We will bring the regular assembly meeting to order for January 12th, 2026.

Mr.

Kelly, will you lead us in the flag salute?

Thank you, Mr.

Kelly.

Mr.

Steininger, will you um read our land acknowledgement, please we would like to acknowledge that City and Borough of Juneau is on Clinkett Land and wish to honor the indigenous people of this land.

For more than 10,000 years, Alaska Native people have been and continue to be integral to the well-being of our community.

We're grateful to be in this place, a part of this community and to honor the culture, traditions, and resilience of the Klinker people.

So thank you for that, Mr.

Steininger.

Madam Clark, will you call role, please?

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Deputy Mayor Smith.

Ms.

Hughes Candies.

Here, Ms.

Wall.

Present.

Mr.

Kelly.

Here.

Ms.

Adkisson.

Here.

Mr.

Steininger.

Here.

Mr.

Brooks.

Here.

You have Quorum for the rec.

Oh, Madam Mayor.

Here.

You have quorum, and for the record, Ms.

Hall is absent.

Thank you for that, Madam Clerk.

Um, so special order of business.

We do have one item, although I want to make a quick mention.

On January 5th, we lost a long, long time Genoite, uh, Jurdis Baxter.

Um, and I see a grandson, correct, Corey in the audience today.

So Juris was an amazing woman if you met her, and uh she was the last known survivor of the diphtheria epidemic in Nome that uh we do the Iditarod now.

But uh she lived to be a hundred and one, so those are really good years, and she would have been hunting to next month.

So our hearts go out to the Baxter family and congratulations on living a great life.

So, with that, our next item of special order business is Chief Etheridge.

Come on up.

I have a sweater, but it's too hot, so I'm not gonna put it on.

This is a proclamation in recognition of Chief Richard Etheridge.

Whereas the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly is honored to recognize the many accomplishments, Richard Etheridge, Capital City Fire and Rescue Fire Chief, and whereas on December 31st, 2025, after a 27-year career with the city and 33 years in public safety, Chief Etheridge will be retiring.

And whereas Chief Etheridge has been the fire chief for the CBJ since 2020 2010, and whereas Chief Etheridge's career in emergency services began in the summer of 1961 as a wild line firefighter for the state of Alaska Division of Forestry on the Kenai Peninsula, and whereas in 1992, he joined the Glacier Volunteer Fire Department as a volunteer firefighter and EMT.

And whereas after pursuing an opportunity to expand his public safety background as an Alaska State Trooper from 1998 to 2020, Chief Etheridge returned to Capital City Fire Rescue as the fire prevention officer, and whereas Chief Etheridge has engaged in his community and profession serving on the local emergency planning committee board, the Alaska Arson Invest Investigators Board of Directors, Alaska Municipal League, and as a president of the Alaska Fire Chiefs Association.

And whereas during the COVID pandemic, Chief Etheridge responded with quick and effective coordination of mobile testing sites around town and at the airport, supported the vaccine rollout, and assisted with the development of mobile and integrated health program.

And whereas Chief Etherit in collaboration with city leadership recognized gaps in the availability and reach of critical community services and led the development of the CARES program to strengthen and expand care for those most in need, setting a new standard of coordination and excellence.

And whereas Chief Ethridge's general stewardship of the department helped evolve their approach to a medical first approach.

And whereas in his retirement, Chief Etheridge will focus on his growing woodworking business.

He makes excellent pens.

Now, therefore, I Beth A.

Weldon, mayor of the City and Borough of Jeno, Alaska and the City and Borough Assembly do hereby express our sincere appreciation and thanks to Chief Richard Etheridge for his long-standing commitment to public safety and our community and highly commend him for the manner in which he has carried out his duties and responsibilities.

We're not done.

But thank you.

I I do, yeah.

Um, I've had the pleasure of working with Rich for a little over a decade.

Um more closely in the past since the pandemic, right?

Uh when when we started working working together uh quite closely, and then uh since the pandemic as your supervisor, and uh as I was thinking about what I wanted to say, uh I was trying to come up with like a couple of words that described your character and your um your work on the job.

And what keep come keep coming what kept coming to mind is the kind of calm professional way that you uh just carry yourself um in really challenging uh sometimes really challenging situations that we're also often talking about really hard life safety issues, right?

Where people are experiencing their worst day, you bring you brought and um provide an example of that that calm professionalism and expertise.

And you are um one of the things that I always admired about you that I admire about you is your not only willingness but the way you thrive on leading from the front.

Um your uh you know, I I remember during the glove, I needed to like get out into two couple years ago.

I needed to get out into the streets, and I was like, I I can't, my car can't get out there, like it's the roads are too deep.

And like I said that, I mean, you were like, well, I'm I'm here, like I'll pick you up, and you've got me out, and what I need saw saw what I needed to see.

Um, I can think of examples of when people experience house fires, like you are often the person there, right?

Providing solace, helping them understand what is one of the most tragic situations of their lives.

Um that that care and compassion uh led you to lead the department through the establishment of the CARES program that the mayor mentioned and mobile integrated health and crisis now and developing those programs took years of efforts and partnership and collaboration and pulling uh outside groups along, kind of iter iteration by iteration, and you persevered and then you got it done before you retired.

So uh I uh I just I I'm gonna miss you.

Juno was well served by your tenure.

So thank you so much.

I'll be brief.

I just want to say thank you to to both the city manager and deputy city manager.

Uh, you guys have been super supportive, uh, super gracious through my my plethora of mistakes that I've made over the years.

Uh but uh we've always figured it out and got everything going.

And I also want to say thank you to the entire assembly for your support for the department.

All these years, I've never had to be worried about you know unfair budget cuts or you know, things like that.

Everything you guys have always been there to back up the department.

So I I appreciate that.

And just want to say thank you for the opportunities.

Right.

Thank you.

And Chief Etheridge, you don't have to stay and listen to us.

Lots of papers.

All right, with that, we will go to our special or excuse me, our approval of minutes.

Mr.

Kelly.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

I move that we approve the December 17th, 2025 special assembly meeting minutes and ask for unanimous consent.

Any objection?

Seeing none, those movement, those minutes are approved.

I move that we approve the December 15th regular assembly meeting minutes and ask for unanimous consent.

Any objection?

Seeing none, those are approved.

Thank you, Mr.

Kelly.

Next, we're gonna go to the manager's request for agenda changes.

I have kind of moved things around and asked her to do staff reports first so people could hear about uh where we are with uh all the snow in our emergency at hand.

So madam manager.

Thank you, Mayor Weldon.

Yes, my um uh request to amend the agenda is just to add a staff report on the December 2025 through January 2026 winter storm event.

I also, as a separate staff report, can update you on advocacy for GLOF mitigation uh if uh you would like, but we should probably start with what we're living right now, the winter disaster.

Um so I will uh just go ahead.

Uh so January 6th, the City and Borough of Juneau and Clinkett and Haida uh issued a disaster declaration for the 2025 uh 2026 winter storm event.

The governor quickly followed with a verbal uh state declaration opening up uh state resources to our response efforts.

Uh the assembly also uh the the following day held a meeting uh passing resolution 4038 uh declaring the uh the storm event an emergency.

Um that uh declaration has allowed us to access state resources, it has mobilized the state EOC.

They've been here on the ground at um you know all of our EOC meetings.

We did stand up an EOC before uh before that declaration.

I do want to just um provide some context.

We've gotten like why didn't we issue a disaster declaration earlier?

Um and it was really an evolving event, right?

We um we issue we issue a declaration when our own resources have been overwhelmed.

And I think if you are a constituent who's trying to get out of your driveway, you're like, our resources are overwhelmed because I have a seven-foot berm in front of my driveway and I can't drive my road.

The state was already working and continues to work over time with snow removal.

So there were no resources to avail us of uh, you know, more equipment operators or more equipment, right?

That's not a um we're we have we're on our own in that regard because of the isolated nature of our community.

Um also there were a lot of private citizens who were struggling with um snow removal on their private property, either their roof or their tribus.

That is something that um I acknowledge that is a tremendous burden for people, especially without the resources to be able to um to to move that snow.

However, that is not something that we can mobilize state assistants for or municipal assistance for, right?

For um on private property.

However, uh on January 5th, we realized that our um our city facilities and our public facilities, we became concerned about the snow loads on those uh for those facilities, which triggered us to request that declaration.

And the governor's office, mayor and I were on the phone multiple times with the governor's office, and they were very responsive.

Um so that that is kind of the the uh the cadence of that, and we've been very engaged um with the state on response.

Want to talk a little bit about um our um avalanche risk because avalanche risk has been a big part of this response.

Um December 30th through January 7th, we issue daily um avalanche uh alerts for people to to remain um alert if they live in an out known avalanche slide path.

And we really are using our ready set go model for emergency management, and you may remember that from the GLOF event.

Um you know, the ready, uh, ready is be aware, know your evacuation route, you know, ha have done your planning.

The set is have your go bag packed, know where you're gonna go for the night because an evacuation could be declared at any moment.

And so uh we did declare uh we did evacuate um known slide pass on January 8th because of the avalanche danger.

We've been working with the Alaska Department of Transportation and um CBJ Resources staff resources on advising us on that avalanche risk.

And um, as of yesterday, the avalanche risk is only remains in the Baron subdivision.

So uh those um those homes that are in other slide paths are able to to to to go back home.

And the reason for that is there's been a lot of very small releases in those slide paths that relieve that pressure.

And the Barons Avenue, we've had one release that's gotten kind of in the Judy Lane area.

However, there still remains a pretty large uh uh snowpack up there that we're concerned about.

And so that um evacuation notice will remain in effect uh until we either see some stabilization of that or uh release of that.

And I'll talk about that a little bit in kind of what we expect for the future.

And we did stand up a uh shelter at Centennial Hall.

And I really want to thank our partners at Red Cross for staffing that.

Uh our census at that shelter at its peak was just under 50 individuals, with the uh the the Barons Avenue being the only path open now, it's down to about 12.

And that uh shelter will remain open as long as we have an evacuation notice uh in effect, and we are not turning anyone away from that uh shelter.

We also uh were required to um evacuate the Thane uh warehouse cold weather emergency shelter for their safety.

We had originally um relocated those residents to Marie Drake.

Um, however, we quickly became concerned about the snow load on Marie Drake and did not feel like it was safe to overnight guests there.

