OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Juneau City Meeting with Federal and State Delegations on GLOF and Fiscal Priorities - January 22, 2026

Assembly Meetings — Thursday, January 22, 2026
BodyJuneau, Alaska
SessionAssembly Meetings
DateThursday, January 22, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:33:08

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Katie Catchell, I'm your federal lobbyist.

0:04

Maria Eucatel, Senator Solomon's office.

0:08

Kara Hollett's with Senator Murkowski's office.

0:13

Representative Representative Sarah Hannon, House District Three, which is about half of Juneau.

0:21

And would you introduce Excuse me, House District Four?

0:25

And Ms.

0:26

Hann.

0:26

Sorry, Representative Hannah, would you uh introduce your staff in the room if you have and uh I have two of my staff members here, Hunter Meachum and Tim Clark.

0:36

They've both been with me for a number of years, so should look familiar.

0:40

Thank you.

0:42

Good morning.

0:44

There we go.

0:45

Uh good morning.

0:46

Uh Andy's story.

0:47

I represent District Three.

0:50

Uh which is Haynes Gegway Clackwang Stavis in the North Juno.

0:55

And very pleased this morning.

0:56

Uh Tammy Smith is uh back with me this year.

1:00

Uh she's tackling education with me, longtime educator, and then Kaylee Holm, who started off in Rep Hannon's office last year and now is with me.

1:09

Very pleased to have both of them.

1:11

So you poached her.

1:12

Good to know.

1:14

Senator Keel.

1:15

Good morning.

1:16

Thanks for having us.

1:16

I'm Jesse Keel.

1:18

Uh in the Senate, we do letters.

1:19

I'm District B.

1:20

Um, and uh I uh represent all the communities that two of them represent.

1:26

The two House districts make up a Senate district.

1:28

I am at present joined by one member of my uh three member plus an intern all-star staff.

1:34

Uh, and that would be Ms.

1:36

Adson, who does a fine job.

1:43

Uh my name is Nano Brooks, newly elected assembly member, uh, starting my first year.

1:53

Morning, Christine Wall.

1:55

I am on the assembly and I am in my sixth year.

2:00

Um, I did want to say that I had a kind of urgent work thing show up on my calendar um yesterday, so I will be out of here at eight.

2:08

So I apologize in advance for taking off.

2:13

Uh good morning, Greg Smith.

2:15

Um, just elected to my third term on the assembly and honored to uh uh serve in the deputy mayor role.

2:22

Thank you.

2:24

Uh thank you.

2:25

And since uh our legislative delegation and staff uh deal with other folks in the city, we're gonna go around them too.

2:33

Ashley Heimbigner, would you start perfect timing?

2:49

Yeah, you can't interrupt me.

2:52

Bill Lawhorn, community development director.

2:56

Oh, so sorry.

3:03

Robert Bark, LBD City Manager.

3:05

Katie guest your city manager.

3:08

Is there anybody in the room that got missed?

3:11

Breck and where are they?

3:13

Frecken Hendricks, municipal clerk.

3:15

All right, okay.

3:18

Madam Mayor, as long as uh Assembly Member Wool mentioned it, um Representative Story and I will need to leave at 8 15.

3:26

There's uh as opposed to the Senate, the House takes a little longer to get itself together before a joint session.

3:34

Yep, that's why I gavel this in because I knew people had to leave.

3:38

So all right, with that, uh, we will uh uh move on to our agenda with no changes.

3:44

Um we're gonna start today with our update from our DC lobbyist, Katie Kipchell.

3:49

Here on.

3:51

We just spent a lot of quality time with uh Katie in Washington, DC.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Flood Management████████████████16%
Fiscal Sustainability██████████████14%
Revenue Management█████████████13%
Healthcare Management████████████12%
Public Safety███████████11%
Procedural████████8%
Affordable Housing██████6%
Education Funding████4%
Mental Health Awareness████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Juneau City Meeting with Federal and State Delegations on GLOF and Fiscal Priorities - January 22, 2026

The Juneau Assembly met with federal and state representatives to discuss the city's top priorities, including glacial lake outburst flooding (GLOF) mitigation, federal funding, and the state's fiscal challenges. The meeting included updates from the city's federal lobbyist, the offices of Senators Sullivan and Murkowski, and state legislators, followed by Q&A.

Federal Lobbyist Update (Katie Catchell)

  • GLOF Mitigation: The Army Corps of Engineers is proceeding with Phase II HESCO barriers to extend protection. The city is working on legislative language for the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) to expedite a lake tap solution, with a target of May 2026 for documentation. The city is also seeking congressionally directed spending for geotechnical work and design.
  • FEMA: After a meeting in DC, FEMA committed to helping Juneau seek relief from NFIP standards regarding bank armoring for HESCO barriers. The city is submitting a justification.
  • HUD: HUD agreed that CDBG-DR funds allocated to the state could be used for HESCO barriers and pumps. The city will make this case in the state action plan.
  • Forest Service: The Forest Service will not impede NEPA for the lake tap; the Army Corps and Forest Service will coordinate on a streamlined NEPA strategy.
  • Coast Guard: The Coast Guard is moving forward with a request for information on housing for the home porting of the Storis icebreaker. The city is urging expedited action.

