Valdez City Council Meeting - September 1, 2026
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Valdez City Council Meeting - September 1, 2026
The Valdez City Council met on September 1, 2026, with all seven members present. The meeting covered routine approvals, a proclamation, several business items, a major scrap metal program report, and updates from city staff and the attorney. Key decisions included approving a museum lighting contract, the FY2027 community jail contract, and a budget amendment for water piping projects.
Consent Calendar
- Proclamation: Declared September as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Unanimously approved.
- License Renewal: Approved the beverage dispensary tourism license renewal for Totem. Unanimously approved.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Kim O'Dell (Alderwood Mobile Home Park): Spoke about the mobile home replacement program and requested a resolution of support from the council to help purchase the land (currently leased from the state/DOT) from the Governor's office. Emphasized the need for affordable housing, noting the park has 48 spaces. Council discussed whether to issue a resolution or a mayor-signed letter; consensus leaned toward a resolution, to be prepared for a future meeting.
- Lynnette Oliver (Valdez Adventure Alliance Executive Director): Provided an update on the Shoal Bay Trail boardwalk project, explaining a delay because the RTP grant is transitioning from DNR to DOT. The grant was selected on June 23, 2026, but work cannot begin until the memorandum of agreement is signed. She will present more details on September 15, 2026.
Discussion Items
- Old Town Museum Lighting Upgrade: Approved a contract with Frontier Electric Services for $82,475. Councilmember noted the museum is currently too dark for patrons to read without phone lights. Unanimously approved.
- FY2027 Community Jail Contract: Approved the contract with the State of Alaska, which nearly doubled from FY2026. City Manager DeVal explained the increase likely resulted from other jails closing and Valdez being historically underfunded. Unanimously approved.
- Write-offs of City Fees: Approved forwarding various unpaid fees to a collections agency. Unanimously approved.
- Resolution 2639: Amended the FY2026 budget to accept $392,926 in unbudgeted revenue from the State of Alaska Department of Education for complete water piping replacement projects, appropriating the funds to the project planning reserve account. Unanimously approved.
- Scrap Barge 2026 Report: Director Bart presented a video summarizing the program: 3,105 tons of scrap metal shipped out of Valdez. The effort required 47 continuous hours, 5-6 trucks hauling non-stop, moving an average of 69 tons per hour. 19 Alaska Scrap employees, including 4 local drivers, worked alongside city staff. Discussion focused on making the program sustainable (next barge likely 2028, possibly 2027), extending landfill life, and potential future recycling improvements. Council commended the program.
Key Outcomes
- Approved contract with Frontier Electric Services for museum lighting ($82,475) – unanimous.
- Approved FY2027 community jail contract with State of Alaska – unanimous.
- Approved write-offs of city fees to collections – unanimous.
- Approved Resolution 2639 (budget amendment for water piping projects) – unanimous.
- Council agreed to prepare a resolution of support for Alderwood Mobile Home Park's land purchase from the state, to be brought forward at a future meeting.
- Scheduled a work session on child care for October 6, 2026 at 5:30 PM (before the regular council meeting).
- Received updates: Citizens Academy concluding; website redesign launched; preconstruction contract signed for new child care facility; city attorney reported on TAPS assessment litigation, redistricting oral argument set for October 8, 2026, and Alyeska containment cell tests ongoing.
Meeting Transcript
Yes, Mr. Mayor, everyone is uh present this evening. We have seven members of council. No one is absent. And then uh okay. So we are good to go. Uh public appearances. We have Kim O'Dell from Alderwood Mobile Home Park that will come up there and speak for us. You go ahead and hit that little red button or button right there, turn red. There you go. There we go. Hi guys. I am Kim with Alderwood Mobile Home Park. Um and Nate has asked me to come speak a little bit. I have been actively working on the mobile home replacement program that Nate gave us the thumbs up for towards the end of the or beginning of the year. I've just had time to actively focus on it recently. Um and so I started making phone calls since we we took over the park about six years ago, a little over six years ago, and wanting to upgrade the park. Um, getting mobile homes has been a hurdle. Um with this mobile home replacement program, we can build stick built homes and move it forward. However, our little parcel of land, if you don't know the DNR holds the title, the DOT maintains the land, and FAA land like rules are in the mix of it. And so as I was making calls to all of these different entities, I decided that I was gonna um put a cover letter together and go straight to the governor's office with a packet. And so I started, I had a meeting with Nate and Kate and Mike about a week and a half ago. Um I've talked to the superintendent Jason Weaver and just trying to get letters of support from the community to put into this packet to show a real face of what's going on, not just can you sell me the land, but I want this is what's needed. We have 48 spaces available in Alderwood right now. Um, and I think it's become a much bigger if there's a lot bigger need of just Alderwood, but that's where I started with it. Um and so Nate asked me to come in when I called him to say, can you like or write me a letter of support? If I could come in and introduce myself and say, hey, can you guys have you know, can I get a resolution of support from you all as well to add to the packet to send? I don't even know what they can do in my cover letter. I said, Can you sell it to me? If not, do you know where I can go in hopes that I can get something moving so that we can build these homes and get some affordable housing in town. So anyway, anything you guys can do would be greatly appreciated. Um we'll move on to public business from the floor. Is there anybody uh from the public that would like to speak on a non-agended item? Please step up. Good evening, I'm a Lynnette Oliver, executive director for the Valdece Adventure Alliance. Um, I want to make the council members aware of the reason for some delay of some of the work on the shoot bait trail sections, and I'll be back on September 15th to give a real presentation about Worthington in more detail on the shoot bay trail. Um and right now I'm talking only specifically about the build out for the boardwalk. So on June 23rd, we were notified, and this is quote. Our application to the RTP has been selected for funding, and that the program staff will begin preparing a memorandum of agreement. But because of the federal review and authorization process, it may take several months before the grant agreement is ready for execution. Project work should not begin and project costs incurred prior to execution of the MOA and receipt of all required approvals may not be eligible for reimbursement. So as I put in my March report um that went to Barb that uh this delay is due mostly to the transition from the program being under DNR to it being moved under DOT. Uh, but it's imperative that we don't start this work because we have to get the reimbursements because those are the funds that then front the next part of the pieces that they help match what the city council um approves and fund the next pieces. So it hasn't stopped us from doing other work, only just that one little part. So we've been doing maintenance and prep work, and if you've been walking it, you've seen it more out towards the gold creek, but there'll be we're working our way in this way kind of. Um also any of the prep that has to be done physically and also all the permits and all of that stuff and everything, um, so that the instant that we have the contract, we can move. I've been in contact with Cell Central Hardware and things for materials. Um I'll be back on September 15th for more information on the trail and also on Worthington, and hopefully we'll have the contract in hand by then. So the notice says several months, and that that was on June 23rd. Uh so hopefully we'll have it by then.
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