Um that was that was frightful, a decision on Friday had to be quickly made to change the location on that.

And the only facility in CBJ that had uh that had the snow load cleared was Glacier Valley.

And so the decision was made to locate those uh those guests in the gym at Glacier Valley and limit access only to the gym.

We had increased uh JPD patrols, we had uh cold weather shelter staff uh monitoring uh that event and uh that was only for one night um uh we were able to because of the avalanche risk uh was reduced.

We were able to move those individuals back into the Thane warehouse.

We had uh a thorough inspection, a thorough cleaning of the facility.

Um, but really for life safety of those residents, uh we had to make that decision and we had to make that decision quickly.

So I just wanted to uh explain that a little bit.

Um, as part of the uh the avalanche risk, um we have a suspended service just on the uh Glacier Avenue section for capital transit.

We do not want people to be waiting for the bus in that area.

Our advice is you can transit through that area.

It's just not good to you know stand around for a long time.

And so that's why until that evacuation order has been lifted, um, capital transit will not be making stops on Glacier Avenue.

I want to talk a little bit about backup and talk a little bit about snow removal since you know last week it was a snow event.

It is it's turned into a little bit of a different event.

Uh, but we did uh hire uh multiple contractors to help us uh get rid of snow.

As you all have experienced because you live in Juneau, there are not a lot of places to put the snow.

And so this becomes a very labor-intensive exercise and taking snowblowers or loaders and filling up duct trucks and dumping that snow.

And we do have a um snow dump at Thane and a snow dump in the valley.

Uh, we did receive permission from DEC to dump that snow into the channel under specific conditions, you know, making sure it's clean snow, it's not contaminated just because of the sheer volume of that snow.

So we we thank uh thank the state for that.

Um CBJ facilities were closed for uh most of last week because of our concern for uh safety and just the road conditions.

I mean, there were there were two issues, right?

One was the snow load on the roofs that we were uh monitoring, and the other was the dangerous snow conditions.

So we asked city staff to work remotely, um, wanted to make sure still we were still available to the public, uh, but but staying off those roads as much as possible.

I'm pleased to say that all CBJ facilities were open this morning.

Um, all GSD facilities were also open with the uh exception of Minna Hall River, just because the crews clearing that roof needed a little bit more time to remove the snow from like the sides of the buildings and just make sure that there were not students there that could um that's you know, from a safety perspective uh co-locating with that um heavy equipment.

Um want to talk, let's see, a little bit about um roofs in general, because of course snow load on roofs has been a major uh consequence of this storm event.

Um, and we uh did mobilize significant resources to help with removal on roofs.

Over 237 people shoveled three million pounds of snow from uh city facilities.

And our insurance company uh brought in about a hundred people uh and in addition to engineers to do those assessments.

So we had um contracted engineers and city engineers doing continuing continuous assessments of the snow load and also of the facilities to you know monitor stress on the facilities.

They're probably still in some of the buildings right now doing the last of their documentation for insurance.

We are working with the insurance company to have those expenses covered as part of an insurance claim for this event.

You know, that we're hoping that will be a way to mitigate some of the expense of this.

In addition, we have uh private contractors mobilized to help clear fire hydrants.

So that work is ongoing.

We are hoping we are working on demobilizing the um uh the the external contractors uh that are doing removal on snow removal on roofs.

So, like about a hundred people flew in to help with that effort, also hired through local contractors, and we're we're working on demobing that kind of outside um effort, but keeping some of our local contractors employed to help make sure we get those uh fire hydrants clear.

Really want to shout out to the public who has done a great job at helping clear fire hydrants and storm drains.

Um, flooding has also been a concern with this event because um of the ditches being full and the storm drains being uh being uh blocked with um with ice.

Um, I'm sorry.

Two over 200 people were flown in, not 100 people.

So but uh well anyway, a lot of people uh I was told uh entire jet load of shovels was also flown in.

So um turns out we don't have that many snow shovels in Juneau, especially during a snow apocalypse.

Uh two jets of snow shovels were flown in.

Um so let's see, uh so flooding is something that we're still monitoring, and we've had some ponding in streets and things like that.

We have asked the public to report any damage that they have.

Uh, and we have a reporting tool online.

If you go to the CBJ website, there's actually a lot of really good information.

Well, shout out to our communications team uh for for really doing uh an excellent job keeping the public informed.

But there's an online reporting tool that we're asking the public to fill out if they have experienced damage.

Uh, and part of that is we need to document uh damage as part of our um disaster declaration and as part of our request for assistance.

So that's why we are really asking people to give us that information.

Want to talk a little bit about the weather moving forward.

We are experiencing a slight lull in the rain.

However, Tuesday night, we're expecting an increase in weight, increase in rain and increase in wind, up to 60 um miles per hour at those higher elevations, and also a decrease in the freezing point at elevation.

All of that means is we're gonna have rain on top of that snow even at elevation.

And so there's uh concern again for um avalanche risk with that with that weather front coming in.

Um we were able to procure an abbey monster that is not a British uh band.

I think it is a piece of equipment that monitors avalanches.

And so we installed that in um Douglas and pointed it at Barrens, and we're calibrating it right now, but that will tell us the moment that we have an avalanche, even a very small one.

And so that piece of equipment is gonna be really critical in helping us understand when it's safe.

We also will be flying a helicopter uh up there as soon as weather allows, and that will will give us a lot more information.

Um just want to thank the state for their support on that uh that equipment, because that is an expensive piece of equipment that we uh will be requesting um public assistance for.

Uh also Alaska Airlines was incredibly helpful and getting it white glove treatment so that we could like bring this abbey monster up uh on the plane and as a as a piece of carry-on luggage and making sure that all of the gyrations of getting here uh worked well.

So really want to thank them for their partnership in that.

Um, as we look into uh the next few days and look at that avalanche risk, you know, we kind of have three different scenarios in front of us.

Uh one, I think the the best scenario is that some of that precipitation at elevation and that wind would trigger multiple small slides on barons, and that would release pressure and allow uh residents to return to their homes.

Another option that could happen, and this is you know, the this is not an exact science, and we're operating with limited information.

So I want to really emphasize the could is that moisture could stabilize the snow pack, um, and then it would just kind of sit up there.

Now, of course, the challenge with that is it's still sitting up there all winter.

Um, and once we get a you know, a helicopter up there and get some eyes on it, we'll have a lot better um ability to know how stable that is.

And then the third option, of course, is the least least uh favorable in that it triggers a large slide and we would have damage to homes.

So that's really why we're continuing a high level of awareness, still have the EOC activated.

Um, even so, even though we're moving into recovery and longer operational periods, we will be keeping a close eye on that.

Um just wanna thank all of our partners, you know, Clinkett and Hyda, Red Cross, US Coast Guard, uh, State of Alaska, State Emergency Operations Center.

It's been unfortunately or unfortunately, we're a bit of a well-oiled machine in emergency response, and we've gotten tremendously positive feedback from the state EOC at how well our team uh interacts, how good our communication is.

And what I tell them when I get that is it really starts at the assembly level because it takes resources, and you have provided that support and those resources for us to have a professional and a trained emergency management department.

So I want to thank you for that.

And with that, um, I'm happy, or Robert's happy to answer any questions.

Who has questions?

Mr.

Kelly and then Ms.

Wall.

Thank you.

Uh for the remaining avalanche hazard, um, a fourth option occurs to me.

Is it safe to uh to trigger an artificial avalanche?

No.

That is not something we would do in an occupied uh slide path.

Certainly, DOT does do that on Thane because it's unoccupied, but the risk is too high.

Thank you.

Ms.

Wall.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

My question's also about avalanche in in the unfortunate event of a urban avalanche.

What uh what is response look like to that?

And do we think in in Barrens, do we have a sense of are there are there people there if if that's if that does happen, or do we know kind of are people evacuated?

So I I don't think we know if people have heeded our evacuation warning.

Um census at the shelter is mixed, so it's hard to tell from that alone.

I mean, we we have we're commute a tight community that has lots of friends and neighbors, and these are people who you know probably have planned for that.

Um we do have uh a well-practiced um uh response uh through CCFR, but also uh through docks and harbors and engineering and public work.

So, for example, we have heavy equipment staged on both uh both sides of the avalanche path in case we need to clear roads quickly.

Uh, we also have marine transportation stage in case we have to do any type of uh of transport by water instead of by road.

Um, and um, I don't know if you want to add to that for our kind of response readiness.

No, I think I think that's good.

The only thing I would add is that you know what initial response will look like is uh CCFR will very likely be the first uh of our first responders on team.

Their first task will be to establish um safety, right?

To uh create create uh uh a perimeter to um do do assessments around scene safety and of course our um avalanching our avalanche advisor and um experts at DOT will will continue to be involved in helping those make assessments.

It is secondary avalanches are always a concern uh when we immediately respond, right?

To a to an initial avalanche because they um can and and do happen.

So that'll be an immediate assessment that we will make before sending in significant staff uh into uh an active avalanche zone.

Any more questions?

I have a question too.

Um I'm not the best at technology, so looking at our website, the reporting tool online isn't readily out there.

So where would I find that?

Been asked by somebody.

Yeah, so if you um if you go to Juno.gov or Junetta or June.gov, either one will work.

Um there is uh on the front page um a link to avalanche preparedness.

And if you click on that tile, it's above the fold.

Um there's that takes you to our CBJ Avalanche page that talks about avalanche risk.

Um you can put both you can see the CBJ storm damage reporting tool on that page alongside all of our other avalanche information that we have out there.

Thank you for that.

Any further questions by the assembly?

Right.

You want to go into the next item?

Oh, wait, we did forget to thank partner.

We forgot to thank Alaska Air Alliance.

So did she?

Okay.

Well, then we forgot to thank somebody.

So with the rest of the assembly, we would like to do a staying innovation for all of our street crews and the state's street crews.

And hopefully, hopefully they are getting rest now, right?

Good good reserved rest.

They don't have to work 30 hours a day.

Anyway, with that, you want to give a rundown very quickly of our our week.

Thank you, Mayor Weldon.

Now we'll pivot to our summer disaster.

So Mayor Weldon and I, along with President Peterson and his staff, uh spent most of last week in Washington, DC advocating for uh the uh uh a solution to both our flood mitigation and flood fighting and a long-term solution.

Um and it was a very busy week.

