Assistant Secretary of the Army visits Nome

Members of the Nome City Council, Port Commission and city administration met with Adam Telle, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works last Wednesday in a closed-door meeting at Old St. Joe’s. 
In a press briefing following the meeting, Colonel Jeff Palazzini, the head of the Alaska District for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said the meeting was to brief Telle on the Port of Nome expansion project, which begins its first construction phase this summer. “It’s an opportunity to bring some senior leaders from the Army Corps of Engineers out to Nome to give them an opportunity to see the project and what the project’s all about,” said Palazzini.
When asked about expansion in other areas in the region, Palazzini said they were focused on the Port of Nome right now. “We know we have some appropriation right now to focus on the Port of Nome, so that’s where our focus is,” he said.
Mayor Kenny Hughes said that Telle told the city officials that he was looking for ways to reduce the cost of the port expansion, although there were no concrete solutions discussed. “Assistant Secretary Telle specifically mentioned that he was looking actively for ways to reduce the cost,” said Hughes.
Telle said that the resources of the Army Corps are spread in a lot of different directions and a key part of keeping cost down is keeping timelines tight. “Every member of Congress virtually is interested in what we deliver,” he said. 
Telle said that the meeting did not propose any changes to the Port of Nome expansion but also did not rule out the possibility. “The most efficient way for us to run any project that we’re doing is to have certainty, have resources in place early,” he said. “Across our portfolio, we’re always trying to keep the timelines as short as possible.”
He acknowledged the logistics problem the Arctic represents and the solution that Nome offers is unique. “We all know that water transportation is the most efficient form of transportation that humanity has ever devised,” he said. “That’s why the United State of America has to be dominant as a maritime nation. It’s President Trump’s focus.”
 City Manager Lee Smith said that the meeting was an opportunity to keep Telle and the Army Corps in touch with the Port expansion and get “boots on the ground.” “If you really see it, smell it, put your hands on it to understand it,” he said. “That’s why I think today is good, they see our commitment.”