Juneau: August 17, 2026 Regular Assembly Meeting

We will bring the regular assembly meeting to order for August 17th. Sorry, haven't, uh, gavelled in in a while apparently. Um, Ms. Wall, will you lead us in the 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 and indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you, Ms. Wall. Ms. Youskanies, will you read the land acknowledgment, please? Yes, thank you, Madam Mayor. We would like to acknowledge that the city and borough of Juneau is on unceded Tlingit land and wish to honor the indigenous people of this land. For more than 10,000 years, Alaska Native people have been and continue to be integral to the well-being of our community.

We are grateful to be in this place, a part of this community, and to honor the culture, traditions, and resilience of the Tlingit people.

Madam Clerk, will you call roll? Thank you, Madam Mayor. Deputy Mayor Smith? Here. Miss Hughes-Candies?

Here. Miss Wall? Present. Mr. Kelly? Here.

Miss Adkinson? Here. Mr. Steininger? Here. Miss Hall?

Here. Mr. Brooks? Here. Madam Mayor? Here.

Quorum is present.

Hello. Hello. Oh, you already got it. Oh, sorry, we missed Ella's sweet voice. Anyway, that brings us to approval of minutes.

Mr. Kelly, I move that we approve the minutes for the May 27th special assembly meeting, the June 18th special assembly meeting, and the July 27th regular assembly meeting, and ask for unanimous consent. Any objection? Uh, seeing none, that's so moved.

Um, Madam Manager, do you have any requests for agenda changes? No. All right, so that brings us to staff reports. Madam Manager, thank you. Um, while, uh, our emergency manager Ryan O'Shaughnessy comes up, I will just tee us off here.

I wanted to provide an opportunity to give the Assembly and the public a little update on our 2026 GLOF event. I think that between CBJ, Clinton-Haida Army Corps of Engineers, and the local media, we have spent a lot of quality time together over the last half of last week. So for a lot of you, this will not be new information. But just wanted to make sure that you had an opportunity to understand how the response went and talk a little bit about next steps. So Ryan's prepared a few slides and then I'll talk about next steps and happy to answer any questions.

Thank you, Manager Kestner. So, uh, perfect. I'm Ryan O'Shaughnessy. I'm the Emergency Programs Manager for CBJ, and alongside my counterparts from Tlingit Haida, Sabrina Grubitz, and Coast Guard Sector Southeast, Captain Jenny Naldoni, I serve as an incident commander for the Gloff event this year and last year. I know it's been mentioned, Manager Kester just mentioned, the unified command, and it's been a lot in the media, but I can't emphasize enough how closely all agencies in Juneau are working together on this problem.

Tlingit Haida, the CBJ, the State of Alaska, the Coast Guard, and now the Army Corps of Engineers are working on this problem year-round, kind of culminating in this event. Without this partnership, there's no way that we would be able to just staff this response. We don't have the bench strength in any one of these individual agencies, so collaboration and unity is truly key to how we respond to this event. So in this presentation, I'm just going to kind of walk through how we, a little bit of how we prepared for the event. I think you've all heard a lot about that, and then some of the protective actions that we took during the event, and then I'll provide an overview of some of the damages as they've been assessed so far.

Slide, please.

So leading up to this event, we've, we started last year discussing evacuation advisories and emergency measures in a ready, set, go Framework. This graphic was developed in partnership again with, with Tlingit Haida, with the Army Corps of Engineers through their Silver Jackets program and several other federal agencies. I'll also just briefly note that the Ready, Set, Go framework to communicate evacuation advisories has been adopted into state law. So we're a little bit ahead of the curve on that, and we're pretty proud of that. While we were in Ready, that's when the basin was filling up.

That's the bulk of the summer. And during that time, we were advising residents to sign up for emergency alerts, to come get some sandbags, to know whether or not they were in an evacuation area, and to really kind of, you know, wrap their heads around this problem. Slide, please.

During that time, again, in partnership with the tribe and with the Army Corps of Engineers, We distributed a little over 200,000 sandbags. Folks from all different agencies were working this event. I mean, we had folks from the national, or excuse me, from the Army Corps headquarters from D.C. who came and were handing out sandbags to the community. It was really, really neat to see. There's our law department was there, pitched in and was filling sandbags for a day.

This was a huge change, and it seems kind of like a small thing to just have a sandbag filling machine that we were, that we had, but I can't tell you the difference that it made to the community. Being able to just drive up and get your car loaded with sandbags or a pallet put in the back of a pickup truck saved folks hours and days in some cases.

Slide, please.

So again, leading up to this event, communications are huge. This is a disaster that we can see coming, and with that comes a lot of anxiety for people living in the in the flood area. So again, partnering with, with all of our agencies at the tribal, state, and federal levels, we stood up what we refer to as a Joint Information Center that's staffed by public information officers from all of our agencies coming together to co-brand all of our communications and to make sure that we're communicating emergency information consistently and collaboratively across all different platforms. That way folks aren't getting mixed messaging, because words really matter in these emergency situations. And so even if a message has the same intent, if the words are off a little bit, it can create confusion and start to introduce misinformation.

So we, again, collaboration and unity is so key as we're moving through these. Some of the resources that our Joint Information Center developed, we set up a flood hotline that was located at the Tlingit Haida Public Safety Facility, where it was just co-located with our Emergency Operations Center. And that was stood up well before the flood during, you know, abbreviated hours. And then when we moved into set and then into go, we extended those hours ultimately to around the clock.

Together, we also became an IPAWS alerting authority. I think everyone here is probably familiar with the siren noise that came out of their phone as the basin was filling and releasing. And that's a federal authority that we've worked for works to get approval for to be able to make sure that the public had the best available information. Our JIC also developed and distributed door hangers to the just over 2,000 residences within the evacuation area. Those door hangers let people know that we had moved from ready into set and that it was time to have a go bag packed and keep that by the door.

It was time to make sure there's gas in the car and the phone was charged, but it also had QR codes and links, the phone number for the, the hotline, so that folks could easily get that information without having to be connected to social media or even listen to a broadcast. We put the door hanger right on people's doors. Slide, please.

Once we did that and we did receive the notification from the National Weather Service that the basin became full, our Emergency Operations Center was activated. As you can see, this is a large group of people from many, many different agencies. And again, we're really grateful to Tlingit Haida for hosting that function at their public safety facility in Lemon Creek, but we had representatives from all of our collaborating agencies operating under one planning cycle, under one roof, and making sure that everyone was in lockstep and completely coordinated. Slide. Some of those activities that we coordinated, there is an extensive drone program to monitor the HESCO barriers.

We saw something similar last year, but with the Army Corps' contributions and building Phase 2, there were just simply many more HESCO barriers to monitor. DOT answered that call and was able to provide more drone teams, more pilots so they could work in longer shifts, or rather that their shifts didn't have to be so long.

And we, the group monitoring those drones, you can see here again, an interagency group, representatives from the Army Corps, the tribe, DOT, and UAS and UAF were actually very involved in that as well. Next slide.

Um, you also heard a lot about the pumps that were brought to bear, um, and we're really grateful for the Army Corps providing those 41 pumps to our community. Those were staged strategically all around the flood inundation area, um, and they were operated again by an interagency group. You see here in one photo a safety briefing going on. This is, you know, largely the CBJ streets crew, but it was supported by Parks and Rec, supported by the tribe, by the Army Corps of Engineers to staff those pumps and make sure that those pumps were running around the clock. We had 4 different zones within the evacuation area and 1 team per zone, again, working in shifts to make sure that we had that coverage.

Slide. Though many of those same crews also cared for road closures. We closed roads to local traffic around the evacuation area to prioritize folks being able to make their final preparations and get out of the neighborhood and also discourage disaster tourism. Unfortunately, that's something that we do see with this event, and we'd like to remind the public to please, when we issue evacuation advisories, stay away from those areas.

It's not a good idea to immediately go to that area and see what the evacuation's all about. Staying away from those areas is absolutely essential. And one measure we took was to close roads to local traffic where appropriate. Slide.

Again, we also stood up the flood hotline that was staffed once we went into go and we issued that evacuation order. That was staffed 24/7 around the clock. We had people working 6-hour shifts, graveyard shift overnight, and we were receiving calls through that whole time. One of the intentions behind creating this hotline was not only to get information out to the public, but to take strain off of our communication center at JPD dispatch, freeing that, that function up for real-life safety emergencies and to be able to respond as appropriate. We also partnered with the American Red Cross.

