OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Sitka City and Borough Assembly Regular Meeting - April 28, 2026

City and Borough Assembly — Tuesday, April 28, 2026
BodySitka, Alaska
SessionCity and Borough Assembly
DateTuesday, April 28, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:53:20

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Right.

0:00

Uh well, welcome everybody.

0:02

Uh, thank you for joining us tonight.

0:03

I will call to order the regularly scheduled meeting of Tuesday, April 28th, 2026.

0:09

Please join me for a flag salute.

0:12

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands.

0:20

One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

0:28

The Assembly of the City and Borough of Sitka would like to respectfully acknowledge the traditional first people of Shitka.

0:34

With gratitude, we proceed on Klinkatani.

0:37

Sarah Walcall, please.

0:40

Mayor Eisenbeis.

0:41

Present.

0:42

Mr.

0:42

Pike.

0:43

Here.

0:43

Miss Carlson.

0:44

Here.

0:44

Miss Riley?

0:45

Here.

0:46

Mr.

0:46

Christensen.

0:47

Here.

0:47

Mr.

0:48

Mosier.

0:48

Here.

0:49

And Mr.

0:49

Sling.

0:50

Here.

0:53

Thank you.

0:54

Any uh correspondence or agenda changes this evening.

1:00

Not seeing none.

1:00

That'll bring us to ceremonial matters.

1:03

Tonight we have a service award for Jeff Bud.

1:07

This service award is on behalf of the city and borough of Sitka is hereby awarded to Jeff Bud.

1:12

This expression of grateful acknowledgement for almost six years of valued service rendered in the public interest while serving on the library commission.

1:19

Thank you.

1:20

My understanding is the library, his fellow library commissioners would not let him not accept this one in person.

1:26

So he must have had a quite a six-year service.

1:32

As Sarah would always say, you know, there are other boards, commissions, and committees open.

1:36

So if you find yourself with additional time on your hands, um, you most definitely can volunteer for some other ones.

1:43

But please come on up.

1:44

Thank you.

1:56

Okay, I'm ready to hold the stand there and look pretty.

2:01

Okay, maybe it's a struggle for me.

2:09

And I just want to thank the members of the library commission for all their work.

2:15

And the Friends of the Library, and then Scott who's helped us out here, and Mr.

2:19

Pike's been on the board as well.

2:21

So thank you, and thank you.

2:22

Thank you.

2:23

Oh, thank you.

2:32

Thanks.

2:41

Moving on our in our agenda, we have uh several scheduled special reports this evening.

2:47

Uh do we have someone from Sitka Tribe of Alaska?

2:51

Not seeing anyone initially.

2:53

We'll come back to that.

2:54

Uh school board, Phil.

2:56

Are you here?

2:57

There you are.

3:09

Good evening, Phil Burdick, president of the Sitka School Board.

3:12

Um I want to start off by saying thank you so much.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Engagement██████████████████18%
Environmental Protection███████████████15%
Procedural████████████12%
Engineering And Infrastructure██████████10%
Pending Litigation█████████9%
Public Records█████████9%
Personnel Matters█████5%
Water And Wastewater Management█████5%
Education And Training████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Sitka City and Borough Assembly Regular Meeting - April 28, 2026

The Sitka City and Borough Assembly held a regular meeting on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at 6:00 PM in Assembly Chambers. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Steven Eisenbeisz and included ceremonial matters, special reports, public testimony, a consent agenda, multiple ordinance readings, a resolution, a public records appeal, and an executive session. All eight voting items were approved unanimously (7-0).

Consent Calendar

  • Items A & B were approved on the consent agenda: (A) Minutes of April 9 and 14, 2026; (B) Liquor license renewals for Sea Mountain Restaurant, The Galley Restaurant, Dove Island Lodge, and Beak Restaurant.
  • Item C (Wildflour Cafe & Bakery new liquor license) was pulled by Vice Deputy Mayor Carlson for discussion. The assembly approved it 7-0 after noting that public concern had diminished since the initial proposal.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Thad Poulson (57-year resident) opposed the city’s closure of Maksoutoff Street to vehicles for portable toilet installation, calling it inconvenient for residents and affecting historic St. Michael’s Cathedral. He urged a practical solution.
  • Alexia Nestic-Kewan (Mount Edgecumbe High School student) thanked the Sitka Public Library for its diverse materials, including books like Genderqueer, and spoke in favor of intellectual freedom and access to information for students.

