Video Clips
Quoted moments from Alaska public meetings, hearings, and press conferences.
Yarrow Silvers
“the purpose of this amendment is to make one of those, um, previous public safety employee seats actually available to a current public safety employee at the rank of Sergeant or Lieutenant or below. And so the purpose of this amendment is to really bring in like the voice from a public safety officer who is working on the street.”Anchorage Assembly: Worksession re AO 2026-62 and AO 2026-62(S), amending Anchorage Municipal Code Chapter 4.50... · Jul 14, 2026
Yarrow Silvers
“can we realistically say that there's no economic impacts, or is that just kind of a hopeful, well, we don't have many resources, and so we hope we can squeeze this in to all the departments, and we hope we can squeeze this into all the trainings that we already have available because we know we don't have a lot of resources. And so is that— is no economic effect, is that realistic, or is that a hopeful kind of let's not look at this too closely”Anchorage Assembly: Worksession re AO 2026-62 and AO 2026-62(S), amending Anchorage Municipal Code Chapter 4.50... · Jul 14, 2026
Yarrow Silvers
“I have questions regarding the cost of the assistance and the training, also the number of hours that are expected from the departments, and then the impact of those hours and that cost on the broader public safety picture and activities.”Anchorage Assembly: Worksession re AO 2026-62 and AO 2026-62(S), amending Anchorage Municipal Code Chapter 4.50... · Jul 14, 2026
Kameron Perez-Verdia
“It does not create an investigative body, a personnel review body, subpoena authority, or another internal affairs process. If the assembly wants to create investigative commission, that's an important conversation for us to have. It's just not the conversation that we're having.”Anchorage Assembly: Worksession re AO 2026-62 and AO 2026-62(S), amending Anchorage Municipal Code Chapter 4.50... · Jul 14, 2026
Sydney Scout
“I still have concerns in the S1 version about the efficiency of rotating around who is staffing the commission. And I also have concerns you know, the staff that are proposed in the rotation, they represent 3 departments, but there is nobody in that representation who is representing the public. So again, thinking about the power dynamics, the importance of neutrality and staffing these kinds of commissions and conversations”Anchorage Assembly: Worksession re AO 2026-62 and AO 2026-62(S), amending Anchorage Municipal Code Chapter 4.50... · Jul 14, 2026
Kameron Perez-Verdia
“It's really important that this commission functions effectively. It's important that it has staffing and it's important that they receive training. So it's a fair question. We just don't have the answer in terms of what that number is or whether that is a number or not. So that's something we'll need to follow up on and get back to you with.”Anchorage Assembly: Worksession re AO 2026-62 and AO 2026-62(S), amending Anchorage Municipal Code Chapter 4.50... · Jul 14, 2026
Kameron Perez-Verdia
“It deserves its own ordinance, its own legal framework, its own funding, and its own public discussion. That's not what this ordinance is intended to do. This ordinance is intended to take a different approach. It focuses on community partnership, systems improvement, policy review, community engagement, transparency, building trust, and continuous improvement of our public safety to departments.”Anchorage Assembly: Worksession re AO 2026-62 and AO 2026-62(S), amending Anchorage Municipal Code Chapter 4.50... · Jul 14, 2026
Sydney Scout
“I believe that the Commission, in order to be effective, needs to have enhanced access beyond members of the public, um, and needs to be able to actually make recommendations grounded in real facts real data, real conversations with people involved in potential incidents and systemic level patterns.”Anchorage Assembly: Worksession re AO 2026-62 and AO 2026-62(S), amending Anchorage Municipal Code Chapter 4.50... · Jul 14, 2026
Kameron Perez-Verdia
“There are a number of amendments that establish seats, and I'm welcoming that conversation at the meeting. I would also just say, in our conversations, we debated having seats and the pros and cons of that, and that we made the decision to put as strong intent language as we could into this so that those that are recommended and appointed to this commission, that that intent language of the what, what, who we want to have on this commission is clearly there.”Anchorage Assembly: Worksession re AO 2026-62 and AO 2026-62(S), amending Anchorage Municipal Code Chapter 4.50... · Jul 14, 2026
Kameron Perez-Verdia
“investigative commissions are fundamentally different than what we're talking about here. That they require investigators, attorneys, independent budgets, staffing, legal authority, and very different governance structure.”Anchorage Assembly: Worksession re AO 2026-62 and AO 2026-62(S), amending Anchorage Municipal Code Chapter 4.50... · Jul 14, 2026
Sydney Scout
