interest.
The council is set to continue discussing the land disposal in the coming weeks. The next City Council meeting is tonight at 7 p.m. in the Cordova Center.
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