Meyers Chuck, between Wrangell and Ketchikan, will see a new dock within a few years. (Map by US Beacon)
Wrangell officials have agreed to take over the Meyers Chuck dock.
The Borough Assembly recently OK’d an agreement with the state Department of Transportation. The state will provide $1.4 million and the borough will be responsible for maintenance and repairs.
Meyers Chuck is a small, unincorporated community between Wrangell and Ketchikan. It’s on the Cleveland Peninsula off Clarence Strait and is popular with boaters traveling through the area.
It’s also part of the Wrangell Borough.
The existing dock and float-plane tie-up is 375 feet long. It’s deteriorating and not expected to last many more years.
Borough Manager Jeff Jabusch says state money will cover dock replacement. But residents will have to chip in.
“That is only going to work if they’re willing to pay some fee down there. And then we would have someone down there, maybe we would give ‘em free stall rent or moorage rent. (They would) collect the data, give it to us, and we could do the billing and all that. But somehow they would have to be our eyes on the project down there,” Jabusch says.
He says most Meyers Chuck residents understand the need to pay for moorage. But he has heard at least one objection.
The state has been trying to give the dock away for at least five years. Wrangell leaders turned down one offer when an estimate showed replacement could cost up to $3 million.
The latest estimate is far lower.