We had uh no less than 12 separate meetings, um, and they all had their unique security clearance requirements.

So it takes a lot of time to uh navigate all that.

I won't detail kind of uh everything that we talked about.

I will note that at the legislative breakfast, we will have our lobbyist Katie Catchell here, and that will be a great time to do some follow-up because we uh, as you can imagine, each one of these meetings has follow-up that both we have to do and the agency has to do.

And so it'll be a great time to update you on some of that.

Um we met with uh the delegation uh separately, each each member of the delegation, and they were all able to kind of bring their unique um uh guys positions, I guess, to helping us solve this problem.

Uh Congressman Bagic is on the committee that will uh approve the house side of the Water Resources Development Act.

That's the legislation that we are working to get our uh long-term solution, our enduring solution uh authorized in.

And then of course, on the Senate side, Senator Sullivan is on that committee and has really played an integral role in mobilizing resources.

Uh and uh Senator Murkowski uh holds the um up the position of being on the appropriations committee and it the the Wurda bill, our water resources development act is the authorizing uh legislation, but it still needs funding in an appropriations bill.

So it's kind of like you pave the way by getting something named a named project, and then you still have to find money for it.

So, you know, um that I think uh we need our our team down uh in uh in DC and our team is very strong, and we should feel very grateful for that.

Uh, we did meet with a lot of committee staff, Office of Management and Budget, uh, Worda committee staff on both sides, and I would say staff's um reception was a little bit more um pessimistic.

They're like, well, you don't have the three year study, and we only do things when we have a three-year study.

And so we are are working through that challenge.

So I do think that's gonna be a challenge that requires uh political pressure, and I know our delegation is is prepared to do that, may require multiple years of uh kind of positioning our project.

Uh we also met with the Forest Service, and they were very receptive to uh helping us with this project on Forest Service Land, talked about you know how to strategize on NEPA and making sure all of those boxes were checked and that that uh due diligence was uh was done in a way that didn't slow down the project.

And so that was a great meeting.

Uh we met with um HUD uh because HUD actually has been uh the the we received uh money, HUD money for phase one HESCO barriers uh through Clinkett and Heida, they applied for that money.

There may be additional funding available through HUD, and then we also have a disaster recovery grant, six million dollars of HUD money that's going through the state that we're really trying to uh be able to use towards maintenance and repairs of our HESCO barriers.

Uh we had two separate meetings with Army Corps of Engineers really strategizing on um not only phase two, but also the long-term solution.

And so I'll just say with phase two, our very next step is gonna be geotechnical work because once we get that geotechnical work done, we'll have a much better idea of a cost estimate and you know the the unknowns will be reduced.

And so I think I think there's good hope that um that we can find some funding either with a with the within the existing core budget or through congressionally directed spending to keep that project moving.

So once you know they're they're racing cores, racing to this May deadline to have a technical report for WERTA, and then we need to just keep that project moving.

Um so those were all really good meetings.

We also uh met with US Coast Guard on housing and uh preparation for the stores.

So uh that was a good, it was really good to have President Peterson there because he has some resources, uh, you know, the tribe has some resources too to bring to that um that conversation.

And so that was uh really um fruitful.

Um, and then we met with FEMA headquarters for uh permitting.

We're really um concerned about maintaining our NFIP status.

That is what allows our constituents to get federal insurance for flood.

Um, and so just navigating that has been challenging to say the least.

And I think we we made some really good progress.

I will say if there was one message that uh I think we heard is this project is on their radar.

Our meetings were with very high level um people in the administration.

Uh our meetings were very well staffed with lots of uh lots of people.

I mean, oftentimes we were meeting with like the assistant secretary of the uh department.

So um, you know, Alaska's on their radar and this event is on their radar.

And you know, we have shown uh the the federal government and the state that you know through phase one, our community is willing to like put in the effort and do the work.

And I and I think that has uh uh not gone unnoticed by our partners.

So it was a productive trip, and uh we'll have um lots more to report and lots more work to do.

Thank you, Madam Manager.

Any questions on that?

Ms.

Huscanys.

Thank you, uh, Madam Mayor B a little bad and say thank you for that report.

Um, and I just want to say in that same spirit, uh very appreciative of the folks in the flood committee uh communities themselves who are continuing to really lobby our delegation and just put appreciation their way as well because I know they've been really organized and and pushing for it.

Thank you for that.

That is true.

All right, are you done with your staff reports?

All right, with that, we'll go to public participation on non-agenda items, and we will start with people on Zoom.

So uh, will one of you bring over Max Rosen?

And uh we have 11 people, so we'll do two minutes apiece.

Mr.

Rosen, uh, you have been uh brought over.

You have two minutes to talk.

Please uh give us your name and area town you live in, and then go ahead.

Uh my name's Max Rosen.

I live in the Barons neighborhood.

Uh last month I shared uh some of my personal experience with libraries with you all.

Uh today I'm here on behalf of the Friends of the Juno Public Libraries where I serve as a board member to speak about our organization and to encourage your continued support of Juno's public libraries.

The Friends of the Juno Public Libraries is a nonprofit organization made up of community members who believe strongly in the value of libraries.

Many people know us through the amazing bookstore, which has been selling used books, puzzles, and games for decades, about as long as I've been alive.

But our work goes beyond that.

Our mission is to focus public attention on library services, facilities, and needs to encourage community use of library resources and to raise and donate funds to support library programs and collections and to stand firmly for the freedom to read.

The Friends exist to support and strengthen the library so it can best serve Juno.

That support helps ensure the library remains a welcoming, accessible, and well-resourced public space for the entire community.

Public libraries serve a uniquely broad role.

They support early literacy and lifelong learning, provide access to information and technology, and offer a stable, non-judgmental space open to everyone.

Libraries serve families, students, educators, job seekers, elders, and people navigating difficult circumstances.

They don't solve every problem, but they reliably connect people with resources, information, and opportunity.

In a community like ours, libraries are one of the few truly shared civic spaces, places that bridge differences and serve the public good without barriers to entry.

We recognize that this year's budget decisions are challenging.

On behalf of the Friends of the Juno Public Libraries, we urge you to continue recognizing the essential role our libraries play and to support them as a core community service, which benefits all of Juno.

Thank you for your time and thank you for your continued support of Juno Public Libraries.

Thank you, Mr.

Rosen.

Any questions from the assembly?

Seeing none, thank you for your testimony tonight.

Next, we have Heather Martin.

Ms.

Marlowe, uh, please state your name and area of town you live in for the record, and you have two minutes.

Hello.

Hello, we can hear you.

Please state your name and area town you live in for the record, and you have two minutes.

Thank you.

Heather Marlowe, I'm out here in Ock Bay looking at Satter Harbor, which is open and ready for parking.

Um what I wanted to talk about was um some downtown development options and um to point out that the there's been quite a bit of talk on the assembly about how to do downtown development.

And there are about 10 properties downtown that are privately owned that have development profiles.

And I could I am going to send you a letter that includes kind of a grid that shows the different properties and how many units you could do on each one of them.

But anyway, they all add up to about 250 units or more.

And now we can add the Bill Ray Center to that grid as well.

And um, there's a reason that those 10 or more property owners have not developed their property.

And um, what I'm suggesting is that after receiving my letter that I'm going to send soon, that the assembly might want to do some sort of outreach to those property owners in the downtown area that can redevelop their properties for a total of you know 250 units between the 10 of them.

What prevents them from moving forward?

What are their stumbling blocks?

What are their fears?

What are their holdups?

And try and integrate some of this downtown development into private property.

And there's a lot of focus on Telephone Hill, a lot of focus on what the city's going to do.

I suggest we turn that around and put it out to the private property owners to really share what's holding them back from moving forward.

And so anyway, heads up.

So that's what I'm going to be talking about.

Uh, with you soon.

Thank you for that.

Any questions for Ms.

Marlowe?

Uh, Ms.

Wall.

Thank you, Menayor, and thank you, Ms.

Marlowe, for um that testimony.

I think many of us probably um strongly agree with with your sentiment there.

You know, we we've tried a bunch of things, we've put a lot of money into um property tax, well, affordable housing fund.

We've done property tax abatement programs, um parking um restrictions that we you know loosened or removed.

You know, are there other ideas that you have on uh you know things that can move the needle on the on the private properties downtown?

Ms.

Marlowe.

Yes, I have ideas.

There they would basically be programs similar to what you're talking about now.

You have other programs to deal with housing, but that would um, as I say, kind of have some sort of a project manager or some sort of a leader and go through and talk to these larger density properties, the owners of them, the managers of them, kind of get an index of what their challenges or their concerns are, and then kind of see if there isn't some you know nuggets of truth to pull out of there and reprogram um some money that you have for the development of that succinct area, which would include upzoning the Bill Ray Center, right?

Now is that a lower zoning than you may want it?

You might want it to be at a higher zoning level so you can get more units.

But what I'm saying is do target in interviews with these property owners, come back, look at that information, and see if we can't do something, including a project manager to help this group of property owners move forward.

Thank you for that.

Any further questions?

Seeing none, thank you for your testimony, and we'll look forward to your letter.

Thank you.

All right, next we have Larry Tally.

And you have two minutes.

Um, my name is Larry Tally, and I live in the flats.

Once again, I want to thank you for doing this difficult public service.

I want to focus your attention tonight on the 5.5 million that you have appropriated for demolishing housing on Telephone Hill and the 3.5 million to relocate Dixon Street and install utilities for your newly vacant lots for a total budget of 9 million dollars.

You know from your own market analysis and from my pro forma that the Telephone Hill Redevelopment Concept C is financially infeasible.

So all that is clear about your current direction is that you will demolish 13 housing units and create newly vacant lots, which leads me to this modest proposal.

Why don't you spend this money creating housing instead of demolishing housing?

There are three options using Juno Economic Development Council's 2024 residential construction cost estimate.

9 million dollars could provide 43 one-bedroom units of housing at CBJ owned sites such as 450 Whittier or second in Franklin.

Option two.

Using the cost of the recently completed forget me not manor phase three, nine million dollars could build 47 new units of subsidized housing if CBJ could provide a suitable site.

Option three.

If committed to the Juno Affordable Housing Fund, $9 million could fund $50,000 housing subsidies to 180 housing units.

Note that with any of these three alternatives, you would also be ahead by the 13 existing housing units that you choose not to demolish.

