BASIC SUMMARY of RAISE GRANT ISSUES

In June 2021, the Borough submitted an inaccurate and misleading $20 million RAISE grant application to the federal granting agency MARAD, (the U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration).

In the application, the Borough justified the need for the Lutak Dock project by describing a dire situation that ignored the use of AML's new ro-ro dock for freight delivery. The Borough claimed that if they didn't rebuild the Lutak Dock and it failed, we would 'most likely' be forced to truck our local goods from Seattle, Valdez, Skagway, and Anchorage.

In fact, at the time the grant was submitted, the new ro-ro was already in use and the old Lutak Dock face was already closed. There was no interruption in service and no longdistance freight trucking was required.

MARAD requires honesty and transparency from its applicants and may impose severe penalties for false statements of fact. The Borough's misstatements expose its taxpayers to financial, reputational, and legal risks and burdens.