Beth Weldon
Mayor · City and Borough of Juneau
45 articles · 20 transcripts · 15 clips
City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska
Beth Weldon serves as the Mayor of the City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska.
Affiliations
Juneau Assembly members move to undo a tax on agents' commissions they helped pass
Juneau started taxing the cut agents keep for selling other people's goods on Oct. 1. Two Assembly members who backed it now want it gone by Jan. 1.
Most comments to Juneau's tourism task force seek more limits before it finalizes plan
Most public comments to Juneau's tourism task force asked for more ship and passenger limits, city staff found. It meets Thursday to finalize its recommendations.
Juneau committee calls for ordinance to pay off Eaglecrest's $2.5 million deficit
Juneau's gondola was supposed to pay off Eaglecrest's $2.5M deficit. With that deal over, a committee asked for a payoff from extra cash, not the reserve.
Juneau pushes state to keep a second Douglas Island bridge in its road plan
Juneau told the state a second bridge to Douglas Island is "a must" for its next road plan. The state's draft has no money for it. DOT says it's still active.
Juneau Assembly splits 5-4 on paying $80,000 to restore arts grants the arts council kept
Juneau's arts council kept grant money meant for local artists to cover its own costs. On a 5-4 vote, the Assembly added $80,000 so the grants go out anyway.
Juneau Assembly drops e-bike trail rules and takes aim at e-motos citywide
Juneau scrapped its e-bike trail rules to go after e-motos citywide. A trail group says young teens on 50-mph electric dirt bikes are damaging a bike park.
Juneau Assembly keeps harbors as raw fish tax default but adds an exception
Juneau's Assembly kept harbors as the default for raw fish tax money but gave itself an out for "extenuating fiscal circumstances," which have no set threshold.
Juneau manager seeks $7.4 million more for Bartlett hospital's finished budget year
Juneau's city manager wants another $7.4 million in spending authority for Bartlett hospital for a year that's already over, on top of $12 million in July.
Juneau would borrow up to $24.7 million for the Seawalk and let cruise fees repay it
Juneau wants to borrow up to $24.7 million to stretch its Seawalk to the far cruise dock. Cruise passengers' $3 fee would pay it back, not local taxes.
Juneau tourism task force puts up to $30 million price tag on Seawalk extension
Juneau's tourism task force put price tags on its fixes, from crossing guards to up to $30 million for the Seawalk. Fees got punted to the Assembly.
Juneau cut its museum hours by two-thirds and lost half its visitors
“The City Museum generates real value.”
Juneau Assembly votes 6-2 to table nonprofit sales tax ordinance indefinitely
“It's the confusion that seems to be creating, and that's what's troublesome to me because I don't like any legislation that's confusing and many different ways to interpret it.”
Juneau aging commission chair asks Assembly to fix or cancel paratransit contract
Juneau seniors and wheelchair riders are missing paratransit pickups under Ground Transportation Solutions. The aging commission chair asked the Assembly to fix or cancel the contract before winter.
Juneau Assembly votes 6-3 to sell old City Hall to Sealaska Heritage Institute
Juneau took Sealaska Heritage Institute's $1.5 million for its old City Hall instead of seeking bids at $2.5 million. Nobody has appraised the building.
Juneau airport's control tower to get its first new roof since 1987
Juneau's airport control tower is finally getting a new roof — the original one's been up since 1987. The FAA covers most of the roughly $1 million tab.
Juneau arts council refuses to sign FY27 grant over how $202,000 can be spent
“they've had to lay off staff, and they're trying to figure out their path forward”
A Juneau task force wants congestion data to support limiting cruise calls
A Juneau task force wants a congestion study, partly to support a case for limiting cruise ship port calls. A cap ordinance is already pending.
Juneau's glacial flood was the mildest yet, but barrier costs are climbing
Juneau's Aug. 13 glacial flood was the mildest yet, damaging 12 homes — officials credit the barriers but say upkeep may cost more than the city planned.
Juneau Assembly votes 6-3 to sell old City Hall to Sealaska Heritage Institute for $1.5 million
Juneau voted to sell its old City Hall to Sealaska Heritage for $1.5 million — for a planned $40 million Northwest Coast art-glass building downtown.
Juneau's task force weighs crowding fixes amid a bigger question on how much tourism is enough
Juneau's tourism task force votes Thursday on downtown crowd fixes — a roundabout, crossing guards, Seawalk changes — the visible edge of its bigger question: how much cruise tourism is enough.
Juneau sets hearing on $1.5M City Hall sale to Sealaska Heritage Institute
“I support SHI, but again, they don't pay property tax, so we're going to get $1.5 million and that will be it.”
Senate bill would fast-track Army Corps engineering for Juneau's glacial flooding
“This bill is critical to protecting our community from devastating flooding. Juneau is fighting for our very future, and we are beyond grateful to Senator Sullivan for his tenacity and leadership in that fight at the federal level.”
Senate panel advances water bill with Alaska Native village sanitation, Nome port, and Juneau flood provisions
Senate panel approved a water bill directing $60 million yearly to Alaska Native village sanitation and fast-tracking Juneau's glacial flood response.
