OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

City and Borough Assembly Regular Meeting - July 9, 2024

City and Borough Assembly — Tuesday, July 9, 2024
BodySitka, Alaska
SessionCity and Borough Assembly
DateTuesday, July 9, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Borough of Sitka would like to respectfully acknowledge the traditional first people of Sheetka.

0:05

With gratitude, we proceed on Kinkitani.

0:08

Sarah Roll call, please.

0:10

Mayor Eisenbais.

0:12

Present.

0:12

Mr.

0:12

Mosher?

0:13

Here.

0:14

Mr.

0:14

Pike.

0:15

Here.

0:15

Mr.

0:15

Yestad.

0:16

Here.

0:17

Mr.

0:17

Christensen.

0:18

Here.

0:18

Ms.

0:18

Carlson.

0:19

Here.

0:19

And Mr.

0:20

Selene.

0:21

Here.

0:26

Any correspondence or agenda changes this evening?

0:31

Seeing none, there are no ceremonial matters that'll bring us to special reports.

0:35

We do have a scheduled special report this evening.

0:39

Joe will give us an update on the Sitka Airport Terminal Project.

0:44

Welcome.

0:55

All right, now let's see if this work.

0:57

Tis the season for technical difficulties.

1:12

It's working on my end.

1:13

I think you got to hit share on your end.

1:21

I hit screen share and then you hit share content.

1:33

Thank you, Sarah.

1:34

All right, thanks everyone for your time.

1:36

I appreciate it.

1:36

My name is Joseph.

1:37

I'm the airport terminal manager for the City and Borough of Sitka.

1:40

Here to give you a quick update on the SICCO Rocky Guterres Airport Terminal Improvement Project.

1:46

Good news is it is on schedule and on budget.

1:48

So currently the team has used 4.9 million of uh, which is about one third of the guaranteed maximum price of 14.9.

1:58

Construction has reached about 30%.

2:01

So you can see there on the left-hand side of your screen.

2:05

30%, 33% of the funds have been spent, and about 30% of the construction has been completed.

2:11

Cost performance index is one, indicating the project is performing on budget, and the scheduled performance index is 1.11, indicating that the project is slightly ahead of schedule, but the SPI is skewed due to billings for early procurement and store material.

2:27

Our escalator just arrived on site, and that's uh 400,000 piece of equipment, and we're preparing to install that.

2:34

So we've we've got a lot of equipment stored on site, and that's why it's leaning a little bit towards ahead of schedule.

2:41

Umestones include the installation of the underground electrical, stormwater, sewer, and water mains.

2:48

A lot of the underground has been completed.

2:51

Um ninf percent most of the utilities are underground and looking good.

2:58

Um earthworks and foundations have been substantially completed with only the slabs on the first and second floors, the addition to be poured, which will allow the installation of the escalator.

3:07

Temporary structures are being constructed and uh to facilitate ongoing air carrier operations throughout phase one B of the construction.

3:16

Temporary baggage tunnel through the Nugget restaurant was expedited at the owner's request to minimize closures during the peak season.

3:24

Um give you a quick rundown.

3:27

Those uh those construction item statuses, those are the important uh milestones, and you can see that we're making good progress on most of those moving right along.

3:40

So to go over uh the schedule, this is a pretty good um indication of how the project is tracking these different items as we go along.

3:48

We are seeing that these items in blue have been completed.

3:52

Uh the project is about one week behind with time being made up in the erection of the steel framing.

3:58

Uh the water main tie-in presented a challenge early last month, uh, which did result in delay.

4:05

The team had concerns that the water main would fail during the tie-in due to the age of the main and the previous breaks.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Tourism████████████████████████████28%
Procedural████████8%
Tourism Commission███████7%
Public Safety███████7%
Taxation Policy███████7%
Harbor Operations██████6%
Budget Equity Analysis██████6%
Airport Operations█████5%
Public Engagement█████5%
Summary of Proceedings

City and Borough Assembly Regular Meeting - July 9, 2024

The Sitka City and Borough Assembly met on July 9, 2024, at 6:00 PM in Assembly Chambers. The meeting covered a special report on the airport terminal project, a detailed discussion and approval of the Tourism Task Force Action Plan, votes on several resolutions and ordinances, and public testimony on tourism, housing, and charter amendments. The meeting adjourned at 9:45 PM.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Klaudia Lecesse and Peter Hagan (Small Town Soul) requested two assembly members sponsor an agenda item directing the city attorney to collaborate with their attorney on initiative language to regulate cruise tourism, citing General Code Section 2.8.040.
  • Richard Wein commented on Sitka's dependence on fossil fuels, declining consumer spending, and the importance of knowing how tourism funds are spent.
  • Austin Cranford criticized the city's rejection of past petitions, recommending the assembly update or remove the vague petition resubmission code, and urged support for the group's request for attorney assistance.
  • Joel Hanson updated on the Jarvis Street Community Garden, noting grants received from the Alaska Community Foundation and Sitka Permanent Charitable Trust, and thanked the planning department for progress on an RFP.
  • Rachel Roy (Chamber of Commerce Director) reported on a successful 4th of July parade, Business and Boats event, and upcoming Emerging Leaders Summit and housing initiative.
  • Larry Edwards (during second Persons to Be Heard) urged removal of action items 1, 2, and 3 from the Tourism Task Force plan, citing inadequate limits on visitor numbers.
  • Robert Hattle thanked Assembly member Carlson for highlighting social determinants of health and stressed the need to establish the tourism commission and hire a tourism coordinator.
  • Peter Hagan argued the task force failed to set a visitor limit, noted 240 buses through the roundabout on a single ship day, and called for reduction rather than spreading out impacts.
  • Richard Wein (second round) criticized the assembly for not giving the public opportunity to weigh in on the Tourism Action Plan and urged timely action on visitor numbers.

