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Record of Proceedings

Juneau Public Works Committee Meeting – February 24, 2026

Assembly Meetings — Tuesday, February 24, 2026
BodyJuneau, Alaska
SessionAssembly Meetings
DateTuesday, February 24, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:07:24

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:11

Mr.

0:11

Steininger, would you do the land acknowledgement?

0:15

We would like to acknowledge that the city and borough of Juneau is on Clinkett Land and wish to honor the indigenous people of this land.

0:21

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

0:27

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

0:36

Thank you, Mr.

0:36

Steiner.

0:37

Um, Madam Clerk, would you uh note the role?

0:43

Thank you, Chair Ekittson.

0:45

Ms.

0:46

Gandis.

0:49

Absent.

0:50

Mr.

0:50

Steininger.

0:52

Here.

0:53

Mr.

0:54

Brooks.

0:55

Here.

0:56

Chair Atkinson.

0:57

Here.

0:58

All right.

0:59

We have quorum.

1:00

And I will uh watch for Alicia on Zoom and bring her over.

1:03

She joins us.

1:04

Thank you very much.

1:05

Then we are on to approval of agenda.

1:08

Are there any uh changes to the agenda?

1:10

Uh Director Koch.

1:12

Thank you, Madam Chair.

1:14

Uh I request to swap the order of agenda items one and two so that we start off with Blackerby.

1:21

Any objections to that amendment?

1:23

Seeing none, we'll approve the agenda as amended.

1:25

Thank you very much, Director Koch.

1:27

All right.

1:27

Now we on to approval of minutes.

1:29

We have before us the January 16th, 2026 meeting minutes.

1:32

Are there any changes to the minutes?

1:36

Seeing none, we will adopt those as presented.

1:39

All right, on to agenda topics.

1:41

We have Blackerby up first.

1:43

Uh Dr.

1:43

Koch.

1:45

Thank you, Madam Chair.

1:46

So I am looking at page 11 of our packets.

1:50

Um and this one is probably familiar to you because it's it was only a few months ago that we came to you to talk about the problems with the water main breaks that we had in that neighborhood and the need to uh get beyond doing patching and doing a more comprehensive project in that Black or B area.

2:09

Uh and as our engineers have continued to do their research on what that project might look like, they think that we need additional funds.

2:17

So this is part of you know the beginning of these meetings.

2:20

We we always do these potential swaps.

2:22

One project, the Dudley project, we think has more funding than we think it needs.

2:28

The Blackerby project has less funding than we think it needs.

2:32

So we are uh making the request to this body to do a transfer.

2:37

The other item of importance I always think is that um right now we're asking for this this transfer based on our engineers' estimates.

2:46

We of course don't actually pay the costs until we do an RFP process and we do we do our bids.

2:53

So just because we're transferring the money doesn't necessarily mean that we wind up spending that money.

2:58

We're always hoping that we spend less, but we do try initially to have as much uh what we think is an appropriate amount of funds in the CIP before we do our procurement so that we can you know then proceed um proceed without delay.

3:13

Thank you very much, Director Koch.

3:15

Are there questions from the committee on this item?

3:19

All right, seeing none, do I have a motion?

3:23

Go ahead, Mr.

3:24

Steininger.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Engagement█████████████████████████25%
Waste Management██████████████████18%
Water And Wastewater Management█████████████████17%
Docks And Harbors██████████████14%
Arts And Culture████████8%
Procedural████4%
Historic Preservation████4%
Engineering And Infrastructure████4%
Public Safety██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Juneau Public Works Committee Meeting – February 24, 2026

The Public Works and Facilities Committee of the City and Borough of Juneau met on February 24, 2026, to discuss and vote on several infrastructure and solid waste management items. Key actions included fund transfers for water main and culvert repairs, a directive to fund waterfront restrooms, and a detailed presentation on the future of solid waste disposal. The meeting began with a land acknowledgement of the Clinkett (Tlingit) people.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the January 16, 2026 meeting minutes as presented.
  • Approved the agenda as amended, swapping the order of the first two items.