Please invest this 9 million dollars where it will improve Juno's housing situation.

Please don't use this 9 million dollars to demolish 13 housing units, erase the charming historical district, create newly vacant lots behind a chain link fence and worsen Juno's housing crisis.

I'd also like you to support a seminar on infill and incremental development.

The uh the consultants who presented that seminar in Fairbanks said small developers depend on economies of resourcefulness and relationships, and that economic model is what makes small developers so adaptable in times of trouble.

I think I could point out that there's two small developers, incremental developers here in the room, um, Mr.

Brooks and uh Mr.

Adams.

So that is an idea to move the needle on those private properties.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Any questions from Mr.

Tally?

Whoops, you have a couple questions.

Uh Ms.

Hugh Scanny's them as well.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Thank you for being here, Mr.

Tally, and for your testimony.

Um, my question as related to your first uh suggestion, the JEDC 2024 residential construction costs.

So my question, I guess, is knowing that that cost is being pulled from 2024, and knowing that the, although we did not allocate $9 million, but you see the $5.5 million and the $3.5 million.

Uh, and knowing that that is just for demolition and cleanup.

Do you think it's do you still think that you could build that many units for $9 million?

Mr.

Actually, I think that was an overestimate because the Juno Economic Development Council's 325 a square foot was construction cost, not all in cost.

So you'd have to multiply that by you know about 1.2 or 1.3 and then do the division.

So say 35.

Okay.

But uh, but certainly 35 plus the nine you don't destroy is way better than nothing.

Okay, thanks.

Thank you, Miss Ms.

Wall.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Um, similar question.

You know, our model on telephone hills has been, you know, prepare the land for private developments.

Um in the you know, options that you are proposing here.

Do you see um a uh do you see a role for private developers, or are you saying the city should build build housing itself?

Well, I don't really expect you to take any of my three options, not that I would complain, but uh yeah, I think that it's more appropriate for private sector to own housing projects.

But uh I am pointing out that you do have alternatives that would increase the housing stock in June.

Any further questions?

Thank you for your testimony, Mr.

Tally.

Next one you have Mr.

Tangs.

Please state your name and area of town you live in for the record, and you have two minutes.

Uh I'm Tony Tangs from downtown.

The Telephone Hill struggle highlights how powerful the city manager is in our form of government.

It started when, without any public input, former city manager Rory Watt put the assembly in a spell, apparently, and had them vote unanimously to make it a legislative priority to get two million dollars from the state to tear down Juno's oldest historical neighborhood.

Without one assembly member so much as raising an eyebrow in question about the improperness of the action.

The only public consent manager Watt conjured was an illusion since it was buried in a 1% sales tax vote that had much necessary spending for harbors, community services, and child care that no sane person could vote against.

When the question was asked of him directly about the public actually having a say, the operative word manager Watt told us all was certainly certainly the range of concepts presented to us would include a no build option for Telephone Hill.

And the only thing certain about it was it surely didn't happen.

500 people didn't vote in that survey, probably because their choice wasn't on the ballot.

The one option to save the buildings and have infill apartments built was in a statistical tie with the chosen option C.

We can infer that if saving the neighborhood had been on the ballot as an option, as manager Watt had promised us.

It would have slaughtered the competition.

Manager Watt oversaw the installation of new water and sewer up onto Telephone Hill, suitable for the needs of his new development.

Well in advance of any assembly's official approval of it.

What kind of manager does that?

It's a cunning manager who knew he had the always accommodating assembly in the palm of his hand.

Please take responsibility and prevent this mistake from happening.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Any questions, Mr.

Tangs?

Seeing none.

Thank you for your testimony.

Next, we have Joshua Adams.

Please state your name and area of town you live in for the record, and you have two minutes.

Absolutely.

My name is Joshua Adams.

I'm an incremental developer, which means I live where I work, and presently that's shoveling roofs.

So I'm holed up at the Alaskan Hotel in room 212.

Um should have a sheet with interior photographs of what's known to architectural historians as the Bosch Kerrigan House.

You see that?

It was built in the decorated pioneer farmhouse style the year after Alaska became a territory.

It is the only house of its kind that I know of in Southeast Alaska.

It was notably uncommon for a house this ornate to be built, except around that time in the early 20th century when exuberant craftsmanship often splurged on new homes for a hopeful territory.

As you can see, this house was built with greater concern for detail than the basic pioneer farmhouse.

This house was originally inhabited by Verna Carrigan, the daughter of Edward and Anna Webster.

In case you do not know who Edward Webster was, he built Alaska's first commercial telephone company and ran it out of his home.

And where was his home?

There you go.

Go up yourself and walk there to visit the Bosch Kerrigan House on Juno's very own Telephone Hill, the namesake of Edward Webster's legacy and that of his daughters.

From the outside, you can see the ornamental scallop siding on the gable lens, inside and out, unpretentious, but with high ceilings, the boxed cornices, and meticulously crafted trim is unmatched in quality anywhere except perhaps the Valentine building.

It could become a museum, a residence, a walking tour for visitors from abroad, available for a limited time before your local government decides to spend $9 million of your tax dollars to turn it into an ashtray.

Or maybe not.

Not too late to change your mind, guys.

Any questions from Mr.

Adams?

Thank you for your testimony.

History is watching you.

Next we have Catherine Fritz.

Please state your name and area town you live in for the record, and you have two minutes.

Thank you, Mayor.

Catherine Fritz, I live in the Highlands.

CBJ laws and policies are designed to safeguard against risk, especially when using public funds.

A January 7th memo from Manager Kester about the relocation of City Hall demonstrates widely accepted fiduciary standards.

It states, quote, ordinance 2025-39 authorized the manager to purchase the Burns building.

However, I have not signed the final purchase and sales agreement.

It is prudent to have a plan for funding, moving, and renovations before finalizing that agreement.

The manager's decision not to execute the Burns Building Purchase Agreement was indeed prudent since she didn't know the renovation costs when she presented the building purchase to you.

Later tonight, now that you know the full costs, you will decide whether or not to add $6 million to the budget and go forward.

Telephone Hill has had has not had this standard of care.

Starting demolition and site preparation without a viable development plan is more than bold but risky.

It is reckless and irresponsible.

Large sums of public money are being spent to demolish structures and blast the hill without knowing anything about the extent of site work that will actually be needed.

A significant public asset is being destroyed without analyzing options to avoid expensive demolition.

To make matters worse, the CBJ is deliberately encouraging permanent damage to public assets by failing to provide basic protection of structures during this record-setting weather.

The manager has stated that she is unwilling to do anything to reduce possible damage.

This intentional negligence is unconscionable and defies the adopted ordinances that require protection of our historic resources.

It's not too late to pursue a second approach for redevelopment.

Concept D is a win-win.

Increased housing without high amounts of public funding.

It allows homes to be restored and new ones to be built by multiple owner developers.

It eliminates the needs for costly development, costly demolition, hazardous abatement, and blasting.

And it recognizes and honors the value of this neighborhood.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Any questions for Ms.

Fritz?

See none.

Thank you for your testimony.

Next we have Susan Clark.

Please state your name and area town you live in for the record, and you have two minutes.

My name is Susan Clark.

I live in 1109 C Street downtown in the flats.

Third Street is the most significant.

Can I start again?

I can it's you just have to bend it down.

It didn't.

The last time I did it, it didn't bend.

All right.

That's wonderful.

Thank you.

I appreciate the technology.

All right.

Third Street is the most significant one of the most significant roadblocks to adding any number of units to the narrow east ridge of Telephone Hill, and that is Third Street.

Third Street is the only normal vehicle vehicular access to the hill.

It is steep and narrow, 20 feet from sidewalk to sidewalk, and less than what would now be code.

Entrance to Third Street is squeezed between the original state office building and the spam can.

So you can't widen it.

You can enter halfway by going through the loading area of the state office building, which is often currently the preferred way for me anyway.

Going through that loading area is not an ideal safety route for the proposed 150 new residents.

In talking today to the engineering project manager, Nick Drufenstein, he verified that there is no plan to widen 3rd Street, no plan to lower the top of it.

In fact, the city has just spent approximately over 700,000 to rebuild 3rd Street in 2022 with the public intention to upgrade the utilities to the other homes.

When there is snow and ice, residents have experienced close calls of being unable to stop, unable to break their slide before blindly shooting into the traffic of Main Street.

Descending down 34 feet to the Cazebo.

That this 34 foot difference in elevation is even greater as you go east from Main Street down to west at Willoughby.

Thank you.

Any questions for Ms.

Clark?

Thank you for your testimony tonight.

Next we have Paige Bridges.

Page Bridges on Carroll Way downtown.

Good evening.

I keep hearing you say we need housing down to more housing.

We do need more housing, but there are other places for housing than Telephone Hill.

But there's something else.

We need a park.

We need green space.

We need a place where people can go and enjoy their lunch or just get out of the rat race for a few minutes.

We have nowhere else for that downtown.

And I Googled the value of parkland to cities, and there's a tons of tons of information on that.

It increases productivity of the citizens, and I could go on and on.

So you know that this plan is almost impossible that to fulfill.

You know there's uncertainty as there isn't everything, I guess.

Should we not find a developer who's able, willing to do 150 units or something up there, you know, with or without affordability.

And that was your big thing, affordability.

It's not like nothing would be built up there.

It's just we have to maybe to scale back our dreams, and we wouldn't get as many units or the affordability or something.

It's not like there would be nothing built up there, or you know, there would still be probably more housing than there is now, but that's just what happens if we have to dial things back.

So I would, whether this is subconscious on his part, I think that he actually knows that he's telling the truth, that it's very, very likely that it will, the plan will not work and we'll be stuck with a disaster.

Um he's talking about the dreams of the city dreaming of tearing down Telephone Hill and putting up housing.

Why do you have such a dream?

People are furious about it.

The people have dreams.

We want a public park.

We want the only historic area in Juneau to be a historic district.

We want to save all the houses.

We want to build beautiful little apartments in between.

Um, we want to save our history and our charm.

And I'm going to send you again this picture pictures I said of telephone hill.

Some of you have seen it, some of you have not.

But it's a treasure.

God bless you.

Thank you.

Any questions from Ms.

Bridges?

See none.

Thank you for your testimony.

Next, we have Bruce Simonson.

Please state your name and area town you live in for the record, and you have two minutes.