Juneau's new casino, and the land the city can't reach
Juneau's first casino opened on sovereign Native allotment land, through a legal door ANCSA was built to close and the courts haven't settled. The city can't even regulate it.
Steel and pilings shrink Juneau's Oak Landing to a third its size
Steel doubled and the ground needs 100-foot pilings, so Juneau's Oak Landing is shrinking to a third its size — but the welcome center, shops and seawalk survive.
Juneau weighs selling City Hall for top dollar — or for less, to Sealaska
“my intent is to move two ordinances to the full assembly, one with an authorization of a sale, sealed competitive bid, and one for a negotiated sale, and we'll see what the public says”
Juneau task force takes up cruise cap criteria Thursday, with dock pressure looming
Juneau's task force meets Thursday to draft criteria for future cruise passenger cap changes, with a potential dock expansion by Goldbelt poised to test those rules.
Juneau finance committee deadlocks 4-4 on Eaglecrest closure study as ski area seeks $1.68M
Juneau's Finance Committee deadlocked 4-4 on studying closure costs for Eaglecrest after the ski board said it needs $1.68 million to stay open, nearly double the committee's $930,000 target.
Juneau clerk certifies 1% seasonal sales tax petition, Assembly has 45 days to act
“Thank you for all your work, because I do know that that is time-consuming to go through all those signatures.”
Juneau declares a glacier-flood emergency — in 16 minutes, without debate
“we had 3 resolutions on our consent agenda, one for declaring a local emergency for the glacier outburst flood, another appropriating $3.5 million for school roof repairs, and another resolution supporting the homeporting of two major United States Coast Guard cutters, including the CGC Storis. And those all just passed.”
Juneau gets clean audit despite control gaps, three-month delay
Juneau's audit passed but arrived three months late due to hospital delays and staff turnover, with auditors flagging two control gaps in debt review and harbor leases that finance staff have begun fixing.
Juneau mining industry warns sales tax cap removal could cost $5M yearly
“We may have inadvertently caused a double taxation that we just have to work with our our finance director and sales tax person to make sure that it's not what— I doubt that's what the intention of the assembly was, is to double tax something.”
Juneau Assembly Finance Committee cuts $736,000 in recurring expenses, faces $687,000 deficit
“I'm trying to do the job that we set ourselves up in the fall, so I'm looking for $2 million, so some of my cuts will seem harsh, but I'm also looking at them in service reductions. I'm not looking for them from the manager's budget.”
Juneau Assembly Finance Committee cuts Travel Juneau budget in 5-4 vote
“hotel bed packs, they get $1,267,000-ish. Marine passenger fee, they get $614,000-ish.”
School district property insurance costs to double, equivalent to four teaching positions
Juneau School District property insurance costs will more than double to over $800,000 next year, forcing the district to cut the equivalent of four teaching positions since state law caps school funding and insurance falls under that cap.
Juneau Assembly faces budget crisis with projected negative fund balance
“I was one of the votes that voted for the gondola, but the 5 of us, because it was a 5-4 split, saw the handwriting on the wall with Eagle Crest. And here we are with Eagle Crest that we saw more and more general fund going into more and more subsidy.”
Juneau Assembly votes 8-1 to end gondola deal, repay Goldbelt $12.2M
“Do you realize that ending the RSA with Goldbelt does not mean that we still cannot negotiate with Goldbelt or another third party?”
Juneau Assembly Finance Committee votes 6-3 to end gondola project, repay Goldbelt
“And my amendment would be an 'and' at the end of that sentence. To ask, because we can't, um, direct EEOCrest board to see if they could find another investor, which could include Gold Wealth. We haven't heard from them, um, or to find someone to sell the gondola.”
Joint committee forwards $16M school bond with flood mitigation funds
“I would move the— make it so it's $16 million, and that might take care of some of our, uh, flood problem, erosion problems.”
Juneau's new budget ends all trail brushing and cuts the arboretum
“I think these cuts were already made. These are not service reductions, there were cuts already made in the budget, and so these are real items, and they're not used just to beautify the city.”
Hundreds pack Juneau Assembly meeting to oppose recreation facility cuts
“I know that people are— were not pleasantly surprised with the list of priorities that we marked for reductions. Be advised, this is just a list that we're going to talk about, does not mean that things are going to come off of that list.”
Eagle Crest faces $1.68M subsidy request or severe cuts
Eagle Crest is asking Anchorage for $1.68 million to operate next year, warning that the city's historical $930,000 subsidy would force cuts so severe the ski area might not survive.
Senate Finance advances pension bill with municipal opt-in provision
The Senate Finance Committee advanced a pension bill on April 24 that lets municipalities choose whether to pay higher rates for the new plan.
Juneau schools seek $10M bond for roofs, HVAC after state funding dries up
“in reality, since debt reimbursement has been reduced, an awful lot of how it's operated is when the leaks get too bad. So just when roofs start to fail”
Airport firefighting trucks fail, leaving Juneau one flat tire from losing all flights
Juneau's airport nearly lost all commercial flights this month when two firefighting trucks failed simultaneously, leaving it dependent on a borrowed truck from Gustavus that must return by May 1.
