Sitka City and Borough Assembly Regular Meeting – March 11, 2025

The Sitka City and Borough Assembly met on March 11, 2025, at 6:00 PM in Assembly Chambers. The meeting included special reports on climate adaptation planning for fisheries and departmental quarterly updates, reappointment of three commission members, a failed vote on a bulk water export agreement with Global Hydration LLC, and unanimous approval of the Sustainability Commission’s 2025-2026 goals and work plan. The assembly also received reports from the mayor, administrator, and clerk.

Special Reports – Climate Adaptation Planning for Fisheries

• Mauricia Skowiak (NOAA Fisheries, social scientist) presented a three-year project on climate adaptation for Sitka’s fishing economy, conducted in partnership with Cordova and Kodiak. The project includes a vulnerability assessment, visioning sessions, and a focus on seafood decarbonization. A new proposal for a one-year seafood decarbonization grant (capped at $100,000) was outlined, with project elements including energy audits, heat recovery, solar panels, and fuel flow meters.
• The project team requested a letter of support from the assembly and patience for a couple of planning meetings over the grant year. Assembly members asked about including refrigerants, energy auditing the municipal freezer building, and the status of federal funding. The team confirmed the grant funds remain available and that the letter could follow the proposal deadline.
• Linda (via Zoom) confirmed that Seafood Producers Cooperative (SPC) has been engaged and supports the pilot projects.

Department Quarterly Reports

• Human Resources (Josh Brantover, Director): HR department is fully staffed; working on a comprehensive personnel policy update, compensation study nearing completion, implementation of NeoGov HRIS, and a learning management system. Four bargaining units, three expiring June 30, 2025. Staffing at 87% of budgeted positions, with 24 open positions. Challenges in police and public safety dispatcher recruitment.
• Information Technology (Grant Turner, Director): IT department fully staffed. Major projects: fiber optic network connecting city infrastructure, data center upgrades with new switches and UPS, migration to Windows 11 and cloud-based management. 180 help desk tickets resolved in the quarter; first-contact resolution rate at 68.33%. Budget on track.
• Clerk’s Office (Sara Peterson, Municipal Clerk): Processing a citizen initiative petition (deadline March 14). 51 records requests processed. Harbors department records cleanup (25 boxes destroyed). Moving forward with work culture initiatives, cloud transition of document management system, and code codification updates. Budget at 65%.

Board, Commission, Committee Appointments

• The assembly unanimously (7-0) approved the reappointment of Crystal Duncan to the Health Needs and Human Services Commission (three-year term), Barbara Teepe to the Tree and Landscape Committee (three-year term), and appointment of Michelle Kavouras to the Police and Fire Commission (three-year term).

Unfinished Business – Water Purchase Agreement (Item B)

• Motion: Approve a purchase agreement for raw water in bulk for export between the City and Borough of Sitka and Global Hydration LLC, as recommended by the Gary Paxton Industrial Park Board.
• Discussion: Gary White (Industrial Park Director) explained that the item was postponed from January to allow Arctic Blue Waters (existing contract holder) to exercise a first right of refusal for additional water. Arctic Blue failed to pay a $100,000 fee by February 27, 2025, and sent a letter requesting another postponement. Global Hydration did not attend the meeting. Assembly members expressed concerns: lack of information about Global Hydration’s plans, no contact from the company for months, potential conflict with Arctic Blue’s ongoing contract, and the risk of speculating on water rights. Several members stated they would vote no because of the unknowns and lack of engagement.
• Vote: The motion failed 0-7 (all members present voted no).

New Business – Sustainability Commission Goals (Item C)

• Motion: Approve the Sustainability Commission 2025-2026 Goals and Work Plan.
• Presentation: Chair Aurora Taylor and Vice Chair Katie Riley presented the commission’s four goals: (1) Support sustainable municipal operations (e.g., tracking greenhouse gas inventory, aligning with strategic plan); (2) Explore a regional approach to sustainability (collaboration with other communities); (3) Strategic management of solid waste (developing a charter and strategy ahead of the 2032 contract renewal); (4) Support and finalize the Sitka Community Renewable Energy Strategy (CRESS), with a five-month extension anticipated due to federal funding uncertainties. The commission noted that the goal of electrifying the municipal fleet is considered complete after adopting a procurement policy. Two commission vacancies remain.
• Discussion: Assembly members praised the doable, operational focus of the goals. Deputy Mayor Pike suggested allowing high school students (age 16+) to serve on the commission, which would require an ordinance change. The idea was met with interest for further research. Assemblyman Saline mentioned potential for ocean-source heat pumps. The commission’s staff liaison, Bree Gable, was thanked for her work.
• Vote: The motion passed unanimously (7-0).

Reports

• Mayor Eisenbeisz: Attended a Safeguard Sitka town hall; noted that Seoul (cruise line) did not attend. The information presented appeared accurate, focusing on the economic value of tourists and the difficulty of measuring it due to lack of a visitor sales tax.
• Municipal Administrator John Leach: Announced travel to the Northwest Managers Conference; Sitka will host the conference next year. Reported on cruise ship MOU management: Norwegian Cruise Line canceled one 2026 call, moved another to a lower-traffic day, and the assembly granted two exemptions (August 16 and September 9, 2026) that will bring passenger counts to 7,102 and 7,500 respectively, slightly above the 7,000 target. Leach thanked Norwegian for flexibility.
• Municipal Attorney Rachel Jones: Attended a town hall on the animal shelter code rewrite; work continues.
• Liaison Representative (Tor): Reported on the animal shelter town hall; expect a new ordinance(s) by mid-summer.
• Clerk Sara Peterson: Reminded of the budget meeting the following evening (March 12).

Key Outcomes

• Board appointments: Unanimous approval of three members (7-0).
• Bulk water export agreement with Global Hydration LLC: Motion failed 0-7.
• Sustainability Commission 2025-2026 Goals and Work Plan: Approved unanimously (7-0).
• Next steps: The assembly will continue budget discussions at the March 12 meeting. The Sustainability Commission will proceed with its four goals. The administrator will follow up on cruise ship exemptions and the water contract situation.