When the basin began to release, we requested the Red Cross stand up an evacuation shelter at Floyd Dryden Gymnasium. The first night we had 6 folks— it was open for 2 nights. The first night we had 6 folks stay there, and then the next night we had 18 folks stay there along with a handful of pets, and that function was supported by Juneau Animal Rescue. Slide. So getting into the event, I think everyone, everyone knows this, this event was much smaller than what we had seen in the past.

The flood crested around 2:15 and on August 13th at about 14.7 feet. That crest was significantly later than initially forecasted by the National Weather Service, and the exact cause of that timing and, and that slower release is currently unknown, but we are working really closely with all of our partners as well as UAS and U.S. Geological Survey and the National Weather Service to better understand the phenomenon and improve forecasting for future years.

Slide. So during that time, and with a 14.7-foot crest in the river, we saw significant— significantly less damage than we had seen in years past. We assessed 186 homes along the Mendenhall River. 10 Of them are listed as affected damage, and 2 of them are minor damage. Just to remind folks what this means, we use a FEMA damage assessment matrix for, for flooding in conventional homes.

Um, and what affected would mean, uh, something like a shop vac situation. There's some amount of water in a crawl space, but generally doesn't affect the living area of a home. When we say minor damage, we mean that there was some amount of water in the living area of a home, but generally not enough to exceed the height of a standard electrical outlet. So a few inches of water.

You can see here that the damage was really concentrated in two primary locations on Meander Bend as well as View Drive. And there was one, one homeowner that we're still trying to reach, but we believe that at this point, this is a pretty comprehensive assessment. Obviously, we don't, we don't have x-ray vision. We can't see into folks' crawl spaces. So I would encourage members of the public who feel that we may not have captured the damage at their house to go to Juneau.gov.

The emergency, the flood preparedness page has a link to a self-report button. People can fill out a form with photos and any description of damage that they may have, and we'll follow up with that and make sure that their property is included in our initial damage assessment. I think it's also important to note, uh, for the listening public that this damage assessment is not tied to any individual assistance function. That has not been turned on by the state. With the state— with the Governor's disaster declaration, public assistance was turned on, but individual assistance has not been activated.

We'll be forwarding this data to the state for them to be aware, but just for our awareness, as we document this event and forward that information to the state, it's really important for folks, if they have damage in their home, We'd love to hear about it, and that really helps us get a full picture of the impacts of this event.

Slide, please. So just for comparison's sake, I just wanted to throw this up. This was the similar damage assessment from last year's event. So as you can see, we had damage that was concentrated in very similar areas, right around Meander Bend as well as View Drive.

And I think this really speaks to the investments that we've made at all levels of government in protection for the communities, both in rebuilding Phase 1, the construction of Phase 2, as well as the pumps and the investments in preparedness that all of our agencies have made. Significantly reduced damage, and I will say that frankly, we're very lucky that there was a slow release and then that the crest of the lake and the river was not much higher. I'll also add that, and we'll get into this a little bit on the next slide, but I'll also add that when we have these slower releases, generally that, that can mean a lower crest in the lake and in the river. But I'd like to highlight that tree strikes are the most probable failure mode of the HESCO barriers, and a slower release does mean there's more time that there's water against the HESCO barriers and there's more vulnerability from a timing perspective for tree strikes against the HESCO barriers.

And that's actually just a great lead into the next slide. Please, Brecken. So here we have a map of damages to the HESCO barriers. There's a lot of information on here and we'll work to make sure that this, uh, This map is posted on the CBJ website if it's not already. But I'll just start with, I'll start with some of the tree strikes since we were talking about that.

Tree strikes and damage to the HESCO barriers are primarily denoted by stars on this map. You can see those are concentrated down here as well as some leaning in the HESCO barriers. This is a very initial assessment and very much still ongoing by Engineering and Public Works, as well as the Army Corps.

But generally, we did see Phase 1 behave very well and saw some minor issues with Phase 2, but generally the system performed very well. You can also see on this map the different pumps.

And just for clarification, the pumps that are labeled in green are pumps that turned on. So we actually did not run all 41 pumps that were turned on, or excuse me, that were deployed, were not all run, and were on standby. Slide, please.

So with that, I'll take any questions, but I also wanted to make sure we have a QR code up here for any listening public or any members of the assembly who'd like to pass on that damage self— resident self-report form. Again, it's, it's very critical that we have a full picture of the damage, and we believe we're in pretty good shape there, but we'll welcome any information from the public. Thank you.

I see hands raised. Ms. Wong.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. In terms of status of the banks and the HESCOs for next year? I know there was some information on that map there, but, you know, could you give me kind of a qualitative— how much damage did we see that will have to be prepared, you know, beefed up or fixed before next year?

That's the many-million-dollar question.

And, and we're, we're still working to, to identify all of what that damage looks like. Right now, today, I'm not prepared to qualify that, other than to say that it does look like Phase 1 fared very well. But there's, there's quite a bit of work that goes into that assessment. There's, there are certain points of the HESCO barriers where we open them up, so we have to work to open those up. We have to wait for the water to fully recede.

And of course make sure that that's safe. So those assessments are ongoing, um, and we look forward to relatively soon getting some hard numbers on that.

Uh, thanks, Madam Mayor, and thank you so much for all your good work on this. Um, I was just curious, it was great to have it be smaller than before. You mentioned, uh, it was the assistance for individuals wasn't activated because we fared so well. Is there a threshold that would tip that, and do you know it offhand, and if you don't, that's fine. There's no hard number that activates individual assistance.

That's a judgment call by the Governor and the Governor's team. For context, individual assistance was not turned on last year after the 25 event. That's great. Thank you. Ms. Wall.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. And I didn't start with a big thank you for everything you've done. Question about evacuations. You know, I saw all the messages about kind of trying to help people understand if a barrier fails, this isn't going to be like a flood we've experienced before. This— you're not going to have time to evacuate.

You're not going to be able to wade in that water.

Do you have a sense of how many people did choose to evacuate? Was it more or less than last year? I know the area was much bigger, you know, people outside of previous flood zones. Do you think they, you know, how are people responding? And maybe we don't know.

We don't have any firm data on that. We, you know, we do issue an evacuation advisory. It's not a mandatory evacuation, and we don't keep track of people's comings or goings within that evacuation area. I will say just my own reflection and anecdotally, I think it's a little bit of a mix. I think that there's a lot of folks that we've talked to through the hotline and other channels that do seem to be taking the evacuation advisory more seriously.

At the same time, we continually see people standing on top of the HESCO barriers in extremely dangerous situations, even, even during active tree strikes in the, in that moment at that spot. And so I think it's a little bit of a mixed bag, but if I could just continue to encourage the public to please heed that evacuation advisory.

Mr. Brooks. Thank you, Madam Mayor, and thank you very much for just everything you and all the partner agencies did. Uh, major congratulations to your guys's and the community's effort. Um, really happy to see that everyone's all right and everything went smooth. Uh, do you have any idea if there was any impacts on, um, city infrastructure as far as wastewater, uh, penetration or anything like that?

Um, so the public assistance function of a gubernatorial disaster declaration was activated, and we are running through those assessments at this point. We believe that impacts to public infrastructure are very low. Uh, we're aware of some scour around the abutment of the pedestrian bridge at Diamond Park, um, but as far as impacts to our utility, our wastewater, water supply, stormwater, we believe those to be relatively minor.

Mr. Kelly?

Thank you. And just to echo everybody else who spoke so far, I appreciate all the effort that the entire team, CBJ and all the other agencies and volunteers put into this. My question was about the participation in using the evacuation shelter. Do we have a count of how many people and animals animals use that?

At the Red Cross shelter, the first night— so the Red Cross shelter was open for 2 nights— we had 6 folks there the first night and 18 the second night, with, with some amount of cats and dogs. Thank you.

Anything further? Um, you mentioned that there was a scour at the pedestrian bridge. Is the bridge open? The bridge is not currently open. We do anticipate it being open in the coming days.

The, the K'extiguu Hinday Trail on the west side of the river is also currently closed. Again, we anticipate to open that in the coming days. All right, Ms. Hall. Yes, Ms. Hall, sorry. Again, echo what everyone has said, just truly impressive, you know, being right there on the edge of it, getting to witness Army Corps coming and going and City staff, could you speak just a little bit more about View Drive and, and particular how they fared?