Evening, I'm Bruce Simonson.

I live at the Toll of Star Hill downtown.

As you know, over a thousand voters petitioned the assembly to pause the evictions on Telephone Hill and get a plan in place before they started demolition.

Uh I have five simple questions, which, when answered, may help voters and the Juno taxpayers understand the assembly's thinking about Telephone Hill.

Um, these questions I think could be asked directly to the city manager, but I think it would be appropriate for the assembly persons to ask the city manager, especially because it's particular interest in individuals on the assembly have.

So, for example, assemblymember Adkisson, you're probably interested in the manager's answer to my first question, which is how many units of affordable housing will be built on Telephone Hill?

You ran on that as your campaign.

The second question, I think is appropriate for Deputy Mayor Smith.

Uh I sent uh the handout PDF to you by email, and you might be able to get it.

But there was a turnaround.

Uh, what who were the developers who uh motivated the assembly to demolish Telephone Hill without first putting a viable plan in place?

And RFI went out, and then magically, after some off the record conversations, three developers apparently persuaded the assembly to forego the usual RFI, RFP, RFB process or RFB process to develop Telephone Hill.

Who were those specific developers?

We were not told, but we were told that unless the city went forward with demolition of the hill, um, they would not propose a project for telephone hill.

Uh, question number three for assembly member Wall as chair chair of the finance committee.

I think you would be particularly interested in this question.

At the end of the day, how much will it cost Juno taxpayers to fully implement the assembly decision for Telephone Hill?

We don't have a feel for that number, and we should have that before you start.

Question number four for Assembly Member Brooks with your extensive experience and interest in construction trades.

What are the costs and benefits of keeping the houses on Telephone Hill as they are?

And finally, question number five for the mayor is uh how do we know that the assembly and the assemblies and the communities vision for Telephone Hill will be implemented after these public properties have been retransferred to the private sector?

What tools do we have?

In the handout, I have specific questions which I would like you to ask.

Simonson you're done.

I would ask you to ask it, ask the questions for Mr.

Simonson.

Thank you for your testimony.

Thank you.

Uh, next we have Mary Ann Keene.

I'm sorry, Mary Alice Keene.

McKean.

Please state your name much better than I did and the area town 11 for the record.

Hello, I'm Mary Alice McKean, and I live in downtown Juneau.

And I have I provided copies of my written testimony, which is basically what I'm going to say, except I had to shorten it.

The assembly approved the demolition of Telephone Hill to go forward with the Telephone Hill redevelopment project.

That project, as repeatedly described to the city, is up to 155 units with 31 units of affordable housing.

That is why I asked the assembly at the December meeting to tell the public if the assembly or the city manager had asked a local architect to give the city a project design for Telephone Hill, which created only 87 housing units.

And I'm still asking that question.

As I understand it, the submission was from Paul Volkers, a local architect for 87 units in two buildings.

One building will have high end condos.

I don't know whether there will be any affordable units.

Why?

First, it's further evidence that the project, as repeatedly described to the public, will not happen.

Two, eighty-seven units is a lot less than 155.

It is 44% through our units.

Three, it means that the city must now compare demolition of telephone hill with other approaches that yield 87 units.

With only 87 units, the development gap in that project is likely to be much higher.

What will the rents or purchases be in that project?

Will a significant number of units wind up as Airbnbs?

This entire project is another ridge view in the making, and you are aware how resentful people were as to how that turned out.

Please analyze concept D, which is selling the houses and adding more houses through incremental infill.

Please use the public's money in a cost effective way.

Thank you for your assembly.

Thank you for your work on the assembly.

And I just have to say that the deputy mayor looks positively benign from his remote location.

It must be the background.

Anyway, thank you for your testimony.

Any questions for Ms.

McKean?

Mr.

Brooks.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

And it'd be a question for the manager for clarification on information.

Um for the option that we're going with, how does that ensure that we have some control over the affordability of the units as compared to going with something like concept D or the incremental infill?

Um, Mr.

Brooks, typically this is the time that we get the from the public when the public is done.

You can ask that later.

This is public testimony time.

It was for clarification on something that she had asked in the public testimony.

Remember, this is not the time that we answer their questions.

This is the time we hear from them and testimony.

So hold your question for a little bit.

Thank you.

Is that is that proper at the end of the meeting?

I mean, I'd wait if that it is proper at the end of the meeting, but uh we could probably make an exception, but we'll wait till public testimony.

I'm sorry if I was that churn.

Thank you very much.

Thanks.

Uh, next we have Angie Men Bayer.

Please state your name and area town you live in for the record, and you have two minutes.

Thank you.

Hi, I'm Angie Menbyer, um resident of downtown Juno.

I am 34 years old and I've been living here since 2015.

Over the last decade, I've witnessed many friends and people relocate out of Juneau, mainly due to inaffordability and lack of year-round jobs.

And I thank the city for aiming to increase affordable housing to retain young families, but tearing down Telephone Hill is not the solution.

Not only will it cost 9 million taxpayer dollars to demolish and clean up the site, but also it will cost for the developers at least one and a half times more to build up that hill than on flat surface.

So at that point, the houses will not be affordable.

And what if this instead, what if the city sells the parcels as is and use that income plus the 9 million to do in sales and um rebuild or uh redesign buildings like St.

Anne's, given the current emergencies and the summer flood threats, these we know that these are already deterring families away out of Juno.

So please reconsider your priorities and um course of actions.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Any questions for Ms.

McBride?

See none, thank you for your testimony.

And that concludes uh public testimony um non-agenda items.

Um Mr.

Brooks, do you want to ask your question real quickly before we move on?

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Just for the people listening at home and in the crowd here, uh what metrics of the option that we're going with for the redevelopment allow us to control the level of affordability of units compared to um an alternative option like option D.

Madam Manager.

So the uh assembly has uh kind of decided through uh the telephone hell place guide of a target of 20% affordability.

Uh as I've stated many times before, the more control you want to exercise over a project, uh, the more level levers you will need to use to incentivize that.

So um I don't I can't answer uh I can't answer how the assembly is going to do that.

I think it would depend on the proposals that developers submit, but you there are mechanisms that you could use to guarantee affordability uh you know through uh how uh the project agreement, deed restrictions, and we do do that with different um developers uh when we're looking at uh, you know, I think of like Peterson Hill and developing there, and there's timelines that we put on developers and and those types of restrictions.

So generally speaking, the more restrictions uh you put uh the you know, kind of less flexibility the developer has.

So that's gonna be a um balancing act that you will need to weigh as the project progresses.

Thank you, Madam Manager, and I'll put on the record that we have ideas for many people in the community about what to do with telephone hill.

We've had many meetings with several of you.

Mr.

Volcal Volker's also had a vision.

We did not ask him for his vision.

He came and met with us.

It is his choice to share his document or not.

It is not a official city document whatsoever.

So with that, we will move on to the consent agenda.

Are there public requests for consent agenda changes other than ordinances for introduction?

Seeing none.

Is there any assembly requests for consent agenda changes, Ms.

Huske?

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

I would pull uh transfer number.

Uh serial number T two six zero six from the consent agenda for discussion.

All right, thank you.

We will put that as the first item on the public hearing.

Is there any more changes to the consent agenda from the assembly?

With that, we will go to the assembly for action.

Ms.

Hugh Scandis.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

I move the consent agenda and I ask unanimous consent.

As amended.

As amended.

Any objection to that?

Uh seeing none the uh consent agenda is approved.

Do we I'll let's take five minutes.

Thank you, Madame Mayor.

Yeah.

Okay,

We are back in session.

So next we have public hearing.

Um we have moved item D from our consent agenda to uh the first item for public hearing.

So we'll go to Madam Clerk.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Transfer request two six zero six, a transfer of two million five hundred and eighty six thousand forty dollars from various CIPs to CIP D twelve- one one two municipal building.

Thank you, Madam Clerk, Madam Manager.

Thank you.

So this transfer uh consolidates uh the two city hall CIPs, one is uh City Hall and one is New City Hall, uh, into the municipal building CIP.

Uh then it it also transfers from a number of different uh open CIP project accounts that uh we brought to the assembly at the Assembly Finance committee meeting that we thought uh were not as kind of ready for um development in the near future and would be better spent um on the the needed six million dollars that we needed uh that hadn't yet been appropriated for purchase and renovation of the Burns building.

Uh so that's why you see it of a little over twenty million dollar request is because in addition to the already appropriated funds, uh, we have that at those additional um transfers.

And um I'm the let's see, and I'll and I recommend the approval of this transfer.

Thank you, City Manager.

Um Ms.

Kennedy's excuse me.

See there are no members of the public here.

Unless the young lady in the back would like to speak to this.

We'll go to the assembly, Miss Huscanies.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Um I won't spend, I will keep this uh fairly concise because I think it's fresh in our minds from uh finance committee.

Um we had a good chance to dig into that a little bit.

Um, and the various CIPs at that meeting.

Um over the weekend and in the days in between to think about this, and we when it when we move this to the to the full assembly, I did not vote no.

And that really just uh sometimes you have a vote that just really sits with you.

And this is one of those votes to where for me, one of these transfer items.

I'll go ahead and make the amendment and sorry, and then I'll be shorter.

Yes, thank you, Madam Mayor.

I would like to make an amendment to try this transfer to uh T two six zero six.

we move this to the to the full assembly i did not vote no and that really just uh sometimes you have a vote that just really sits with you and this is one of those votes to where for me one of these transfer items i'll go ahead and make the amendment and sorry and then i'll be shorter yes thank you madam mayor i would like to make an amendment to tr this transfer to uh t 2606 uh three up from the bottom the c ip line d12 100 lemon creek multimodal path i would like to delete this from the transfer and i would like to direct the manager to transfer to allocate uh general funds uh 525 000 to c ip d12 112 which is the municipal building c ip uh and the philosophy behind that is just simply that i see that it is not a necessarily mature line item yet with the lemon creek multimodal path but i think it is very important uh that we keep moving forward in that project that we keep putting city funds and supporting to that because by not doing that and and only waiting till grants when I look at our historic spending patterns and how they play out at various parts of town what it does is it further enforces those so areas in town where we might have spent less historically we continue to spend less because that's just sort of the way a city works so for me I I can't be in support of that so that is why I propose that amendment and I think our general fund is there to support the goals and the projects that we want to support um and I think we don't just give up on this particular CIP because the federal administration changed uh thank you Ms.