Federal Delegation Priorities

  • Senator Sullivan's Office (Maria Yucatel): The GLOF solution is a top priority. Other priorities include Coast Guard home porting, reopening of the Adak Naval Base, Port of Nome cost-share (90/10), ANWR/Inlet development, rural health transformation fund ($1.4 billion for Alaska), and tourism via the Visit America Act.
  • Senator Murkowski's Office (Kara Hollett): Priorities include avoiding a government shutdown (funded through Jan 30), passing appropriations bills (including $1.5 million for USGS GLOF monitoring and $200,000 for Ok Bay navigation), health care premium tax credits, and permitting reform. Senator Murkowski will not give her annual address to the legislature in February.

State Delegation Update

  • Senator Jesse Keel: The state is in a dire fiscal situation, with a $1.5–1.9 billion draw from savings projected. The governor's budget includes no new capital projects and no community assistance funding. He supports an income tax, not a sales tax, and is working on a bill (HB 242) to modernize consent statutes for sexual assault by medical providers.
  • Representative Sara Hannon: Priorities include restoring vetoed state construction projects (70/10 match), the Alaska Performance Scholarship, and a permanent BSA increase (last year's $700 million increase was actually $680 million per student, permanent). She introduced HB 261 on school funding averaging to smooth budgeting. Housing: a bill to allow ADA to loan developers for workforce housing.
  • Representative Andy Story: The legislature is functional but faces a difficult governor. The capital budget is minimal; a general obligation bond for infrastructure is a possibility. He supports pension reform and notes the state's high error rates in assistance programs.

Lobbyist Kevin Jardell Remarks

  • The state budget is very tight, but a defined benefit pension plan may pass the legislature. The rural health transformation fund ($270 million over 5 years) is a bright spot, but rules are unclear. The fund cannot be used for operations; it must be transformative. The state is looking for proposals. A sales tax from the governor is unlikely to pass, but the discussion is needed. Oil tax adjustments and smaller taxes (e.g., on vaped nicotine) are also being considered.

Key Outcomes

  • No formal votes were taken. The meeting was informational.
  • Next steps for GLOF: Submit WRDA language, continue federal agency follow-up, and prepare for a disaster supplemental appropriations bill.
  • The city will continue to coordinate with the congressional delegation on GLOF, housing, and other priorities.
  • The state delegation will work on education funding, housing, and revenue solutions, with a focus on the fiscal cliff.

Meeting Transcript

Katie Catchell, I'm your federal lobbyist. Maria Eucatel, Senator Solomon's office. Kara Hollett's with Senator Murkowski's office. Representative Representative Sarah Hannon, House District Three, which is about half of Juneau. And would you introduce Excuse me, House District Four? And Ms. Hann. Sorry, Representative Hannah, would you uh introduce your staff in the room if you have and uh I have two of my staff members here, Hunter Meachum and Tim Clark. They've both been with me for a number of years, so should look familiar. Thank you. Good morning. There we go. Uh good morning. Uh Andy's story. I represent District Three. Uh which is Haynes Gegway Clackwang Stavis in the North Juno. And very pleased this morning. Uh Tammy Smith is uh back with me this year. Uh she's tackling education with me, longtime educator, and then Kaylee Holm, who started off in Rep Hannon's office last year and now is with me. Very pleased to have both of them. So you poached her. Good to know. Senator Keel. Good morning. Thanks for having us. I'm Jesse Keel. Uh in the Senate, we do letters. I'm District B. Um, and uh I uh represent all the communities that two of them represent. The two House districts make up a Senate district. I am at present joined by one member of my uh three member plus an intern all-star staff. Uh, and that would be Ms. Adson, who does a fine job. Uh my name is Nano Brooks, newly elected assembly member, uh, starting my first year. Morning, Christine Wall. I am on the assembly and I am in my sixth year. Um, I did want to say that I had a kind of urgent work thing show up on my calendar um yesterday, so I will be out of here at eight. So I apologize in advance for taking off. Uh good morning, Greg Smith. Um, just elected to my third term on the assembly and honored to uh uh serve in the deputy mayor role. Thank you. Uh thank you. And since uh our legislative delegation and staff uh deal with other folks in the city, we're gonna go around them too. Ashley Heimbigner, would you start perfect timing? Yeah, you can't interrupt me. Bill Lawhorn, community development director. Oh, so sorry. Robert Bark, LBD City Manager. Katie guest your city manager. Is there anybody in the room that got missed?

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