I know you said, you know, generally, but maybe a little more particular. Sure.

So I'm just gonna try to zoom in on this slide here. So on View Drive, we had a total of 3 homes that met the affected criteria and 2 homes that the 2 homes minor damage were on View Drive.

View Drive fared far better than it has in years past, but there was still not— absolutely not without risk and not scot-free. I was personally on one of the damage assessment teams for View Drive, and I'll say that generally the residents that I spoke with were relieved that the flood wasn't higher.

But generally feeling not out of the woods yet, and that the cycle was queued up again.

I have a quick question while you do that. So the 14.7, is that because the lake was so low, the river was so low, or have we not figured that out yet? There's a number of different components that play into the ultimate crest of the river and the lake. The two primary amongst them are the total volume of water within Suicide Basin and the rate at which it releases. This was a slow release, so that helped, but also it's just frankly been a very dry summer.

And so the river, Mendenhall River, was at 3.6 or so feet when the release began. For comparison, last year we were already at minor flood stage, a little over 9 feet when the release began last year.

This event is what the National Weather Service refers to as a clean event, meaning there's not a lot of other interference from other weather events. But as far as why the release was slow, we don't know yet. Miss Hughes-Candies. Thanks, Madam Mayor. I know that we're going to be focused on what it would take to repair the HESCOs, and as when time allows, we get all of those assessed.

I feel like in the course of all our many meetings on this, we discussed at some point the level of HESCO we were able to request, or the kind of height we were able to build to was based on our highest flood record. So is there anything about it being lower that we anticipate might affect our ability to either get assistance or, you know, or hopefully they will still treat it like the major threat it is since that doesn't mean it's going to stay low and slow.

One last one. Sorry, Madre, are you trying to answer? Oh, I was going to answer that question if that was a question. Was that a question? Okay.

Question mark. Yeah. So if you recall, we originally were hoping to build Hesco Berries to 90— to be able to protect against 90,000 CFS. The HESCO barriers are built to protect against 63,500 CFS because we really don't believe that it can be done safely to protect any higher than that. There's no question in kind of the minds of the scientists and the engineers and the Army Corps of Engineers working on this that those heights are still very much possible, as evidenced by, of course, just how low the river was, which was a stroke of luck this year.

And I was really buoyed by the press conference we had the very next morning at Lincoln-Haida Council Chambers talking about, um, a real fast track for a long-term solution. And I'm happy to, uh, speak to that briefly when, uh, appropriate, Mayor Walden. Any further questions for Mr. O'Shaughnessy? I have one. You did lessons learned last year.

What was the best lesson learned that everything just seemed to be smoother this year? So I was just— what was the best lesson learned that helped make that seem smoother, at least from the outside?

Thank you, Madam Mayor, for asking that question.

I have to, I have to go back to our collaboration with, with Tlingit Haida, with the Army Corps of Engineers, and each of these agencies' commitment to preparing and training staff within the same incident command structure, right? And so that when we have agencies like the Army Corps come in and flood us with resources. We're already operating in a structure that is understood by federal agencies, and we're doing it completely in unison with, with our local partners in the tribe. I think that the Army Corps recognized that and was able to integrate seamlessly into our response. And so that was something that we learned last year, that that coordinated and unified response works.

And this year, We tripled down on that. We were truly working in lockstep with Tlingit Haida, with the Coast Guard, and with all of our partner agencies.

Perfect. Anything further? All right, Manager Kester, go ahead. Thank you. I just want to add a little bit to what Emergency Manager Shaughnessy said.

We, Tlingit Haida and CBJ, requested a joint disaster declaration from Governor Dunleavy, and he very quickly turned that around. I think it was actually a matter of hours, and that is what allowed us to use those drone resources, and the drones were really integral in making sure that not only everyone stays safe, but that we also can learn the most amount possible from this event, because we will just be processing this data and this information for months to make sure we're even more prepared for next year but more importantly, to make sure that we can work towards a long-term solution. So to talk a little bit about HESCO barrier maintenance, Army Corps of Engineers is doing assessments of those HESCO barriers, and they are committed to maintaining barriers that were damaged during this event. So they won't, won't do regular maintenance of the barriers. Vandalism, we even had during the event some, a warming fire, damage one— or not, it didn't damage the barrier, but was certainly threatening one of the barriers.

So we'll still have to do a lot of that maintenance, but they're doing that assessment. And part of the reason why there's a lot of enthusiasm for a long-term solution is that costs a lot of money. If you recall, we had originally estimated it between $6 and $10 million a year. Their estimate is higher for that work, so that really adds to the sense of urgency. So one of, uh, talk a little bit about what those next steps are, because I think we've made tremendous progress.

And I really want to thank the Army Corps of Engineers. You know, we had a lot of resources. We had a lot of resources here from Pacific Ocean Division, and those men and women were racing back home to be able to land before Hurricane Lala hit landfall in Hawaii. So, checked in on some of them today. Lots of closures, lots of flooding, but everybody's okay.

But, you know, you're Our heart really goes out to people who are here fighting to help us and going home to their own emergency, and it just highlights what a crazy world we live in that we are all dealing with these things. So the press conference that we held at Klickenheide Chambers on Friday morning, again, the very next day after the event, was for Army Corps of Engineers to announce the path for an emergency water conveyance prototype. You should learn— you should all memorize those words. I have them on a sticky note on my screen. But basically, they are being creative and outside the box, and they're, they're trying to approach this problem as a model for the rest of the nation.

And that not only is true because of how unique the problem is, but also allows them to access emergency funding and emergency mechanisms. For procurement. And so one of those is to issue an RFQ, a request for qualifications, for local or— doesn't have to be local, but for industry partners to present their ideas on how to, how to do this work. And I'll just read from the project description from the RFQ. The intent of this project is to prevent water levels in Suicide Basin from reaching an elevation sufficient to produce enough hydrologic pressure against Mendenhall Glacier to initiate a glaup event.

So they— that is like the problem statement that they are looking for. And we have been pounding on, I think, Army Corps to look at our local mining experts, our local mining industry. And I would say that they definitely are listening. And this is kind of that time to shine. It will be a very simple first review.

So they're envisioning that Instead of like a big, you know, huge long proposal, it's really, what's your idea? What are your qualifications? General Goetz used the word shark tank-like kind of pitch, and then there would be time throughout the process to further vet those ideas, further kind of work with the Army Corps of Engineers with multiple respondents to try to come to something that then they can bring to fruition as an emergency prototype. This means that this Friday they will be hosting what they call an industry day. That is a day where they will be inviting industry partners, potential bidders to the table to ask questions, learn about the project, and that'll be held at Tlingit and Haida Council Chambers.

So I think this is kind of like, this is the time where— this is the go time. I do want to just give a good shout out to Greens Creek and Kensington. Both of those mines have done a ton of work just showing Army Corps of Engineers kind of the art of the possible in a really, like, thoughtful, educated way, and that's why we're here. This truly is innovative and new, and the speed that they're trying to get to— I think General Guett said when we were in our briefing with Senator Murkowski that he was going to give me a Christmas present with a contract for the project by Christmas. So I'll hold him to that.

That would be a great Christmas present. But we really couldn't do this without the work of our delegation. And, you know, we have such a powerful and strong delegation, well, because of who they are, but also because as a community we are aligned in protecting this community. And because we've been able to give them a consistent message, they've been able to be aligned. You know, Senator Sullivan has been able to really bring Secretary Tell to the table and, you know, make him a champion of this project.

I think Senator Sullivan said Secretary Tell spends 20% of his time on just the Mendenhall project. And, you know, he has a lot of projects. So as Senator Sullivan said, there's no one who cares more about solving this problem than him. And we do have Senator Sullivan to thank for opening their eyes, his eyes to our problem. Senator Murkowski was here on Thursday, and she's been really integral in securing funding She's on the Appropriations Committee and this will cost money.

So there's, even though they're identifying emergency funding as a potential funding source, they're still going to require an appropriation and they're still going to require advocacy from us and some amount of local match. So we do have an $8 million appropriation moving through Congress right now and, you know, we will be working with her team on being able to take advantage of any of those opportunities. Congressman Begich also has secured us a $3.2 million CDS and We were able to take that CDS and turn it around with some local match to do some of the geotech work that— so we're going to be starting that just as soon as possible— that Army Corps is not able to do because, because we can do some of that real drilling and ground truthing. And if you recall in this whole, like, drill and blast tunnel idea that we've been promoting, geotech is one of the things that we really need to figure out. So I think it's really promising.