Hughescani's any objection Mr Smith are you objecting yes all right would you for a question I guess okay uh go ahead okay so say Ms.

Huscany's amendment passes that that doesn't impact this transfer can still just be approved and those funds would then be transferred then the second piece of her amendment of you know directing the manager essentially backfill from general fund would come through as an ordinance is that right looking to the attorney that's correct all right are you maintain your objection I have another question actually I have a few actually I'm looking around and see if anybody else has anybody any further objection uh Mr Steininger objecting for a question and but I'm just suspect it might be Mr along the lines that Mr.

Smith was asking um we were gonna have a companion ordinance that was discussed a finance I understand that just has gone delayed due to you know every single set you guys are all working on because we voted not to backfill the funding for the multimodal pass in finance does that limit us from being able to take that up once that ordinance gets to us for introduction could we get a second bite of that apple and have that discussion then thereby not slowing down this transfer and the money needed for the renovations Madam Attorney Thank you so the the short answer is yes you can have we can't we can do this in a way that won't slow it down I think from a more technical perspective you would probably actually get two ordinances um that would come through they would be separate because they're separate uh they were separate motions with separate votes so that's how it would come through um but you we would do them I would work with uh Ms.

Flick and and you would get that from finance on uh I believe the ninth is the target for intro if it's a follow-up not a different question so just to make sure that I understood correctly thank you um so miss you scandi's amendment won't slow down the ability of the manager to do the renovations that's right it it will not thank you um Mr.

Smith nobody else is raising their hand go ahead thank you madam mayor um could someone remind me of the investment this assembly made or I guess the previous assembly made into the Zonta Kihini playground and and that total amount just to show the investments we're making in that in that part of town uh Mr Smith um I actually asked this question today and the initial investment was 75000 but we've added on to that so it's total of 8500 very good and then I have another question if you permit me anybody else okay go ahead thank you madam mayor doesn't this project as designed or proposed doesn't it actually kind of bypass lemon creek and uh it isn't like you know it's any right I I guess I'll just maintain my objection I'll I can I can speak to it in a should I do that now uh go ahead very good thank you we voted on this already I appreciate Ms.

Doesn't it actually kind of bypass Lemon Creek?

And that it isn't like anyway.

I I guess I'll just maintain my objection.

I'll I can I can speak to it in a should I do that now.

Uh go ahead.

Very good.

Thank you.

We voted on this already.

I appreciate Ms.

Canny's interest, you know, design this project.

There's still a million in the CIP.

Um, as I was answered in previous question about the DZ partie playground.

We're making further investments into this part of town.

And this project does actually just bypass Lemon Creek.

Um we got to watch our general fund.

Um well oppose the amendment um for a number of reasons, which I just stated.

Thank you.

Uh thank you, Mr.

Smith.

Anyone else?

Okay, I will also object.

Um this I appreciate Mrs.

Hughes Gandhi's bringing this back up.

Um, but I also that's why I checked we just spent a hundred eight hundred and fifty thousand dollars in this area for an area playground, and this project still has money, and it has dropped a number twelve on our assemblies, so lists or priority lists.

So um different assemblies have different priorities.

Um, I would agree with uh Ms.

Huscanys that this um area town is under serve, but I don't know that the bike path will do that.

Um the state just did a renovation of that road, and there is some ability to drive a bike on it, not as much as we would do if we did it, but the project's not dead, so I would I'm very keen on keeping our um general fund as unrestricted as we possibly can until we get through the budget.

So I wouldn't say that after the budget cycle that we don't wouldn't uh put money back in there, but right now I'd like to protect the fund balance.

All right, Madam Park, we have a motion and we have objection.

Please call the roll.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

For the amendment to trend to amendment to transfer 2606 with the deletion of CIP D12-100 Lemon Creek multimodal path and directing the manager to transfer 525,000 to D12 112 for the Muniway Building CIP, Ms.

Hughes Scandis, yes, Deputy Mayor Smith.

No, Mr.

Steininger.

Yes, Madam Mayor.

I'm the last, thank you very much.

Ms.

Wall.

Yes, Mr.

Kelly.

Yes, Ms.

Adkisson.

No.

Mr.

Brooks.

No.

Madam Mayor, no.

Motion fails with four yes and four nays.

Uh thank you, Madam Clerk.

Do you want to take another stab at Ms.

Hughes Candy's?

Uh thank you, Madam Mayor.

I appreciate the offer.

I don't I did not find the another funding source.

I had too many meetings today in my day job.

Um, but I appreciate the offer.

I don't have time, it sounds like sure.

Uh um misunderstanding that.

But uh failing that and failing anyone else uh making an amendment, then I think it would be proper to move this assembly move this transfer T2606.

Is that correct?

Yes, go back to the original motion, yes.

Okay.

Uh are you moving it?

Sure.

Yes, I move that's my motion.

I move uh the assembly adopt uh serial transfer serial number T 2606.

Uh and I object.

All right, thank you for that.

Any further objection?

Uh Mr.

Burks.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

I object for the purpose of a question and possibly an amendment.

Uh go ahead.

What's your question?

Uh how much of the uh 20 million is the purchase price of the building, Madam Manager.

The purchase price is 9.3 million with 2.7 million going into a fund for maintenance for the building.

Okay, I would make a um or have an objection for the purpose of an amendment.

Go ahead.

I would amend uh transfer request 2606A to uh um to transfer funds from CIP D12108 and D12102 and leave the remaining funds in their accounts to where you're gonna have to answer ask that because I have no idea what you're trying to do with that amendment.

And instead of uh 20 million million five hundred and eighty-six thousand and forty dollars with sale tax from various CIPs, I would amend that we only uh pull uh 16.1 million from capital improvement D 12108 and D12102, leaving the remaining funds in their accounts.

And I can speak to that amendment.

Go ahead.

Uh the amount of 20 million dollars is just uh I can't support that in good conscience.

It's not what the taxpayers voted for, and even the funds that were initially set aside has left a lot of the community feeling very disparaged and unheard.

And um that is the reason that I would um object with this amendment.

Uh thank you for that.

So now we're on the amendment, Mr.

Brooks amendment.

Who's objecting?

Okay.

Uh I see several hands.

We'll start with Ms.

Adkinson, then go to Ms.

Hughes Cannies and Mr.

Stanninger, and then Mr.

Um Smith.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

I'm going to object to this amendment.

I made no secret about the fact that I was not supportive of us purchasing the Burns building for our new city hall.

But we as an assembly have agreed to move forward with the purchase of that building.

And it is the course of action we've taken, and that's something that now as an assembly member, I'm really committed to making sure works and is a good positive space for our city employees.

Um we have a responsibility to our city employees, and we have chosen this as our course of action.

I things are not uh cheap and construction is difficult, but it is unacceptable and disgraceful the conditions that we have our city employees in, especially like we see what all the work they've done for us and all the work they do for our community.

And if we're going to retain them, if we're going to give them a good quality of life, we need to invest in them.

And I have full faith in our city staff that they have looked and done their best to make this as cheap as possible, but we have to care for our city employees.

And though I didn't like the purchase of this building, I am in full support of making this a good place for our employees.

So I will stringently object to this.

Uh thank you, Miss Agason.

Ms.

Hughes Candies.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Uh, I'll echo what much of what uh Miss Adkinson said.

You know, I think everybody knows this wasn't this is nobody's perfect um building.

This is nobody's perfect price.

Certainly, I think um I hear what Mr.

Brooks is saying, but I'm also uh well versed at this point.

Um in the current um building environment in the current purchasing environment and the current tariff environment, uh costs continue to escalate and escalate and um it leaves us where we are.

And so um I can't support this because if we there is no alternative, the alternative is there's no workable alternative that I have heard, and so we need to find the solution, and this is frequently where we find ourselves, which is just choosing the best of our least favorite choices, and so um I would echo Miss Adkinson.

Um committed to making this work, so I'm not thrilled about it, but I think we need to put the money in to renovate it.

Uh thank you, Ms.

Hughes Candies, Mr.

Steininger.

Um so uh to add, I guess, to the the previous two speakers' view, I'd stand with in that you know moving to the Burns building is not my first choice.

If we don't spend any money on remodeling, if we don't spend any money on fixing things before we move in, we'll just have to do it when we discover the deficiencies in a year, in five years, in 10 years at some point, and at that point it will be more expensive because we will have to go find temporary places for people to sit, find ways to move people out, do it while we have employees in there, and that will be harder and more expensive.

And so now that we have chosen this direction, as pointed out, you know, we have to do it at least as right as we can afford to do.

And you know, this this proposal isn't even getting it to the point where you know the most ideal municipal building that we could have, but it is getting it to a municipal building that treats our employees with respect that is a functional building that won't require us to shuffle around and move again in just a couple of years just to tear up run down carpet and and paint walls and replace furniture.

You know, these are things that we need for an effective government.

And you know, so while I don't like moving out of the downtown core, I don't like moving and being roommates with another agency in a building, you know, it is the cheapest option that we have been able to find through this entire process.

And and so I you know have to sit here and support doing the work that we need to do.

Thank you.

Uh thank you, Mr.

Smith.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

I uh objection for the purpose of the question.

Uh if this were amendment were to pass, like what would this what would this do, Madam Manager, in terms of your the process of buying the burn anyway.

What would this do to the process of buying and moving into the burns building as the municipal building?

Madam Manager.

Thank you for that question.

Um I would seriously reconsider um and bring you that question, re reconsidering like if there's not funds to to you know buy cubicles for employees uh and do those renovations.

I mean, obviously there's a there's a a point where it's probably not worth moving in there, and I don't I'm not saying that you know I don't know where that point is, but it certainly seems like with that reduction, uh, you know, you have two and a half million dollars, which maybe gets your tech in there and pays for movers that answer your question, Mr.

Smith.

Yes, and I'll maintain my objection.

Thanks.

Thank you, Mr.

Kelly.

Thank you.

Um I won't uh rehash um everything that's been said.

Um I I think I agree with actually uh to some point with every speaker who has spoken, including uh one point that Mr.

Brooks made, which was that um we need to respect the the will of the voters, but to that point, the voters rejected borrowing money to build a new city hall, and that's not what we're doing here.

So um I I am supportive of this project.

