North Slope Borough mayor to give community report in Point Hope on Friday

North Slope Borough Mayor Josiah Patkotak is scheduled to give a community report to Point Hope residents at 5 pm Friday at Tikigaq School. It is the last of the borough's community engagement visits this year.

The Point Hope visit was "postponed earlier this year to allow for facility upgrades," the borough said in a post Monday. The borough said it plans to share updates from the mayor, hear from the community and share a meal and dancing.

Events begin Thursday from 6:30 to 8:30 pm with Atuġaaq with appetizers and a Light in the Darkness glow party, according to the borough's flyer. After Friday's report, Ice Services will serve a community dinner at 5:30 pm. Tikiġaġmiut Aġġirit dancing follows from 7 to 9 pm. All events are at Tikigaq School, and the borough says the schedule is subject to change.

Patkotak spoke about Point Hope at the borough Assembly's Oct. 13 meeting. He said borough crews coordinated storm preparation and response in Point Hope and other coastal villages, reinforcing sea walls, erosion berms and drainage systems. Minor flooding happened in Point Hope with no significant infrastructure damage reported, he said. He also thanked the Native Village of Point Hope and the City of Point Hope for setting up a community-led incident command effort, and listed streetlight repairs and replacements in Point Hope.

The borough calls Point Hope the westernmost community in the region. A borough workforce profile counted 749 permanent residents there in 2018. Subsistence hunting, fishing and whaling carry much of the local economy, according to the 2025 North Slope Borough popular annual financial report, which says the public sector employs about 57% of the workforce.