I just can tell you Friday, I was in a great mood on Friday because we had just had this, like, press conference and this alignment. And, you know, the Corps was, like, just as ready as ever to keep working towards a long-term solution. So it's all moving very quickly. I mean, Friday we're going to have this Industry Day. So, you know, we're trying to get the word out with all the people that we've been working with.

Members of the public who are listening. This will be our opportunity to really bring some of our local expertise to solving this problem.

Any questions for Madam Manager?

All right, seeing none, again, thank you for— sounds like we need to thank tons of people, Governor, federal delegation, all of our agency partners. So, all right, with that, we will move on to public participation on non-agenda items. And this is the time to, if you want to testify and consent agenda items you would testify. So, um, looks like everybody on Zoom is agenda items. So we have 4.

Uh, Reed Harris, please state your name and area, town you live in for the record, and you have 2 minutes.

Wait, wait, you have to push the button until it's green. Thank you.

I got a chance. Thank you, Madam Mayor, members of the assembly. My name is Reed Harris. I live in downtown Juneau, 43-year resident of Juneau. I'm also the president of the Juneau Mountain Bike Alliance.

I had emailed the assembly earlier today, a rather lengthy email, so I don't expect you guys have reviewed it in the short time you have between when I sent that in this meeting. But I wanted to bring a topic to your guys' discussion. Um, attention for discussion. Um, I'd actually like to start by thanking you guys for the financial support you provide to the Juneau Mountain Bike Alliance. This assembly, most all of you here provided $40,000 to our nonprofit organization.

We're entirely volunteer-run, which allowed us to build a mountain bike park out in the Mena Hall Valley. Thunder Mountain Bike Park is the official name. Um, including that appropriation, Jmba raised $320,000 in community funds, and over the last 5 years we've expended almost the entirety of that money that, and along with thousands of volunteer hours, and it's been quite a project. Um, the grand opening for the bike park is Sunday, August 30th at 11 AM. I hope you can all make it.

You've been a really integral part to, uh, getting this, um, done. Um, that's the positive part of why I'm sitting here. No one ever comes in to give just compliments, unfortunately. So, uh, the actual reason that I'm here is, uh, I'm sure you have seen these, uh, all over the city streets, parks, trails, things like that. But there's sort of a new type of vehicle out there.

It's an electric motorcycle. These are very, very different from electric-assisted bicycles, or e-bikes as they're commonly called. And these are sometimes called e-motos, or Surron as a particular manufacturer. That's kind of the catch-all, like Kleenex or Xerox or things like that. These are proliferating in our community at a rapid, rapid rate, and it's not to say that these are intrinsically bad.

However, the uses of them and where they're getting used are really, really problematic. We currently have an incredible amount of damage going on out at the mountain bike park. I'm also getting reports, and I've been talking with the CBJ parks director and other parks and— my time's up— other parks and trails around CBJ. I was hit by one of these. Mr. Harris, your time is up.

Oh, it actually is up. I did not realize there was a timer. I'm so sorry.

Well, thank you. Let's see if there's any questions, because I actually have a couple. My question is, are there signs out at Thunder Mountain that no motorized vehicles, you have to go the trail this way? I haven't been out there. I'm not a mountain biker.

Sorry, Madam Mayor, the signs that are not defaced, they do exist and they do have the CBJ code saying no motorized vehicles. The issue is, pursuant to what happened to me last week, I had JPD come out to take a statement from me and they basically said, We have trouble or are unable to regulate against these right now because the courts aren't seeing them as being an actual motorcycle. They view them as some sort of hybrid bicycle or something like that. Uh, when you see one, it's, it's a motorcycle. I mean, the difference between an internal combustion engine and electric driven motor is what it is.

So every trailhead is signed. Um, additionally, Juno Mountain Bike Alliance has been putting the trail name signs up, which again, CBJ funded. And those all have the trail name, the difficulty rating, and then it's got 3 little symbols, one of which was a motorcycle with a red slash through it. It's got a little electric bolt on it, so no motorcycles, no ATVs. These are not multi-use trails, unlike some of the other projects that the Mountain Bike Alliance works on.

These are specifically downhill-oriented bike trails, and we are seeing people riding motorcycles and electric motorcycles and things up the trails. Which is not safe. Any other questions? Mr. Smith. Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Thank you, Mr. Harris. I—. You maybe addressed it, but you also are— are you also having issues with people using internal combustion engine motorcycles on, on those, on those trails? We are. The, the—.

By nature, the, the electric motorcycle is quite a bit quieter, and also we're noticing the riders tend to be quite a bit younger. I mean, The, the JPD officers who responded to my little incident said they were seeing kids like 11 and 12-year-olds riding electric motorcycles. And you have to recognize an e-bike cuts off most of them at 20 or 28 miles an hour, depending on what classification is. An electric motorcycle, some of these top-end ones can go 90 miles an hour. That's insane.

You don't want someone riding one of those on a dirt trail where there's anyone doing anything else that is not that. Thank you. And I imagine that these, if they're going that fast, are doing damage. There's an incredible amount of damage. I mean, it is not just cosmetic.

You see skid outs and roofs and things like that. And, uh, I mean, we see it back, uh, in some of our other trails on federal lands in the, the Dredge Lakes or Menhaw Glacier Recreation Area. But, um, the bike trail, the bike park is currently suffering. The other thing is, uh, we have someone else testifying from JNBA tonight. They can speak to it, but we can't go out there and work on the trails, and there's really no point to repairing them because every single day there are people out there riding on these trails.

We basically built an unofficial motocross park, and that was not the intent of this project in the first place. Motos are great. There's the 25-mile project. The Juneau Mountain Bike Alliance actually wrote a letter of support and helped JORA, the organizing group behind that, get organized. We told them basically, here's how you do this, this is how you approach the assembly, this is how you request funding, this is how you get your project up and running.

And, uh, you know, kind of what we've seen as a consequence of that is there's a lot of people who because they're minors and they're— so many of them are under 16, they don't have the ability to get out to the off-road park 25 miles out the road, but they have these really sweet toys their parents bought them, so they're going to use them where they can use them. Yeah, thank you. Any further questions? Mr. Brooks. Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Do you have any recommendations or suggestions on a good way to address the issues you're experiencing? I do. I'd emailed the assembly, also copied some other key CVJ staff in on a draft ordinance that I wrote. I am not an attorney. However, I think this makes some very good points.

It defines the 3-tier electric bike, e-bike classification. It also includes language to stipulate that adaptive powered bicycles are not to be caught up in the electric motorcycle regulation. Specifically, SAIL has some clients that are seeking to use those out at the bike park, which is a really positive thing for us. But my request to the Assembly is review this and as soon as you possibly can refer it to committee. It could go to committee of the whole, it could go to LHD and meet the other draft regulation that went through the PRAC committee and passed unanimously.

And those, those committees meet on 8/31, I believe. So if you have a chance to get that before them, if that works with your, your processes, I highly encourage you to do that.

Thank you. Anything further? Thank you for your testimony tonight. Thank you.

Uh, next we have Craig Good.

Please state your name and area, town you live in for the record, and you have 2 minutes.

Hi, my name is Craig Good. I live at 631 West 11th Street, downtown Juneau. Like many communities across the country, Juneau is seeing an influx of off-road motorcycles being driven on streets and pedestrian walkways. A day seldom goes by where I've not witnessed a group of kids running stop signs or doing wheelies on streets and sidewalks. Many of these are electric motorcycles being touted as e-bikes They are not e-bikes.

They are electric motorcycles with all the weight, speed, and power of traditional gas-powered motorcycles.

I've talked to dozens of people about these electric motorcycles, and so far everyone I've talked to has their own anecdote about reckless driving behavior of the teens and preteens operating them. Them. Beyond the dangers these motorcycles pose to motorists and pedestrians, they are dangerous and destructive to our parks and playgrounds. I too am on the board of the Juneau Mountain Bike Alliance. Jmba has spent hundreds of thousands of donated dollars and thousands of donated hours building the Thunder Mountain Bike Park there, only to see the trails torn up by electric motorcycles and other off-road vehicles.

Just last week, while attempting to install a merge sign at the intersection of two mountain bike trails, 400 pounds of motorcycle and rider came blasting through. If I hadn't been paying attention, I could have been seriously hurt. These merge areas were designed on flat sections to slow down the rider speed before merging onto another trail. Thank you. Thank you.