Um I believe it represents an efficiency, added efficiency in our city government, and I support the uh funding that uh would be transferred mother accounts in order to pay for it.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Kelly.

Ms.

Wall, you're the only one that didn't speak.

Do you want to speak?

Okay.

I will I will also object.

Um our EOC met in this room.

They started in sweaters, and by the end of their time here, they were in tank tops.

It is so hot in this room that you can see fans blowing on all of us.

This is the state of our city facilities, and that's not even counting the building where there's leaks and they can't flush toilets.

We have to find a solution.

We have looked under every rock to find a cheaper solution.

There is no cheaper solution.

And you just heard Madam Manager say that we can't move into the building with at least some renovation.

They have made their renovations as little as they possibly can, but um, at some point we have to look out for um our employees and at the same time to the do the best we can fiscally for the voters.

So that I will maintain my objection.

Madam Clerk, you have a motion and an objection, please call the roll.

Mr.

Brooks, if you wouldn't mind restating your motion for me.

Yes.

Uh for transfer request to zip 2606A.

I would amend it to request a transfer of 16.1 million from CIP D12108 and D12-102 to the capital CIP 12112 municipal building and ask for unanimous consent.

Mr.

Brooks, that doesn't add up to the 60 million.

That's only 1014.586.

So I'm not they're confused at whether you're getting the 60 million.

Sorry, that was pulled from uh the fiscal year 25.

I uh I'm okay.

No, I've I got it here.

I was like, I um I move that we transfer 14,586,040 from CIP D 12108 and D12102 and transfer it to CIP D12112 municipal building and ask for unanimous consent.

All right.

Do you have any more questions on the amendment?

Thank you, madam mayor.

No more questions.

All right.

So we have uh motion for an amendment and objection, please call the rule.

Thank you, madam mayor for Mr.

Brooks's amendment to transfer 2606 to poll D12108 and D12102, Mr.

Brooks.

Yes, Mr.

Kelly.

No.

Deputy Mayor Smith.

No.

Ms.

Wall.

No.

Ms.

Adkisson.

No.

Mr.

Steininger.

No.

Madam, Ms.

Hughes Scandies.

No.

Madam Mayor.

No.

Motion fails.

Seven nays one.

Yay.

So now we're back to the original motion.

Any further amendments?

Seeing none.

Any objection?

Mr.

Brooks.

I object because it's too much money.

Thank you for that.

Madam Clerk, we have a motion and objection.

Please call the roll.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

For transfer request 2606.

A transfer request of 20 million five hundred and eighty-six thousand and forty dollars.

Ms.

Hughes Candies.

Yes.

Mr.

Brooks.

No.

Mr.

Steininger.

Yes.

Mr.

Kelly.

Yes.

Deputy Mayor Smith.

Yes.

Ms.

Wall.

Yes.

Ms.

Adkisson.

Yes.

Madam Mayor.

Yes.

Motion carries seven yes, one nay.

Uh thank you for that.

So now we will go back to item one item number one on public hearing.

Madam Clerk.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Ordinance 2025-01, lowercase B, uppercase X, an ordinance transferring 200,000 from the general fund to the Marine Passenger Fee Fund for unused federal staff support related to tourism.

Funding provided by state marine passenger fees.

Thank you, Madam Clerk, Madam Manager.

If you recall back at the beginning of the tourism season when we were concerned about a staffing shortages and cuts to the U.S.

Forest Service, we asked for a transfer of 200,000 in marine passenger fees to use to help mitigate the impacts of that so we could keep our visitor center open given the economic engine it is in the community.

You said we'll give it to you, but please try not to use it.

And I'm pleased to report that uh both our part partner agencies like Clinkett and Hyde and private um contractors were able to pull together and make this season work.

So now we just need to return that 200,000 back to uh the marine passenger fund.

Uh thank you, Madam Manager.

Uh there's no one signed up to testify on this, so we'll go back to the assembly, Ms.

Wall.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

I move the assembly approved ordinance 2025 01BX and ask for unanimous consent.

Any objection.

Seeing none of that motion passes.

Item number two, Madam Clerk.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Ordinance 2025-44, an ordinance amending the commercial passenger vehicle find schedule to include fines relating to vehicle standards.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Madam Mann.

Yeah, this is a housekeeping ordinance.

We uh realize that there were a couple of um fine amounts for violations that we missed when this was amended in June of 2025.

So I recommend you take public testimony and adopt this ordinance.

Thank you, Madam Manager.

There's no member of the public signed up for this ordinance.

So we'll go to the assembly, Mr.

Brooks.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

I move that we uh uh adopt ordinance two zero two five four four uh ordinance amending the commercial vehicle passenger fine schedule to include fines related to vehicle standards, and I ask for unanimous consent.

Any objection.

See none, that motion passes.

Next we have unfinished business, madam manager.

Is that coming to you?

Madam Clerk, you could read the title.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

FY 2027 CBJ legislative capital priorities list.

Thank you, Madam Clerk, Madam Andrew.

This resolution formally adopts your legislative capital priority list.

This is a process that began and begins in the fall and goes through lots of uh public comment and iterations.

And once you pass it tonight, we then we will uh share it with both our state and federal delegation.

Uh, I recommend you uh adopt this uh this priority list and full report.

Uh thank you, madam manager.

There are no members of the public that wish to speak to this ordinance.

So are this list?

So we will go back to the assembly, Ms.

Akison.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

I move the assembly adopt the FY2027 CBJ legislative legislative capital priorities list and the accompanying report, and I ask for unanimous consent.

Any objection.

See none, our list is adopted, and our list is in the packet if anybody's interested in that.

Um, I don't see anything under new business, and we already did our staff reports unless we have any further staff reports.

So we'll bring us to the mayor's report.

Um, as Ms.

Kestra said, we spent last week um at uh Washington DC meeting many people.

Um truly appreciate the work of our lobbyists there who got us five meetings a day, all in different parts of town.

So we spent a lot of time racing back and forth.

Um, and thank you to Madam Manager for uh having an excellent slideshow.

As everybody said our slideshow is very compelling.

And uh, so thank her for all that hard work.

Appreciate that.

And uh and then before then, I was shoveling along with the rest of you.

So um so I didn't get to do much.

But uh the only thing that I would like to add, um, and this will catch people, some people by surprise, is I asked the attorney this morning to draft legislation to make the Eagle Crest an advisory board rather than an empowered board.

Um, and the reason I did this was the executive director just resigned as well as the chair of the board resigned.

Um, as we know, they're having a major financial issues, and I just think the city needs to have more oversight over what's happening to Eagle Crest.

And I think the government is standing in its way right now, and it needs to be changed.

And this action has nothing to do against the board.

Um, thank all their members, especially Brandon, for stepping up to chair it in these turbulent times, and it is nothing against the staff.

I just think it's time for us to have more hands-on approach until um we decide what to do with it.

So that is my report, and we'll go to our committees.

Mr.

Smith, committee of the whole.

Thanks, Madam Mayor.

Um, we didn't have a committee of the whole since our last regular assembly meeting.

Um I talk about the next one or should I wait till we go down the line?

Um, go ahead and talk about the next one because they have yep, thanks.

So our next meeting is two weeks from today, our next community of the whole is two weeks from today.

Um, the the manager does a good job of signaling to us in the Friday report upcoming agenda topics.

I'll flag two for you today.

One is the Douglas West Juno area plan.

Um we sent that to the CAL during our last assembly meeting.

Would just encourage folks to read that, read emails, whatever.

Um, we have a lot to cover in the cow on um on the 26th.

So we'll be allowed to cover all cows, but so I hope that we can, you know, take amendments if we need to, um, and then try to keep that plan moving.

Um, and of course, just to remember a reminder for that plan as well as the comp plan and other plans.

You know, there's just a lot of public process.

Um people, you know, we can change it.

It's our purview.

Um, but just know that those have gone through like extensive public process, so consider that as we're making amendments.

The other thing I wanted to flag for that 26th CAW.

We'll be going over the um new assembly goals and implementing actions.

The new deadline to submit those is a week from today, so January 19th.

So the team has time to process and get those ready for the cow on the 26th.

So 119 have your um revised goals implementing actions that we that we discussed at the retreat um back to Mr.

Barr.

Thanks, Madam Mayor.

Um, Mr.

Smith, thank you for that report, but I believe the 19th is a holiday, so let's aim for the 20th.

Fine.

And I'm sure you can look through your emails to see what you forgotten that you signed up to rework.

So anything further on the committee of the whole, Mr.

Smith.

No, Madam Mayor, thank you.

Uh finance, Ms.

Wall.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Um we were all at finance last week, so I won't recap that.

Um our next official finance committee meeting will be the first Wednesday of February.

You know, we're we're gonna meet this week to start talking about the agenda.

Um, we may have our audit um review by then.

Potentially we will hear from a few other partner agencies on their planned budgets.

Um, I'm hoping we'll hear from the deferred revenue or the leaky revenue um lost revenue team at that meeting.

Um we will be planning a joint um assembly empowered board meeting um for the for the end of January.

That will be kind of a uh partly finance, partly um regular assembly meeting to discuss them.

So I can't remember what we decided on what to call it, but it's part of the budget process as you all will remember.

That's all I get.

There you go.

And we are going to see each other a lot during this budget price process.

So keep your sense of humor.

Um with that, uh, lands, housing and economic development, Ms.

Canis.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Uh Lands Housing and Economic Development met December 1st.

If you missed it, we had JEDC there.

They were there to talk about uh economic indicators and the implications of large infrastructure projects on the community.

So they talked about uh some of those cruise ship uh development, some further along, obviously, than others, some aspirational at this point.

Um the potential impact from that.

We also talked about uh Duran construction and a property uh donation for some parkland, um an interesting process, something different.

You can go back and check that uh packet if you're interested.

And uh as is tradition, we talked about the CBJ uh Christmas tree and firewood harvesting policy and went over the maps of where you can do that.

Thank you, Ms.

Hughes Candy's public works, Ms.

Edgison.

We have not had a public works meeting since our last assembly meeting, and the visitor industry task force meets for the first time later this well, the first official time later this week.

So I do not have anything to report Thursday at 5:30 to be specific.

Um resources, you have some appointments for us.

And we are get to acknowledge our young lady in the audience.

Yes.

All right.

Uh we have three sets of appointments that um I would like to move on behalf of the human resources committee.

