The Daily Alaska empire., 1946-06-27


 of mcoring facilities. The cannery wants to put on additional tend CTS and with a boat harbor an in creased pack seems assured.
 Collins-The crab packing plant is new Douglas industry that plans to operate at least four boats i this fall
 l Bixby-At both Douglas and Ju- neau hearings described over- crowding of Juneau harbor with greatly increased wind and fire hazards, during off season" to demonstrate need for more harbor facilities on Gastineau Channel. As high as 400 boats have been count ed in the 11-acre Juneau harbor at one time, averaging 30 feet in length. In one six-week period, 365 boats used the grid in the Junear harbor
 Other Witnesses
 Warner-Describeo the operation, lack of moorage handicaps and ex- pansion plans of his new Douglas boat shop.
 Sandy Stevens-Related exper- fences that caused him to leave Douglas to live in Juneau where his boat could be sheltered. He declared emphatically he would re- turn to Douglas to live if harbor facilities were available there. Voluntary witnesses speaking from the flcor at the close of the Douglas hearing were Clancy Hig gins, fisherman: Joseph Stevens, fisherman; Joseph Ready, fisher man; Gordon Mills, fisherman; L. J. Wilcox, pleasure boat owner; Tom Selby, pleasure boat owner; Gordon Gray All asked that a boat harbor be constructed at Douglas.
 Gel Hardy's permission was se- cured to submit a statement from the Governor of Alaska and addi- tional data. later.
 Additional witnesses heard later at the hearing conducted in Ju- neau by Mayor Hendrickson were:
 Harold Aase, Business agent of the Deep Sea Fishermen's Union; Ernest G. Whitehead, Northern Commercial Company local Man ager; Wallis s. George, Juneau Cold Storage Company Manager; J. L. McNamara, Juneau City En- gineer; T. H. Dyer, Standard Oil Company Manager.
 Closest To Grounds
 Aase described the plight of three big new halibut boats that came to Juneau this spring, and which will likely leave this fall be- cause they are unable to find win ter moorings. There is no question but what the fishing industry should develop greatly on Gastin- eau Channel, he said, because it is closer to both salmon and halibut grounds than any other spot on the Coast except Westward towns. More boats are coming here, he is sure. He described the present Ju- neau boat harbOr as only one-third what it should have been in both size and facilities.
 Whitehead described the exten- sive new marine ways development his company is installing here and declared the N. c. Company is all ready worried about harbor facili- ties and has inquiries from canner- ies as far away as Cordova regard ing getting their beat repair work done here.
 George stated that with the B. cC0,0O0 pounds capacity extension now being completed at the Ju- neau Cold Storage Company, the Juneau plant will be the largest in Alaska, with 9,0OO000 pounds capa- city. He also told of further expan- sion plans of his company which will result in elimination of large part of the area now used by the City Float, making harbor facili- ties even more inadequate.
 Coordinated Projects
 George also expressed his firm belief that correlated projects worthy of consideration are dredg- ing of the north end of Gastineau Channel to shorten boat runs and dredging Young's Bay through to Hawk Inlet, which would also shorten runs and cut out the ha- zardous rounding of Point Retreat. Both of those projects were also suggested as needed coordinated developments at the Douglas hear ing. Col Hardy stated that the Gastineau Channel dredging is only waiting upon Congressional appro- priation, but that consideration of the Hawk Inlet cutoff was out of place at this hearing. | The City Engineer was called to state contributions the City of Ju- neau is ready to make toward the second boat basin here. Those con- sist of filling Harbor Way through to the highway, forming the shore rim of the harbor, and installation of mooring floats, with utilities.