Any questions?

Ms. Hall, do you have suggestions that, that we can undertake other than anything additional to what Reed has suggested? REED has supplied a lot. Um, almost daily I get a feed either on Facebook or New York Times about what other communities are doing to address this problem. Um, the wheel has— doesn't need to be reinvented. Um, what REED hasn't supplied, I can easily get you other, uh, what other communities have done.

But yeah, they've, they've been, they've been effective at handling this problem, mostly just by addressing it and, um, finding parents, confiscating bikes for a period of time.

Um, and once you do that, then you we have an opportunity to educate the parents that these are not toys. A lot of parents, I believe, think that these are toys and it's okay, um, to ride them anywhere.

Yep. See nothing further. Thank you for your testimony. Thank you. Uh, next we have Jamie Anne Hasselquist.

Please state your name and area, town you live in for the record, and you have 2 minutes.

Good evening, my name is Jamie Ann Hasselquist. I live in the Valley and I was born and raised here on Occoquan territory. Um, I am of the Ravens Bones House of Angoon and president of the I'm a vice president of Alaska Native Sisterhood Camp 2 Juneau and a member of the councilwoman of the Tlingit and Haida Community Council. I'm also a tribal citizen of Douglas Indian Association and Tlingit and Haida. Since 2021, I have led the volunteer restoration of the Douglas Island Lawson Creek cemeteries, 9 cemeteries with 514 resting places, from the Treadwell mining area, or era.

For 5 years, volunteers have come and worked every other Saturday, rain or shine, from Memorial Day through August, clearing overgrowth and restoring headstones. I've hauled equipment and purchased most of what we use. Um, on June 29th, Parks and Recreation issued an RFI concerning the cemeteries. I responded, and tomorrow I'll meet with Mark Wheeler In July, Gastineau Channel Historical Society became a nonprofit fiscal sponsor. Uh, we're working with AML right now on a possible donation of an 8-foot by 20-foot storage container, and I'm asking CBJ to support placing it on city-owned land below the Odd Fellows Cemetery and removing unnecessary administrative barriers.

We need a secure storage for our equipment. I also asked the assembly to fund ongoing maintenance of the city cemetery parcel In closing, I'd like to invite you all to our community potluck picnic August 29th from 11 to 3, where we'll celebrate 5 years of accomplishments and discuss our 2027 scope of work. You can find us on Facebook at Restoring Juneau Cemeteries, and you can also support this work at JuneauHistory.org. I've sent you all an email outlining this. Thank you.

Um, first of all, thank you for all your volunteer work on the Douglas Cemeteries. Any questions? Mr. Brooks. Thank you, Madam Mayor, and I'll resonate that too. Thank you very much for everything you're doing out there.

I know that it was a topic of discussion in past year's campaigns, and the, the issue that seemed to have always come up on the city side of it was the ironing out ownership of the specific areas through your work and the years that you've been doing this. Have you gotten more progress in that respect? I recently made a whole timeline and the land dispute has been going on since 1899. So, and it continues today in 2026. There is the one the Catholic section, which encompasses the Russian Orthodox, the Native section, the Asian section, and the Serbian section.

It's all under the Archdiocese of Anchorage-Juno, and they have, um, they have actually offered transferring that deed to the city on 2 different occasions where it has been denied, 10 to 15 years ago, and also again in 2018. And I have just recently written a letter to Douglas Indian Association and Juneau Tlingit Haida Community Council Indian, uh, Indians of Alaska, and asking them if they are interested in the transferring of that deed and taking care of that Catholic section in perpetuity. Thank you, Mr. Kelly. Thank you. If there are— and thank you for coming, um, Miss Hasselquist.

Thank you, Paul. Um, if people do want to volunteer, when's the next opportunity and how would they do Um, we actually start our season at the weekend before Memorial Day, and we will have cemetery restorations every other Saturday. And we typically start at 9 AM so that we don't upset too many residents in the area, and we go until 1 PM. So right before Memorial Day, we like to get out there and, and clean up the area to get it ready for that holiday. And then we typically end the last weekend of August.

So last Thursday or Friday, Saturday, can't get my days straight, was our last workday, community workday, and we are finally, after 5 years of restoring this area, starting to lift headstones. So we lifted 5 headstones. There was one that was recovered from the earth that we hadn't seen and found out that it's been there at least since 1956 and was interned from the Gastineau School when Gastineau School was being built, the Native Cemetery, Jeen Jake. And then, so we lifted 2 in the Native section and then we went over to the city side and lifted 3 over there. And the 2 weeks before that, we lifted 6 headstones and 1 in the Catholic section and 5 in the Native section.

And you were actually there to help too, so I thank you for coming out and spending your time. You've been able to see the progression over, you know, the jungle days of 2021 when we were going through all the salmonberry bushes and removing trees and branches and things like that. And thank you, Mayor, for also working with Parks and Rec and, and having them remove debris. We have a lot of it for them to do. And then also want to thank Parks and Rec and Mark Wheeler for helping with donating of different supplies over this last season.

Um, it's really been great to see the community come out and volunteer, and it wouldn't be possible without the volunteers.

Thank you. So open house on August 29th, and you're looking for a spot below Odd Fellows Cemetery for a place to put the container, is that correct? Yeah, when we arrived there in 2021, the Odd Fellows was where that RV was. I remember we had a conversation about that. There was also a van, and the people who were staying in those, they, they moved the RV on their own, and then It took a little while for the van to be taken away, but that was hauled out.

And then we also removed about 40 bags of trash on one of the cleanup days, the yellow bags, and we also filled 3 Folgers cans full of intravenous drug needles. And so it's nice and clean over in that section now, and the service road and the cul-de-sac is actually city property, and that's the place that we would like to be able to place the container. I do have in the email that I'm going to press send on as soon as I'm done talking, there's a whole outline and included parcel view and with an arrow of where we would like the container to go. All right, thank you for that. We'll look to that email.

Thank you. Goshish. All right, next we have Shane Williams.

Oh, didn't see him. So, okay, we might see if he comes back. Anyway, that's the— all I have on non-agenda items. If you signed up, I believe most of you are here about City Hall. So, um, we will— since that might be a little lengthy topic, we'll take how much time?

5, 10 Minutes? Which preference? Show me hands. 5. They want 5.

Test.

Where'd Greg go? Are you ready? We will bring us— and, uh, we will, uh, stay at our public participation on non-agenda items. And can we have Shane Williams up, please?

Please state your name and area, town you live in for the record, and you have 2 minutes.

Um, just hand it to the staff and they'll do it for you.

My name is Shane Williams. I live in the Valley on KCN Drive, and I've come down to the assembly meeting tonight to state that you folks have a charter violation within the ordinance that was written for 2040. You also have a violation of unconstitutional compelled speech within the ordinance that was written, as well as two other— under my view right now, they're also unconstitutional with the ordinance. I found this out last week on a review. These are not considered what they call latches.

It means under the charter, an ordinance issued that is improperly titled is improperly titled today, as it was the day it was introduced, adopted, and passed. So the foundational point of that is two questions to you that I have. One, how do you feel that the staff provided you with One, a charter violation as far as the ordinance title, which went to the public— not the whole packet, just the title. Second to that, how do you feel that you've been handed an unconstitutional compelled speech law and you passed it? You passed it.

Your staff drafted it, handed it to you, and you passed it.

I am told by at least 3 different major groups here in the state that there is no second-year law student that wouldn't know that that title was improperly titled as represented.

And that goes to the unconstitutional compelled speech. So I'd like an answer.

Are you done with your testimony? Yes, ma'am. Okay. This is your time for your testimony. We're not going to give you answers.

I understand it. Um, Madam Attorney, I just caution the assembly, Mr. Williams is suing the CPJ, so many questions that you may want to ask, I would counsel you not to. All right, with that, if our attorney says we can't ask you questions at this time, we have your email, and thank you for testifying. I appreciate that. I would make one recommendation to you.

Truth. Get an outside attorney and have an unbiased approach look at what took place here. It is not pretty. All right, thank you for your testimony.

Okay, with that, um, we— oh, sorry, we go to the consent agenda. Is there any public request for consent agenda changes other than ordinances for introduction? Seeing none, is there any assembly requests for consent agenda changes? Seeing none, we'll go to the assembly. Mr. Smith.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. I move the consent agenda as presented and ask for unanimous consent. Is there any objection?