Uh the first is I would like to move the reappointment of uh Douglas Saylett to the Board of Equalization for a full term running January 1st, 2026 and ending December 31st, 2028, and ask for unanimous consent.

Any objection?

Seeing none, they're reported.

Thank you.

Um, we do have uh Ms.

Shoop um in the background.

So uh congratulations to you, uh perhaps depending on how the assembly votes.

All right.

Um so um I move that we appoint Laurel Shoop and Michael Beasley to the Douglas advisory board for terms beginning immediately and ending September 30th, 2028, and ask for unanimous consent.

Any objection.

Seeing none, they are appointed.

Congratulations.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Uh, for the emergency planning committee.

Um, I would move that we appoint to the state of Alaska Emergency Response Commission, the appointment of Teresa Boss, Firefighter EMS C3, Travis Wolf, Firefighter EMS C3A, and Britta Tonenson, American Red Cross, seat seven, all to the local emergency planning committee for full terms beginning January 1st, 2026 and ending December 31st, 2028.

And please, unanimous consent.

Um, the only correction I think is Teresa Ross, said boss.

Yes, thank you.

Teresa Ross.

All right.

Any objection?

Seeing none, they are appointed.

Anything further from human resources.

That's all I have.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

All right, thank you, Mr.

Kelly.

Any other uh city committees that I'm forgetting, Mr.

Brooks.

Are you are you chairing a city committee?

Okay, thank you.

Now we're going to uh liaison reports uh committees and questions.

Uh is Hugh Scandis.

Uh thank you, Madam Mayor.

Uh, and thanks for cueing us in on the Eagle Crest.

I had had similar thoughts, so I'm looking forward to that conversation.

I wanted to, I've also just been shoveling primarily.

Um, and I just wanted to give uh quick preview, which I think we've talked about before, but just in the interest of things to keep track of, uh, I'm going to be meeting with the Lance Director, but some of the things that he and I have discussed on the phone.

Uh, in addition to the short-term rentals, which the mayor has already uh given voice to here.

Um, we are also chatting about slotting into the beginning of the year, looking at a potential model of a fees for blighted lots.

Um, there have been plenty of assembly members over the years who have wanted to do some kind of blight tax or something like that.

But the way Title 29 is right now, our hands are tied until the state makes a change.

Um recently, Anchorage did something that's more using a fee structure, uh, doing some outreach to Anchorage to see if it's been successful at all.

But um, potentially talking about that as well as talking about uh the concept of approved designs, which is something that some communities do when they have an ADU program, such as we do.

Uh, it's just another way to bring down the cost of someone who might want to add an ADU uh because it's a plan that already works within the city's um zoning code.

So I just wanted to get you guys excited about if you're not on the lands committee things you might want to come to the lands committee for.

Um otherwise, I don't have a whole lot to report except to say I will also be going to Washington, DC, but not until February to attend the National Association of Counties legislative conference, uh, which is always informative, and I will bring back anything that is of use to Juno.

Thank you, Ms.

Hughes Canys.

I think we'll all be attending Lands.

Um, Ms.

Well.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Um, the PRAC is not meeting in January, so I do not have a report from them.

Um, the airport board met this last Thursday, and um they had intended on um finalizing their budget of the meeting.

They did not get that, they did not get to that objective.

Um, but I expect they will in the next few weeks.

Um, if you may remember, they've been working through a new fee uh model to basically figure out how they want to balance all the different fees that they charge at the airport, and you know, have a proposal for raising fees, and there's been some back and forth with industry and tenants and others to come up with that.

So it sounds like they're not quite there yet, but um they're one of the groups we'll be scheduling a joint meeting with, so we'll get a chance to hear more about that.

I think that's it for me.

Thank you, Ms.

Wall.

Mr.

Brooks.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

The uh last meeting that the uh school board had was discussing uh um the progress with the playground project, um, the next steps with uh continuing funding from other sources and essentially like what would what's for sure getting done at this point is you know, regardless of continued funding or not, they're gonna get the safety surface down and have a lot of it prepped for equipment to be installed at uh other phases or later dates.

The uh uh commission on sustainability met and discussed uh new member appointees and the restructuring of the board and then kind of direction about the types of things that they want to charge an attack on having less resources than they had in uh previous years.

And then uh I still haven't had a meeting with the local emergency planning committee, but on Wednesday, uh, there will be a meeting at 12 in the UAS recenter room 116, or you can attend on Zoom.

Thank you, Mr.

Brooks, Ms.

Adkisson.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Uh, with all the fun snow we had, I there were no meetings for any of my liaison appointments, but the travel genome annual retreat is coming out shortly.

So I'm excited to attend that.

And uh as you pointed out, I was not specific.

The visitor industry task force is meeting this Thursday at 5 30 p.m.

in the chambers.

Uh thank you for that.

Uh Ms.

Steininger, sorry, Mr.

Steininger.

Sorry, it's getting late for me.

It's been a long day.

It has been.

Um I want to I want to first just make a comment and say, you know, through the last couple of weeks of just being out shoveling, the number of just complete strangers that I have seen helping other complete strangers dig their cars out, you know, dig out storm drains to get the water running has been very heartwarming, um, despite being very cold.

Um, so I just want to say we have a community that comes together in times of need, and that is you know, very pleasant to see beyond you know, just all the city staff and the EOC.

We also have you know, citizens out there that are helping each other and and getting people through this.

And and I think that deserves some acknowledgement.

Um, my liaison reports, I missed the SRRC committee.

It got rescheduled a couple of times.

Um, they'll be meeting again tomorrow at noon.

Um, Eagle Crest met last week.

Um, it was a fairly eventful meeting.

The chair stepped down um for health reasons.

Brandon Collum was elected the new chair of the committee, and the general manager submitted his resignation.

Um Aaron, oh geez, I'm gonna forget.

Thank you.

Lupro, sorry.

Um, Aaron Lupro will be serving as interim manager.

Um, Craig Simmons will stay on to assist her um for you know, right now up to a month in order to kind of ensure that there's a good transition.

Um, and the the meeting, aside from those, you know, changes a meeting.

There's a lot of discussion over the state of Eagle Crest this season.

If you've been following, it's been you know a little bit of a turbulent season.

They've had a lot of maintenance issues um that kind of come as you know, 50-year-old ski area with a lot of old infrastructure, creating a lot of maintenance issues on top of pretty extreme weather conditions.

You know, we've had the Avalanche watch, you know, for all of downtown Juno, and up there, it's incredibly challenging snow conditions that has created a little bit of difficulty in being able to open the upper mound on top of um the maintenance issues through the Tarmigan chairlift.

Um, so a lot of discussion over that, you know, a lot of kind of communication with the public over, you know, ensuring that they're able to communicate with the public in a more satisfying way uh going forward because there's been some you know, kind of misunderstanding of why the upper mound was closed and um a little bit of discussion about that at the meeting.

Um, so a lot happening in the Eagle Crest world that you heard uh Mayor Weldon's announcement, and so be you know, looking forward to making some positive changes to make sure that that entity can have you know the tools that they need to manage the mountain and work through some of these issues and make sure we retain that kind of vital resource that keeps a lot of people in our town.

So looking forward to the discussion as we go forward with Seagull Crest.

Thank you, Mr.

Steininger.

We are missing Ms.

Hall, so we have Mr.

Kelly.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Um the uh Southeast Alaska Solid West Authority.

Uh the Juno Commission on aging uh last met um a day after our last assembly meeting um also on the 16th.

Um one item of discussion was capital access and the uh the transition to the new provider and a little bit of uh rough edges in that transition but it sounds like the uh the owner of the the new provider is um is is willing to come and actually attend um their their next meeting and have discussions about what they could do better um so I'm looking forward to seeing that um the downtown business association hasn't met since our last meeting uh they will be meeting on Wednesday um I uh attended the Alaska News League um legislative committee on the 9th um it was just a good introductory session um to kind of uh get an idea of what we're going to be uh looking forward to uh this legislative session um there's gonna be um meetings um every Friday for the rest of the legislative calendar um that's all I have uh thank you Mr.

Kelly Mr.

Smith Thank you madam mayor um my liaison reports there's been no planning commission meeting since we met last the planning commission does meet tomorrow there's gonna be a um cdd overview and kind of a overall PC uh planning commission orientation they have some new members um anyone interested take a look or watch the video you know one and a half speed or something in a future time um let's see just uh the I I haven't been able to attend a junior commission on housing and homelessness I've asked but have never received a zoom link so hopefully I can get that by the Thursday meeting at noon.

Um Title 49 advisory committee we met last week um we heard from CDD staff about the comp plan um and some you know Title 49 interplays there.

We also discussed some flexibility measures that were brought to the committee by Mr.

Dumichel um for instance you know allowing developers um a 10 20% flex in certain things from the um table of dimensional standards like height or setbacks or something anyway just an idea on you know we have you got to put a number but can there be some you know room to um make development happen and anyway without really impeding the neighbor you know the character or functionality of neighborhoods or certain zoning districts um also talked about zoning incentives so if a developer proposes um things that would help achieve community goals assembly goals you know uh non-motorized transportation or something they could get some incentive incentives we have a bonus program currently that sounds like it is just not really used so um appreciate his work on kind of you know putting some of these flexibility measures in place um and the the commission the committee's um perspective him on that uh oh I do want to flag just as the planning commission liaison we do have a in-person only meeting um Wednesday you know regarding the the comp plan and some visioning so be sure to check that out well y'all I'll be there um and then I just want to flag the legislature starts next week um on Tuesday there's a Juno welcome reception the big reception that you know is spearheaded by the Alaska committee but a lot of community partners and businesses um support including I know CBJ staff uh 5 30 to 7 30 on Tuesday I have to admit I don't know if it's at Centennial Hall or Elizabeth Pradovich Hall but um I'm sure you'll hear about it.

But um yeah just wanted to thank you very much.

And yeah just you know reminder to everyone to welcome the legislature back warmly to our Alaska's capital city.

Thank you Madam Mayor uh thank you uh Mr.

Smith and that also reminds us that we also beside the community reception on January 20th uh we are also having our legislative breakfast on January 22nd at 7 a.m.

We've already planning for that so with that um I have nothing further uh staff do you have anything further assembly do you have anything further we are adjourned oh wait excuse me for the record is there any public participation on non-agenda items everyone