Special Reports

  • Airport Manager Joseph Bea presented an update on the Sitka Airport Terminal Improvement Project. The project is on schedule and on budget, with 30% construction complete, 33% of funds spent (US$4.9 million of US$14.9 million guaranteed maximum price). Completed milestones include underground utilities and earthworks. The escalator arrived on site. The jet bridge will be decommissioned for 10 months starting July 2024, requiring ground boarding. Significant completion of the addition is targeted for early 2025, with the remodel of the airfield side completed in spring 2025. Assembly members thanked Mr. Bea for the earned value metrics.

Discussion Items

  • Tourism Task Force Action Plan (Unfinished Business, Item B 24-094): Planning Director Amy Ainslie presented the action plan converting the task force recommendations into prioritized actions. The assembly debated priority levels, with some members suggesting elevating data collection and zoning for Katlian Bay. After discussion, the assembly agreed to approve the action plan as presented, with assembly members volunteering to sponsor specific items: JJ Carlson and Tim Pike on e-bikes; Kevin Mosher and Scott Saline on food cart permits; Tim Pike, Chris Ystad, and Thor Christianson on establishing a tourism commission; and staff directed to refer zoning issues to the Planning Commission. The administrator will continue negotiating an agreement for visitor numbers with the dock owner.
  • ORD 24-20 (Supplemental Appropriations for Visit Sitka): Assembly member Carlson explained the ordinance funds the Chamber/Visit Sitka base contract and supplemental projects. After debate, the assembly maintained the current funding level of US$275,000 for the supplemental and US$300,000 for the base, pending an independent financial review. The motion passed 6-1 (Christianson opposed).

Key Outcomes

  • Appointment of Michelle Kavouras to the Health Needs and Human Services Commission (three-year term): Approved 7-0.
  • RES 24-14 (Eliason Harbor Float System and Utilities Repairs Grant – Tier II application for US$240,408): Approved 7-0 on first and final reading.
  • RES 24-15 (Body-worn cameras grant – 50/50 match for US$120,000 from DOJ): Approved 7-0 on first and final reading. Lieutenant Achee noted the system under evaluation (Axon) includes cloud storage and AI redaction, with annual storage costs estimated at US$30,000.
  • ORD 24-19 (Rezone 201 Price Street from Industrial to General Commercial Mobile Home): Approved 7-0 on first reading.
  • ORD 24-20 (Supplemental appropriations for Chamber/Visit Sitka): Approved 6-1 on first reading (Christianson opposed).
  • ORD 24-16 (Charter amendment – Section 11.13, remove hospital reference in budget administration): Approved 7-0 on first reading, sending to voters.
  • ORD 24-17 (Charter amendment – Section 20.01, remove restriction on Sitka Community Hospital Dedicated Fund): FAILED 1-6 (only Mayor Eisenbeisz voted yes). The assembly expressed concern about removing the spending restriction before liabilities are fully paid and a dedicated purpose is identified.
  • ORD 24-18 (Charter amendment – Section 6.02, align recall process with state law): Approved 7-0 on first reading, sending to voters. Clerk Peterson noted the major discrepancies: state requires 10 petitioners vs. charter's 5, and 25% petition signatures vs. charter's 20%.
  • Tourism Task Force Action Plan: The assembly approved the plan and assigned sponsors to several action items. No formal vote tally was recorded in the minutes, but the discussion concluded with consensus.

Reports

  • Mayor Eisenbeisz reported meeting with public relations representatives from Norwegian and Royal Caribbean cruise lines for a mid-season check-in.
  • Administrator Leach reported a visit from Senator Murkowski's DC staff regarding capital project requests, including a new police department and jail, which received unexpected interest.
  • Clerk Peterson reviewed board/commission vacancies and the candidate filing period for the October 1 municipal election (July 15 – August 2). Seats to be filled: mayor, two assembly members, and two school board members.

Meeting Transcript

Borough of Sitka would like to respectfully acknowledge the traditional first people of Sheetka. With gratitude, we proceed on Kinkitani. Sarah Roll call, please. Mayor Eisenbais. Present. Mr. Mosher? Here. Mr. Pike. Here. Mr. Yestad. Here. Mr. Christensen. Here. Ms. Carlson. Here. And Mr. Selene. Here. Any correspondence or agenda changes this evening? Seeing none, there are no ceremonial matters that'll bring us to special reports. We do have a scheduled special report this evening. Joe will give us an update on the Sitka Airport Terminal Project. Welcome. All right, now let's see if this work. Tis the season for technical difficulties. It's working on my end. I think you got to hit share on your end. I hit screen share and then you hit share content. Thank you, Sarah. All right, thanks everyone for your time. I appreciate it. My name is Joseph. I'm the airport terminal manager for the City and Borough of Sitka. Here to give you a quick update on the SICCO Rocky Guterres Airport Terminal Improvement Project. Good news is it is on schedule and on budget. So currently the team has used 4.9 million of uh, which is about one third of the guaranteed maximum price of 14.9. Construction has reached about 30%. So you can see there on the left-hand side of your screen. 30%, 33% of the funds have been spent, and about 30% of the construction has been completed. Cost performance index is one, indicating the project is performing on budget, and the scheduled performance index is 1.11, indicating that the project is slightly ahead of schedule, but the SPI is skewed due to billings for early procurement and store material. Our escalator just arrived on site, and that's uh 400,000 piece of equipment, and we're preparing to install that. So we've we've got a lot of equipment stored on site, and that's why it's leaning a little bit towards ahead of schedule. Umestones include the installation of the underground electrical, stormwater, sewer, and water mains. A lot of the underground has been completed. Um ninf percent most of the utilities are underground and looking good.

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