Seeing none, the consent agenda is approved, which leads us to public hearing. Madam Clerk.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. Disposition of 155 Heritage Way, City Hall. Ordinance 2026-38, an ordinance authorizing the manager to dispose of 155 Heritage Way through negotiated sale agreement with Sealaska Heritage Institute, as Item A. And as Item B, Ordinance 2026-15, an ordinance authorizing the manager to dispose of 155 Heritage Way.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. Madam Manager. Thank you. You have 2 ordinances here before you that basically approach the same issue: disposal of City Hall, where we're sitting here. We ask that you take public testimony on them jointly and discuss them jointly, but you do need to act on them separately.

Ordinance 2026-15 is an ordinance that disposes of City Hall to the highest bidder with a minimum bid of $2.5 million. Ordinance 2026-38 is an ordinance that authorizes the manager to enter into a negotiated sale with Sealaska Heritage Institute for this building for $1.5 million. Again, I encourage you to take testimony on, on both those topics and discuss both of them and then act on each item independently. Okay, I just need to clarify something with the attorney. Um, we do not need to act on both items, correct?

Because one item would pretty much make the other item void. That's right, you don't need to act on both items, but if you do act, they have to be independently. Okay, thank you for that. So any questions before we go further from the assembly on that? So, okay, so what we're going to do is we're going to take public testimony on both items at the same time.

So we will call you up and you can testify however you'd like. And then after that we will go into discussion on both items at the same time. So we will start with our folks on Zoom. So bring— please bring over Joe Olson.

Do we still have Mr. Olson with us?

Mr. Olson, if you are online, please raise your hand. I have a phone number if that's helpful.

Okay, well, we will come back to him if he shows up. Uh, next we have, uh, Kira Kira Hughes-Caniz. Please bring her over.

Hi, my name is Kersha Hughes-Caniz. I'm a resident of North Douglas, and I have 2 minutes just to let you know. Thank you. I am just— I emailed you earlier. I just wanted to testify and express my support for the ordinance giving or selling, transferring City Hall to Sealaska Heritage Institute.

I am really impressed by the work that they've done and the value that they bring to our community, you know, through the spaces that they've already developed around Heritage Way, as well as their programs in the community, you know, the scientific projects that they've tackled. There's, you know, they're just a huge, huge value add to our community as residents, and I think also to the tourists who come visit us. And I think about that space, and that space is really prime space. And I think that the, the danger in putting out a public— putting it out for public bid is we've seen, you know, large corporations take advantage of that process to bid something that nobody locally could possibly pay up. And so it's really losing control of kind of the face of our town.

You know, when visitors are coming on cruise ships, that's what's greeting them. And I think about that beautiful mural that we have there. And I think, you know, I'm sure we'll see a lot of like gnashing of teeth and like last photographs of that mural as people are sad to lose it. And I think, well, what could be better than for that to go into Native hands? On Native land.

So I just think it's— it's, to me, it's a very clear, correct choice to go with the Sealaska Heritage Institute partnership. Thanks. Thank you. Any questions for Ms. Hughes-Scandies? Seeing none, thank you for your testimony tonight.

Next we have Rick Harris.

Please state your name and area of town you live in for the record, and you have 2 minutes. Good morning, Madam Mayor, Assembly. My name is Rick Harris. I live in the Valley. I want to speak in favor of Ordinance 2638, so the negotiated sale agreement to SHI.

My recommendation is in part founded on a history of leadership Sealaska Heritage Institute offers. SHI led the renaissance of the blighted West Gateway of the core downtown Juneau, that the area was blighted from 2004 to 2010 by something affectionately known as the Huntington Pit, which was— it literally became the gateway to that side of town. And it was literally a difficult property proposition for the city and everybody to deal with. But 6 years after the Pit's creation due to a fire, the Walter Sobolev building was— the property was purchased and the Walter Sobolev building was constructed or started construction. So the construction started in 2013.

So the Pit was created in 2004 and it wasn't until 2013 that the construction of that building was started. It ended up in an incredibly and immediately proper addition to downtown Juneau.

Looking at the downtown, it is undisputed that SHI delivers on their visions for their architectural renderings and unparalleled ability to procure funds to deliver on their promise. Downtown is replete with real-life examples of their delivery. SHI's proposed center at the City Hall will be capping crown jewel of their world-class Sealaska Heritage Arts Campus. The building will be superbly West Gateway into Juneau City core. Community leaders should appreciate that SHI is an extraordinary unique developer.

They have access to capital markets that no other private developers can access. As a consequence, SHI has the capacity to develop monumental buildings that surge beyond mere functionality. Mr. Harris, unfortunately, your time is up. Okay, if I can finish the last sentence.

The assembly is, you know, deniable best option is to seize the bird in hand and allow SHI to proceed with the development of their property or with the property. Uh, thank you very much. Uh, thank you. Any questions for Mr. Harris? Seeing none, thank you for your testimony.

Next we have Jerick Copeland.

Please state your name and area of town you live in for the record, and you have 2 minutes.

You are still muted on our end.

Sorry, can you hear me now? Yes, we can. Hi, my name is Jericho Blaine, and I live in downtown Juneau.

Good evening. My name is Jericho Blaine. I live in downtown. I own a home downtown. And I want to speak in support of the proposed sale of 155 Heritage Way to Sealaska Heritage Institute.

I'm also a graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts Museum Studies program, a program SHI has directly supported. I've seen firsthand how their investment creates real educational and professional opportunities for Alaska Native people, but SHI's track record in downtown Juneau speaks for itself. Not that long ago, the site of the Walter Sobolev Building was a hole in the ground after the previous building burned. Today, SHI has transformed the area through the Sobolev Building, the Arts Campus, Kootia Daae, and year-round cultural and educational programming. As someone who actually lives downtown, that distinction matters to me.

SHI is not a seasonal tourist trap that disappears when the ships leave. They employ people, support artists and educators, bring people downtown year-round, and strengthen our local economy. They've also made substantial investments in the built fabric of downtown Juneau. The right buyer is here today. They are already invested in this neighborhood, and they have proven record of turning property into something that contributes to the community around it.

I don't think we should kick this down the road looking for a hypothetical better buyer. We have the right one in front of us today. That's all I have to say. Thank you. Is there any questions?

Seeing none, thank you for your testimony tonight.

Paulette Simpson.

Please state your name and area of town you live in for the record, and you have 2 minutes.

Thank you. This is Paulette Simpson. I live in Douglas. Thank you for taking my testimony. I support putting the sale of the municipal building out for public bid.

Over the past several years, an alarming number of private properties have gone off the the city's property tax rolls. This has happened at the same time that Juneau's population has flattened and school enrollment continues to decline. This is not the time to rush into a sale that would weaken our city treasury. We need more property on the tax rolls and not less. There's nothing to lose by putting the municipal building out to bid in a public process.

The market will tell us if it's in such a state of disrepair that it makes financial sense to sell it at a discount. Secondly, it's been suggested that if City Hall is sold to Sealaska Heritage, the City Museum could relocate to the second floor. Not only would this not pencil out for CBJ, as entrance fees could never cover the lease, I would hope that even in its current defunded state, the Juneau Douglas City Museum would never be relegated to the inaccessible second story of Annie building. The city of Juneau would not exist were it not for the discovery of gold in Silver Bow Basin, and Douglas wouldn't exist were it not for the Treadwell Mine. The fundamental identity of the city and borough of Juneau is rooted in our gold mining history, a history that the museum has always preserved.

The city museum is an institution with an identity and an integrity that should never be compromised, nor should should it be used as a bargaining chip. Thank you for taking my testimony. Uh, thank you. Any questions for Ms. Simpson? Seeing none, thank you for your testimony.

Um, and then did we ever find Mr. Olson? Mr. Olson, if you're online and on the phone, you can hit star 9 to raise your hand.

All right, well, we'll move on with that. So, okay, now we'll take testimony in the room, and this is just a gentle reminder that you're going to hear different sides of the story, so please, audience, remain silent. Um, so first off, we have Norton Gregory.

Mr. Gregory, you know the drill. State your name and area code you live in. You have 2 minutes. Good evening, Mayor Weldon and assembly members. My name is Norton Gregory and I live in downtown Douglas.