Discussion Items

  • Blackerby Subdivision Reconstruction Fund Transfer: Director Koch requested a transfer of $370,000 from the Dudley Street CIP to the Blackerby Subdivision Reconstruction project. The Blackerby project addresses water main breaks and requires additional funds per engineering estimates. The Dudley Street project was identified as having surplus funding. The motion passed by unanimous consent.
  • Bear Creek Culvert Fund Transfer: Director Koch requested a transfer of $180,000 from the Dudley Street CIP to the Bear Creek culvert project. The project addresses sinkholes on First Street in Douglas caused by a failing culvert, complicated by utility lines. Mr. Bohan (chief engineer) noted that such failures are emergent problems across the city. The motion passed by unanimous consent.
  • Waterfront Restrooms and Museum Options: Port Director Carl Uchytil presented a memo on restarting a project for public restrooms and a waiting area along the seawalk, originally conceived as phase two of the Downtown Waterfront Improvement Plan. City Manager Rorie Watt explained that a previous vision to place the city museum at that location, supported by $500,000 in marine passenger fees, has not advanced. The assembly discussed the need for public restrooms downtown. Assemblymember Hughes Gandis supported moving forward with restrooms, citing a major need. Assemblymember Hall objected for fiscal reasons. The motion to direct staff to include funding for a waterfront covered shelter with restrooms in the FY27 passenger fee request passed 3-1 (Steininger yes, Brooks no, Hughes Gandis yes, Atkinson yes).
  • Recycling Center Verbal Update: Director Koch reported that the recycling center reopened on Saturday, February 22, 2026, with reduced hours initially accepting mixed paper, cardboard, and glass. Weather depressed turnout, but operations were manageable. The city is seeking liquidated damages from the contracted provider for the 27-day closure. Staff acknowledged the work of contract manager Stuart Ashton and thanked representatives from Clinkett and Haida tribal government for their partnership.
  • Solid Waste Disposal Study Presentation: Jacobs consultant Tara presented the Phase Two solid waste study evaluation. Key findings: the Capital Disposal landfill is expected to close in 10–20 years; a transfer station is necessary for all disposal scenarios; and waste-to-energy is not cost-effective for Juneau due to insufficient waste volume. Scenario B (off-site shipping by barge) was ranked first for near-term cost, but both Scenario A (new local landfill) and Scenario B remain viable. The estimated operating cost for a transfer station is $79/ton, for a new landfill $155–$270/ton, and for export $210–$283/ton. The CBJ currently has no direct ownership of disposal facilities. Recommendations include reaffirming assembly direction to gain control, funding transfer station design, and devoting resources for implementation.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved transfer of $370,000 from Dudley Street CIP to Blackerby Subdivision Reconstruction (unanimous).
  • Approved transfer of $180,000 from Dudley Street CIP to Bear Creek Culvert project (unanimous).
  • Directed staff to include funding for a waterfront covered shelter with restrooms in the FY27 passenger fee request (passed 3-1).
  • Agenda item on microtransit was deferred to the next meeting.
  • Next meeting scheduled for March 16, 2026, at noon.

Meeting Transcript

Mr. Steininger, would you do the land acknowledgement? We would like to acknowledge that the 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 Klinket people. Thank you, Mr. Steiner. Um, Madam Clerk, would you uh note the role? Thank you, Chair Ekittson. Ms. Gandis. Absent. Mr. Steininger. Here. Mr. Brooks. Here. Chair Atkinson. Here. All right. We have quorum. And I will uh watch for Alicia on Zoom and bring her over. She joins us. Thank you very much. Then we are on to approval of agenda. Are there any uh changes to the agenda? Uh Director Koch. Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh I request to swap the order of agenda items one and two so that we start off with Blackerby. Any objections to that amendment? Seeing none, we'll approve the agenda as amended. Thank you very much, Director Koch. All right. Now we on to approval of minutes. We have before us the January 16th, 2026 meeting minutes. Are there any changes to the minutes? Seeing none, we will adopt those as presented. All right, on to agenda topics. We have Blackerby up first. Uh Dr. Koch. Thank you, Madam Chair. So I am looking at page 11 of our packets. Um and this one is probably familiar to you because it's it was only a few months ago that we came to you to talk about the problems with the water main breaks that we had in that neighborhood and the need to uh get beyond doing patching and doing a more comprehensive project in that Black or B area. Uh and as our engineers have continued to do their research on what that project might look like, they think that we need additional funds. So this is part of you know the beginning of these meetings. We we always do these potential swaps. One project, the Dudley project, we think has more funding than we think it needs. The Blackerby project has less funding than we think it needs.

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