(Juneau) - Sen. Bert Stedman (R-Sitka) announced today he will be in Ketchikan March 27 and 28 to meet with city and borough officials on a variety of local issues.

Sen. Stedman will be in the First City this weekend to tour the former Ketchikan Pulp Corporation facilities at Ward Cove, walk the Ketchikan Harbor, visit the Pioneers' Home and inspect portions of the Tongass Highway. He will also meet with constituents at the Legislative Information Office (LIO) on Front Street. On Saturday, Ketchikan Borough Mayor Mike Salazar will give Stedman a firsthand look of the Ward Cove Industrial site where the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) headquarters is to be relocated later this year.

"Recent efforts by the House State Affairs Committee and the Juneau Assembly to delay the Governor's plan are unacceptable. This move is being unfairly characterized by some of my colleagues in Juneau and I intend to provide eyewitness testimony to that effect," Stedman said. As a member of the Senate State Affairs Committee, Stedman has jurisdiction over Department of Transportation activities relating to public facilities.

Later, Stedman will tour Ketchikan Harbor with Public Works Director Harvey Hansen and Harbormaster Lori Kolanko. The State is actively negotiating with the City of Ketchikan to transfer ownership of state harbors to the city.

"Ketchikan has been negotiating in good faith with the State over deferred maintenance and transfer payments. I want to ensure I'm doing everything I can to facilitate that process," Stedman said.

In addition, Sen. Stedman will inspect portions of North and South Tongass Highway with State Department of Transportation officials in advance of $10 million in road construction work scheduled to begin later this year.

Saturday from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sen. Stedman will be at the Ketchikan Legislative Information Office to meet with any constituents who would like to drop by.

"I'm anxious to know what's on people's minds and I'm more than happy to discuss any issue," said Sen. Stedman. The Ketchikan LIO is located at 50 Front Street, Suite 203, Ketchikan, Alaska. The phone number is 225-9675.

On Sunday, Sen. Stedman will visit the Ketchikan Pioneers' Home. "I want to personally communicate to the residents that their Pioneers Home is secure," he said.

Sen. Stedman represents Senate District A, which includes the Southeast communities of Ketchikan, Sitka, Wrangell and Petersburg.

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