“Amendment 5 adds investigative authority and subpoena power to the commission while maintaining, um, the limitations of the commission, including, um, they are not able to influence personnel decisions. Disciplinary decisions that's covered, um, in the union contract. So the point of this is to provide enhanced access and advisory capability for members of the commission beyond members of the public.”Anchorage Assembly: Worksession re AO 2026-62 and AO 2026-62(S), amending Anchorage Municipal Code Chapter 4.50... · Jul 14, 2026
Erin Baldwin Day
“has the sponsor contemplated how or whom would pay— would, yeah, what entity would pay for such an investigation?”Anchorage Assembly: Worksession re AO 2026-62 and AO 2026-62(S), amending Anchorage Municipal Code Chapter 4.50... · Jul 14, 2026
Erin Baldwin Day
“what I still am not clear on is really what is the problem we are trying to solve. And in all of the documentation I've worked through, I don't really see consensus on that question. What, what is the problem we're trying to solve?”Anchorage Assembly: Worksession re AO 2026-62 and AO 2026-62(S), amending Anchorage Municipal Code Chapter 4.50... · Jul 14, 2026
Erin Baldwin Day
“How, how many roughly people hours do we expect to be involved in the staffing and administration role?”Anchorage Assembly: Worksession re AO 2026-62 and AO 2026-62(S), amending Anchorage Municipal Code Chapter 4.50... · Jul 14, 2026
Andres Spinelli
“I do not intend to support the motion as written. I'm happy with all the work in the purpose statement. I like it. I don't like conditional use situations.”Anchorage Assembly: Planning and Zoning Commission - July 13, 2026 - 2026-07-13 18:30:00 · Jul 14, 2026
Radhika Krishna
“maybe it's just been the self-storage facilities and storage yards I've encountered in Anchorage, but I don't see them as being primarily street frontage and, um, uses that are oriented towards the street and offer pedestrians direct access, or, um, I, I see them as being potentially more appropriate for more industrial types of land.”Anchorage Assembly: Planning and Zoning Commission - July 13, 2026 - 2026-07-13 18:30:00 · Jul 14, 2026
Edith McKee
“I'm a little concerned that delaying somebody's development process by 6 months in Alaska, where we have limited construction season, could be a little bit inconvenient, but there is a path forward, so I do also intend to support the motion.”Anchorage Assembly: Planning and Zoning Commission - July 13, 2026 - 2026-07-13 18:30:00 · Jul 14, 2026
Jeff Raun
“I go back to what problems the proposal is trying to solve. Clearly, the will of the Commission with respect to discouraging car-centered uses was already spoken to. This element of encouraging more housing and more flexibility, I stand firm on and believe that a conversion from permitted use to conditional use, again, does not take the use off the table. If the development makes sense, there's a pathway for it to move forward.”Anchorage Assembly: Planning and Zoning Commission - July 13, 2026 - 2026-07-13 18:30:00 · Jul 14, 2026
Radhika Krishna
“I would like to go ahead and propose an amendment to omit the parking lot or structure conditional use requirement.”Anchorage Assembly: Planning and Zoning Commission - July 13, 2026 - 2026-07-13 18:30:00 · Jul 14, 2026
Jeff Raun
“I acknowledge the intent of this as an improvement to hold space for housing in the B-3 district, noting that an overwhelming body of evidence has shown B-3 district as um, apparently ideal for residential development in our community. And the competing uses and potential for uses at play here, I think, are balanced by not disallowing something that has existed but changing the way in which it could be allowed in the future.”Anchorage Assembly: Planning and Zoning Commission - July 13, 2026 - 2026-07-13 18:30:00 · Jul 14, 2026
Andres Spinelli
“I think they prevent development. They prevent people from purchasing the land to get to the point where they would apply for the conditional use. They stop projects in their tracks before they're started, even though there is a way forward. Often landowners don't want to wait 6 months while a proposed developer figures out if conditional use can be approved.”Anchorage Assembly: Planning and Zoning Commission - July 13, 2026 - 2026-07-13 18:30:00 · Jul 14, 2026
Edith McKee
“if it were a conditional use permit, and let's say a developer had multiple parcels and they were building buildings, and one of their parcels they're using for parking, how much time would going through a conditional use permitting process add to them being able to develop multiple parcels?”Anchorage Assembly: Planning and Zoning Commission - July 13, 2026 - 2026-07-13 18:30:00 · Jul 14, 2026
Radhika Krishna
“This has been my biggest concern with this is just the scale of the uncertainty and that we might be— that this might result in for retail businesses who I think firmly fit in with the intent of B-3.”Anchorage Assembly: Planning and Zoning Commission - July 13, 2026 - 2026-07-13 18:30:00 · Jul 14, 2026
Jeff Raun