I'm here to voice my strong support for Sealaska Heritage Institute acquiring the current City Hall property. I believe that we need to look beyond the short-term financial gain of selling this property to the highest bidder and consider the long-term value this opportunity could bring Juneau. At the beginning of every assembly meeting, you acknowledge that we are living on and conducting business of our community on Tlingit, I believe that this decision gives us an opportunity to make that acknowledgement more than words. We have an opportunity to create something on this prominent downtown site that would visibly honor, celebrate, and perpetuate the cultures and peoples whose homeland this is. Yes, the city could potentially receive more money for the property today, but once that transaction is complete, that money is gone.

What remains on this site will affect, you know, for generations. SHI has presented an opportunity to transform an aging, deteriorating building into something exceptional, a sophisticated cultural and arts facility that reflects who we are and what we value. Juneau welcomes approximately 1.75 million visitors each year. This building will be one of those things that they see when they come to our community. I believe that SHI can create a landmark that doesn't simply cater to tourists, but tells them something authentic about Juneau and that the cultures that make us a unique place.

The benefits extend well beyond tourism. An investment in arts, culture, education, and the creative economy can help attract artists, educators, entrepreneurs, and other people who want to live in a community with a strong cultural identity. Identity. That matters in a community that has struggled with population decline. S.H.I.

Already owns 3 adjacent buildings, which are among the nicest properties in downtown Juneau. Adding this 4th building has the potential, potential to transform this entire block into a vibrant destination for residents and visitors. I would encourage the assembly to think about this decision not simply as a real estate transaction, but as an act of stewardship. The question isn't simply whether the city can get more money for the property today. The question is whether that additional short-term revenue is worth worth giving up the opportunity to create something that could benefit Juneau for the next 50 or 100 years.

You have an opportunity to make this lasting investment in downtown Juneau and to put our land acknowledgment into action by creating a place that celebrates the cultures that make this community unique. To me, this isn't simply a decision about the price of a piece of property. It's the decision about what we want Juneau to become. Thank you. Any questions for Mr. Gregory?

Thank you for your testimony tonight. Uh, next we have Mary Marks.

Please state your name and area of town you live in for the record, and you have 2 minutes. Goodness, Chief, um, AKA Mary Marks. Good afternoon, Mayor and assembly members. I'm here today to, as a tribal citizen, to express my personal support for the Sealaska Heritage Institute land proposal. Proposal.

I see 3 important reasons to support this opportunity: economic investment opportunities for artists and cultural healing and reconnection. First, I see an economically sound investment in our community. This proposal brings year-round activity into the downtown core and creates opportunities for education, cultural tourism, local employment, and community gathering. It also addresses property that currently represents significant demolition, environmental, and maintenance for CBJ. Second, I see tremendous opportunity for our artists and cultural practitioners.

This can provide space for artists to demonstrate, share, teach, and sell their artwork while creating opportunities to pass cultural knowledge and traditions on to future generations. It builds upon the cultural institution SHI has already established in Juneau. Third, as a Tlingit citizen, I see as an opportunity for cultural healing and reconnection having our culture our language, culture, art, and history visible and valued in the heart of our capital city can help address the impact of historic trauma and strengthen our connections to who we are on our homelands. Tlingit awnee. I also believe SHI and CBJ have demonstrated that they can work together to create meaningful community assets.

We have seen this through Tlingit naming the Heritage Way, the renovation, the building next door, which is now the Indigenous Science Center. I recognize that the Assembly has responsibility to ask hard questions about the financial terms. Those questions are appropriate, but I encourage you to evaluate this not simply as a $1.5 million land transaction, but as a long-term community investment and partnership. Juneau has an opportunity to strengthen what makes our capital city unique. Its people, its indigenous culture, its artists, and ability to bring diverse communities together.

Good enough. Thank you. Any questions for Ms. Moogs? Thank you for your testimony. Good.

Next we have Gail Debalus.

Please state your name and area of town you live in for the record, and you have 2 minutes. Gail Debalus Douglas. I am offering prepared Written comments by President Peterson, the President of Tlingit Haida Central Council, 38,000 tribal citizens. I speak today in favor, in support of the proposed sale of the current City Hall building to Sealaska Heritage Institute. SHI has earned a reputation as one of our region's premier cultural institutions through its unwavering commitment to preserving and perpetuating the cultures, languages, and arts of the Tlingit Haida and Alaskan peoples, SHI has created opportunities that benefit not only Alaska Native people but our entire community.

Its work in education, language revitalization, the arts, research, and cultural preservation has enriched Juneau and strengthened our identity as capital city. I often say that healthy tribes make healthy communities. When SHI is not a tribal government, it is a Native organization whose mission and work work embody that same principle. When Native institutions are strong, our languages are stronger, our cultures are stronger, our youth have greater opportunities to know who they are, our economy is stronger through arts, tourism, and education, and ultimately our entire community benefits. This proposal is about more than the sale of a building.

It's about investing in a future where culture, education, and economic opportunity continue to grow together. A thriving cultural campus in the heart of downtown will serve residents, students, visitors, artists, and future generations. It represents a lasting investment that will continue to generate value for Juneau for decades to come. As president of Central Council, I have seen firsthand the positive impact that strong Native institutions can have when they are rooted in service to our people and our communities. Shi has has consistently demonstrated that commitment, and I have every confidence that this building will be stewarded with the same vision and care.

The relationship between CBJ and Alaska Native organizations has grown stronger through partnership, mutual respect, and a shared commitment to building a vibrant community. Supporting this proposal continues that tradition and demonstrates that we value investments that strengthen our cultural fabric historic alongside our economic future. I respectfully encourage the Assembly to look beyond the immediate transaction and consider the lasting legacy this decision can create. Some opportunities come along that offer benefits existing far beyond their purchase price. I believe this is one of these moments.

Thank you for your thoughtful consideration, service to the people of Juneau, and the opportunity to share these remarks. Thank you. Any questions? Thank you for your testimony with President Peterson's letter.

Next we have Rosita Worrell.

We're sorry, Dr. Worrell, please state your name and area of town you live in for the record, and you have 2 minutes.

Anyak Kusani. Most honorable mayor and assembly members, my Tlingit names are Kahani Anya Dehklaasaaq. I am an eagle from the Thunderbird Clan and the house lord from the sun in Klukwan. I am a Chilkat and a child of the Tluk'haadii Saakai Clan in Haines. I am also known as Rosita Worl, president of the Sealaska Heritage Institute and I live here in Juneau in the valley.

Sealaska Heritage's mission is to support and enhance the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures and to promote cross-cultural understanding. We have a vision to make Juneau the Northwest Coast arts capital of the world. Our new project, the Sealaska Heritage Arts Building, is part of that. It'll be a crown jewel of Heritage Square. We are grounded in traditions, but we are also forward-looking in thinking and planning for our future and a community that supports cultural diversity and well-being of its citizens.

The focal point of the new CSI facility will be the development of an educational program on how to make art glass pieces. In time, we would have a team of artists who would become teachers. They would cultivate other glass artists and lead classes for both local and visitors on how to make their own pieces. Our hope is to bring the exciting culture of glass to our capital city and spark a new industry. Our assessments of other glass operations have shown that the new operation can be innovative and an economic driver.

The successful completion of previous SHI capital campaigns has led to significant economic, cultural, and educational benefits for Juneau. In addition to the construction projects and their associated employment and economic activity. SHI has provided direct monetary contributions to the Juneau School District and to the University of Alaska Southeast totaling more than $13 million since 2015. Because SHI buildings are staffed and open year-round, they support local businesses. We urge you to consider supporting SHI for the long-term benefit of our community and cultural diversity.

Thank you. Any questions for Dr. Worrell? Seeing none, thank you for your testimony.

Next we have Lee Kanger.

Please state your name and area of town you live in for the record. You have You have 2 minutes. Honorable Madam Mayor and esteemed assembly members, my name is Lee Kadinger. I live in Douglas. I'm the Chief Operating Officer for Sealaska Heritage Institute, a member of the Wooshkeetong Clan, a father of 7, a foster parent of more than 15 children, and I intend to remain in this community for the remainder of my life.

The city manager— I'm sorry, property sales sales taxes and economic benefit. Since 2015, SHI has paid the city over $245,000 in property taxes, an average of $17,500 per year. What does property taxes fund? Police, fire, city admin, and education. We all value education for, uh, children, but CBJ is limited to funding to the cap, which they have done.