Discussion Items

  • Service Award: Jeff Budd was recognized for six years of service on the Library Commission.
  • Special Reports:
    • Sitka School Board President Phil Burdick reported that 74% of K-1 students at Hoots Elementary are now reading at or above benchmark (up from 59% at the start of the year). The district passed its FY27 budget and is hiring back three teachers.
    • Electric Department Quarterly Report: Utility Director Ron Vinson reported 16 outages in Q1 2026 (vs. 17 in all of 2025), with two-thirds due to infrastructure failures and one-third from natural causes. Tree clearing, asset assessments, and improved procedures are underway. The department is down five positions, with three near filling. A $2.5 million DOE grant (247 money) for Green Lake Power Plant refurbishment was secured.
    • 2025 Electric Annual Report: Vinson and Sustainability Coordinator Bri Gabel highlighted outage durations 95% better than the national average, but outage frequency 46% worse. Electric rates are just below the national average. A new risk register and modeling projects are underway.
    • Fire Department Quarterly Report: Fire Chief Craig Warren (retiring after 33 years) reported 9 EMT graduates (median score 93), 16 wilderness EMT students, and two vacancies. Budget is 74% expended vs. 84% of year.
    • Library Quarterly Report: Director Jess Ieremia reported hosting the 2026 Alaska Library Association conference, a Books Unbanned grant ($8,000) partnering with Pacific High and Mount Edgecumbe High, and an upcoming summer reading program (June 6–August 8). Adult reading buddies needed; apply by May 16.
  • ORD 26-08 (Postpone to a Certain Time) – Approved on second reading, 7-0.
  • ORD 26-09 (Acceptance of Donations to the City) – First reading approved 7-0. Establishes procedures for donations under $10,000 (accepted by staff) and over $10,000 (assembly approval), including lifetime maintenance costs.
  • ORD 26-10 (Naming of Public Places) – First reading approved 7-0. Sets criteria for naming city-owned property, with a presumption for traditional Indigenous names. Clerical changes noted.
  • RES 26-04 (State Revolving Fund Loan for WWTP Effluent Disinfection) – Approved 7-0. Authorizes application for a $1.16 million loan for design of a $14 million disinfection system (required by 2030 permit). $10 million in federal CDS funds tentatively allocated; ratepayers may cover $3 million.
  • Sustainability Commission 2026-2027 Goals and Work Plan – Approved 7-0. Chair Aurora Taylor and Vice Chair Elizabeth Bagley presented four goals: sustainable municipal operations, regional sustainability, strategic solid waste management, and finalizing the Sitka Community Renewable Energy Strategy (SCRES). Highlights include a greenhouse gas inventory released in January 2026, 40 hours of technical assistance on waste-to-energy, and an energy game with 84 participants producing 59 portfolios.
  • Appointment to SCRES – Assembly members Mosher, Christianson, and Carlson volunteered to serve on the SCRES team.
  • Appeal of Public Records Request Denial (Item J) – Appellant Austin Cranford argued the city illegally withheld records related to police sign-on bonuses and redacted compensation. Municipal Attorney Rachel Jones and Assistant Administrator Josh Branthoover testified that the request sought research, not existing records, and that redactions complied with Sitka General Code 1.20.042. The appeal was denied 7-0.
  • Executive Session – The assembly entered executive session at 9:05 PM to discuss legal/financial matters in Susan Magie et al. v. Gary Cranford et al., Case No. 1JU-25-00648CI, and reconvened at 9:14 PM.

Key Outcomes

  • All eight votes (ORD 26-08, ORD 26-09, ORD 26-10, RES 26-04, Sustainability Commission Work Plan, Consent Agenda items A-B, Item C, and denial of appeal) passed 7-0.
  • Three assembly members (Mosher, Christianson, Carlson) were appointed to the SCRES team.
  • The meeting adjourned at 9:14 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Right. Uh well, welcome everybody. Uh, thank you for joining us tonight. I will call to order the regularly scheduled meeting of Tuesday, April 28th, 2026. Please join me for a flag salute. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. The Assembly of the City and Borough of Sitka would like to respectfully acknowledge the traditional first people of Shitka. With gratitude, we proceed on Klinkatani. Sarah Walcall, please. Mayor Eisenbeis. Present. Mr. Pike. Here. Miss Carlson. Here. Miss Riley? Here. Mr. Christensen. Here. Mr. Mosier. Here. And Mr. Sling. Here. Thank you. Any uh correspondence or agenda changes this evening. Not seeing none. That'll bring us to ceremonial matters. Tonight we have a service award for Jeff Bud. This service award is on behalf of the city and borough of Sitka is hereby awarded to Jeff Bud. This expression of grateful acknowledgement for almost six years of valued service rendered in the public interest while serving on the library commission. Thank you. My understanding is the library, his fellow library commissioners would not let him not accept this one in person. So he must have had a quite a six-year service. As Sarah would always say, you know, there are other boards, commissions, and committees open. So if you find yourself with additional time on your hands, um, you most definitely can volunteer for some other ones. But please come on up. Thank you. Okay, I'm ready to hold the stand there and look pretty. Okay, maybe it's a struggle for me. And I just want to thank the members of the library commission for all their work. And the Friends of the Library, and then Scott who's helped us out here, and Mr. Pike's been on the board as well. So thank you, and thank you. Thank you. Oh, thank you.

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