“this is a companion ordinance intended to incentivize, um, development in the B-3 district in a way that is more flexible to help achieve Anchorage's housing goals.”Anchorage Assembly: Planning and Zoning Commission - July 13, 2026 - 2026-07-13 18:30:00 · Jul 14, 2026
Chelsea Thurman
“The second mixer will take place at the Tribal Hall on Wednesday, August 5th, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., featuring candidates running for governor.”Tanana Chiefs Conference: TCC Weekly Episode 55 · Jul 13, 2026
Chelsea Thurman
“TCC is partnering with Interior Native Vote to help tribal members prepare for this important election by hosting two candidate mixers ahead of the primary election on August 18th. These events are an opportunity to meet the individuals running for office, ask the questions that matter most to you, and hear directly from the candidates.”Tanana Chiefs Conference: TCC Weekly Episode 55 · Jul 13, 2026
Chelsea Thurman
“Tribal Resource Stewardship Program is hosting a hunting and fishing advocacy virtual workshop for the Yukon-Tanana Region on July 24th. From 2:00 PM until 3:00 PM. Alaska's wildlife and our subsistence way of life are at a turning point. The health of our salmon, our lands, and our communities depend on what we do now. Your voice matters and it carries weight.”Tanana Chiefs Conference: TCC Weekly Episode 55 · Jul 13, 2026
Chelsea Thurman
“Conversations included transitional housing, public safety, the ongoing decline of salmon, substance use services, energy assistance, and other issues important to each community.”Tanana Chiefs Conference: TCC Weekly Episode 55 · Jul 13, 2026
Michael Martin
“The one thing that I have brought to the development since I entered into the picture back around 2019-2020 and took over as the developer and manager overseeing the development is to go back to more of that traditional Kodiak model. I did not like the original 2-acre design that was originally envisioned by the previous project developer. And so fortunately, things have, you know, moved in a way that it makes more sense for us to try to go back to that more traditional style lot layout and zoning.”Kodiak Borough: Planning and Zoning Commission of July 8, 2026 · Jul 8, 2026
Chris French
“we do have a chapter on environment in the Comprehensive Plan. So a lot of, Commissioner Delgado, that you are talking about from an environmental standpoint is discussed in that chapter, but also in the arts, culture and history chapter as well. But we are looking at those factors with regards to development because as a Comprehensive Plan, that focus is always on how it relates to development and especially development into the future. If your Comprehensive Plan usually is a horizon of 15 or 20 years, and so we are looking to how development would take place in the future.”Kodiak Borough: Planning and Zoning Commission of July 8, 2026 · Jul 8, 2026
Michael Martin
“to my knowledge, every couple of years, there is a small pink salmon run. As you've noted, there are two properties that are currently purchased alongside it. On one hand, I believe this has come up because the larger tract— we refer to it as Phase 3, it's the large section across that creek on the Coast Guard side— is one of the sections that we are wanting to rezone to conservation, which, as you noted, actually increases the protections for such areas.”Kodiak Borough: Planning and Zoning Commission of July 8, 2026 · Jul 8, 2026
Chris French
“they're going from the RR2 back to conservation. In the actual conservation district zoning requirements, there is a requirement for the 50-foot buffer if there is an anadromous stream on your property. So there is no need to put anything into a plat note or anything because the actual zone of conservation already has a requirement that needs to be met at time of zoning compliance permit. In the RR-2, there isn't such a requirement.”Kodiak Borough: Planning and Zoning Commission of July 8, 2026 · Jul 8, 2026
Chris French
“The applicant has proposed a rezone of 6 lots that are created through subdivision requests S-27-1, 2, 3, and 4, which we just discussed, that consolidates 21 lots into 6 lots. The applicant proposes that the 6 lots be rezoned from the RR-2 Rural Residential 2 District to the C Conservation District.”Kodiak Borough: Planning and Zoning Commission of July 8, 2026 · Jul 8, 2026
Chris French
“for the Assembly ordinance, staff will draft that the rezoning will take effect upon submittal of all 4 final plats. So with that particular statement, it's very similar to what we've done for the subdivisions that were related to rezones in Uzinkee and Old Harbor, that the subdivisions have to have their final plat submitted before the rezoning takes effect. And that's pretty common for this type of situation where we have subdivisions and rezonings happening at the same time.”Kodiak Borough: Planning and Zoning Commission of July 8, 2026 · Jul 8, 2026
Michael Martin
“by going to this larger model, we're one, reducing the footprint of potential homes, increasing those environmental protections, and getting back to that sort of model that Kodiak was known for that makes it such a special place. So concerning the stream and your— and the concern of salmon, we also think that it's a beautiful natural feature of Kodiak and we want to preserve it.”Kodiak Borough: Planning and Zoning Commission of July 8, 2026 · Jul 8, 2026
Chris French
“the subdivision request to consolidate is related to the rezone request to go to the Conservation District, which has a minimum lot size of 5 acres, and therefore, the consolidation is needed to meet that minimum lot size.”Kodiak Borough: Planning and Zoning Commission of July 8, 2026 · Jul 8, 2026
Chris French
“we just wanted to have the first chapter come to the Commission, and then once the Commission is done reviewing each chapter, we will be taking those on to the Assembly for one of their work sessions to review those.”Kodiak Borough: Planning and Zoning Commission of July 8, 2026 · Jul 8, 2026
Chris French
“feel free if you would like, if any individual Commissioner has a question on anything in this chapter, please feel free to email me and I can bring your question up to the Commission at the next work session too.”Kodiak Borough: Planning and Zoning Commission of July 8, 2026 · Jul 8, 2026
Chris French
“It's really, you know, what is a comprehensive plan, how is it organized, how is it used, what are goals, objectives, and policies, how they're used, how this plan relates to any other plan that we have at the borough, what the community engagement process has been, what's the public review process. There's a review of Kodiak Island Borough and its communities, which deals with everything from history to demographics and everything else.”Kodiak Borough: Planning and Zoning Commission of July 8, 2026 · Jul 8, 2026
Chris French
“This is a long chapter, but it's long because, you know, the chapters regarding, you know, history and regarding the terrain of the borough and things like that. It is a pretty long chapter. Also, the Census Data chapter is full of tables and things that add length to the chapter.”Kodiak Borough: Planning and Zoning Commission of July 8, 2026 · Jul 8, 2026
Chris French
“this particular code requirement, there's a state requirement for a 50-foot buffer from a natural stream. And also the borough has it, but only in the conservation district that I know of. So with that, with the applicant going back to the C District, it brings that— at least at the borough level, it brings that requirement in place for any development that takes place.”Kodiak Borough: Planning and Zoning Commission of July 8, 2026 · Jul 8, 2026
Chris French
“The C District has a minimum lot size of 5 acres. Therefore, the related subdivisions are needed to consolidate lots to meet that minimum requirement. Staff does recommend that the Commission forward a recommendation of approval to the Borough Assembly.”Kodiak Borough: Planning and Zoning Commission of July 8, 2026 · Jul 8, 2026
Michael Martin
“my name is Michael Martin Jr. I'm the manager of Oceanfront Kodiak, the Cliff Point Estates development. And the stream that you are referring to is Cliff Point Creek, I believe, or Cliff Point Stream.”Kodiak Borough: Planning and Zoning Commission of July 8, 2026 · Jul 8, 2026
Chris French
“the applicant is proposing a subdivision to consolidate 9 existing vacant lots into 3 lots. Those 3 lots would meet the 5-acre minimum. Actually, they're larger than that 5-acre minimum that's required by the Conservation District.”Kodiak Borough: Planning and Zoning Commission of July 8, 2026 · Jul 8, 2026
Jared Griffin
“there are kind of— just to kind of guide our discussion, there are 3 things here. One is the, the reasons, the allowable excused reasons. Number two is the, um, the process of, um, qualifying for an excused absence. And then the third thing is the, uh, revising the allowable number of absences from 50% to 25%.”Kodiak Borough: Assembly Work Session of July 9, 2026 · Jul 9, 2026
Jared Griffin
“I would suggest someone to amend maybe line 42, because we don't want to consider pregnancy as an illness or injury. It seems like a pretty contained set right there, but maybe just a little bit of wordsmithing to get what you're trying to get at, Mr. Whiteside.”Kodiak Borough: Assembly Work Session of July 9, 2026 · Jul 9, 2026
Scott Smiley
“If we limit the amount of money on one of these sheets, the big guys get $15,000 and the small guys get $3,500, that adds up to $181,000, which is $11,000 $100,000 more than we have, but $11,000 should be close to doable. The other one is more advanced than the two amounts are, $20,000 and $4,000. That adds up to $224,000, which is $54,000 more than we've budgeted.”Kodiak Borough: Assembly Work Session of July 9, 2026 · Jul 9, 2026
Amy Williams
“I already mentioned we have $170,000 budgeted between the two line items, plus $100,000 budgeted for college and libraries, uh, which puts us at $270,000. But we have, uh, $68,169 in the opioid fund balance. There are four applications that are going just for that money.”Kodiak Borough: Assembly Work Session of July 9, 2026 · Jul 9, 2026