Our schools do not receive adequate state funding, and we all know that. Since 2015, SHI has provided more than $13 million to the Juneau School District and the University of Alaska Southeast. Those, Madam Mayor and assembly members, are, to put it simply, another form of property tax benefiting what property taxes pay for— education. SHI supports the idea of collecting sales taxes from nonprofits if they are equally applied to all.

The structure that SHI proposes would include a glass studio similar to the Museum of Glass in Washington, which draws nearly 100,000 visitors annually and has engaged more than 250,000 students through educational programs. As you make your decision, I urge you to remember the history of Juneau's land and Alaska Native people. More recently, the Juneau urban renewal of the 1960s and the summer of 1962 at Douglas Sandy Beach. During this time, Native people were moved out of their homes because the land was too valuable. Their property, belongings, and homes were burned and destroyed to make room for community needs.

Where were the voices of opposition, the voices encouraged encouraging offering to purchase for the highest price, or even getting consent from the owners of the land. Mr. Kadinger, I have—. Thank you. Last sentence. While we are not the leaders of the 1960s, we are the owners of the land, and we must be mindful that the implications of those decisions live on today.

Thank you. Thank you. Any questions? Go ahead, Mr. Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Mr. Kaninger, thank you very much and appreciate you, you know, working to inform me and I believe other members of the assembly about the project. I wanted to ask, could you let us know of key upcoming dates that are important, you know, grant award dates, grant applications, and anything like that, just to help me think about, you know, because timing of course is important. If you could inform me. Of those. Sure, thank you for the question.

Uh, through the chair, a few dates, and timing is— time is money. I just wanted to point out how we offered $1.5 million in April. Based upon current market trends, that $1.5 million at the end of the year would be worth almost $1.9 million. But we understand the process. Uh, key dates: November, there are— is a grant opportunity for contamination and disposal of contaminated material.

Then we have large pool of funding that's available for Indian students and Alaska Native people specifically, and that funding comes available once every 3 years and is a very significant pool of funds. So it is our hope to be able to take advantage of these funds sooner rather than later, because otherwise we'd have to wait 3 years until the next bite at the apple. Incur much cost. The property will likely become in more and more disrepair, cause more community problems similar to the hunting— hunting tin pit 2.0. I have a question for you, and I'm going to pick on you because you're a chief operating officer.

Um, I have to be nice to Dr. Worrell. Um, talk to us about the library. If we put the library there, uh, would it have— museum, sorry. Um, would it have access? About how much would it cost the city?

Anything that you can tell us about the library or the museum? Sorry, the library's not moving, everybody.

Sure, thank you for the question, Madam Mayor. Um, and to clarify, a lot of this is even spelled out in city ordinance through the community purpose exemption. Uh, under the community purpose exemption for property tax, SHI cannot charge more per square foot than what it charges us to operate the space. So all the costs that the City Museum— Museum, or the library in your words— currently has, uh, would be borne here. Water, heat, electric, um, basic maintenance costs.

All of those costs are totaled up into a per square foot cost. Think of it like a rent-controlled space. Under the community purpose exemption, exemption, this will be a rent-controlled space and we cannot charge more than what it's cost for that space per square foot. Now, one of the things when you look at the downtown area, some spaces are upwards of $6, $7 a square foot. The closer you get downtown, right across from the tram, those are very high dollars per square foot.

So look at the city's own community use provision as a discount, if you will, a discount on the rent rate for that space to limit it to what it actually costs us to operate that space. So instead of $6 or $7 a square foot, it's going to be more around $2.40 a square foot or $2.30 a square foot. But similar bills that the museum already has will continue to be paid. It'll just be paid through a square foot space, space use agreement. And would the museum be accessible?

And the museum will be accessible. All of our facilities are ADA accessible. Uh, we have in the renderings, we have, um, uh, not only elevators, but we also have escalator to to get people to and from, very similar to many other places that tourists frequent as well as visitors frequent in our town. Thank you for that. And I don't know if you were able to talk to everybody else, but you met with me in my office today.

Are you comfortable sharing a conversation you had with Bill Corbus at this time?

Um, Madam Mayor, Mr. Corbus did share a letter in the packet that's in y'all's packet it, and I'll let his words speak for themselves. Thank you. Um, any further questions? Mr. Kelly.

Thank you. I understand that it sounds like you want to get started right away, assuming that we do move forward with this ordinance. What, what are your plans as far as when demolition of the current building would start and when construction and when you expect to see a new facility here.

Sure, thank you for that question through the, through the chair. I guess part of it would be how much longer the city needs to utilize City Hall. As we had spoken, and I'd offered City Manager Kester that if we made that purchase happen today, April 1st of last year, regardless, we would allow the city to to continue to remain here as long as they need it. It helps us to raise funds, but my goal would be as soon as the city moves out, then we would be able to begin to deconstruct the space, work on all the mitigation for the environmental issues that are here that we know of, and we begin to take care of that as soon as possible in a most aggressive way. I'd like to have the facility down and landscaped into a comfortable public space place before the cruise season of next summer.

Whether or not that's realistic, I'm not sure, but I would like to do that as soon as possible. And we did that with the Huntington Pit. We took it from a pit into a landscaped, nice area, which did cause a little issue because we had people then say, please don't destroy the park, when we began to build the Walter Subloff Building. And we said, it's not a park, it's just temporary. But people loved it, they enjoyed it, and that's what we would want for this space is to maintain it, to have a simple landscape space where people can come and eat their lunch as we begin to raise those funds to build this, uh, to build this building.

And again, to the question of how quickly could it come together, it would be how quickly— if the City Museum does want to move into the second floor space, that, that is something that would possibly take a little bit longer because it would escalate the cost because of some of the, uh, specific needs there. But if City Museum says no, we don't have an interest in that, maybe we can reduce the size of the, of that project and we could do that much quicker. As you saw, the Walter Sobolev Building took 3 years to raise $20 million back in 2009-10. The art campus was $13.5 million. We raised that in 9 months, I believe, and then the Indigenous Science Building coming in at $5.5 million was a little over 12 months.

So we're getting better at our fundraising and we're doing it more efficiently and effectively.

So you brought up a question: if we didn't put the museum on your second floor, what would your second floor consist of? Sure, so we would look at potentially some leasable space that would be property tax contributing. How much space is what would come into question. So that is something that we would have to explore is how much would we want? How much is the current market be able to handle?

All right, thank you for that. Uh, Mr. Smith, thank you, Madam Mayor. Um, Mr. Caninger, on this contaminated soil grant, is it an annual grant? How much do you—. It is annual.

Okay. And then, um, Oh, what's the last thing I was saying? Did you—. Do you need to have like site control to apply, to apply, I guess? Are you like— where do you need to be in terms of owning or, you know, leasing a piece of property to be able to apply?

Yeah, without knowing the specific details about leasing versus owning, I'm almost positive that you have to own the land and have control of it. And I do believe that it's something that if this ordinance were to pass tonight, that not only through that, but also through the conveyance process, that the grant reviewers would understand that it is proceeding and is pending city moving out of the space. Thank you.

I see no further questions. Thank you for your testimony and answering all our questions. Next, we have— excuse me— Chuck Smythe.

Please state your name and area, town you live in for the record, and you have 2 minutes. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, and greetings to you and to the assembly. My name is Dr. Charles Smythe, and I live in the Valley. I speak in favor of the sale of City Hall to SHI for $1.5 million. I returned to Juneau in 2013 to become director of the Culture and History Department at SHI until I retired last year.

I watched the groundbreaking for the Walter Sobolev Building and saw the steel superstructure go up during the winter months. I oversaw the installation of the underground state-of-the-art museum storage facility there, which has operated since its construction. The building speaks for itself as an exceptional example of modern architecture with traditional Tlingit and Haida elements. I watched the Arts Campus go up during COVID when most economic activity was frozen. The expensive— expansive Central Plaza now serves as a preferred location for downtown community events, and the specialized workshops in the Arts Building are available to community members at certain times of the week.

I saw SHI rehabilitate the old copy center building on Heritage Way that now houses an educational center for Indigenous science and technology and other subjects. SHI has a proven track record for designing and building exceptional structures that contribute to the beauty and attractiveness of downtown, as well as responsibly and constructively serving the community. In these projects, SHI raised all funds and managed all phases of construction. The plans for the City Hall are no exception. The new building will be a functional and inspiring structure that will be a gateway to downtown for locals and visitors, while also enhancing the continuity of Juneau's art, history, and culture, and encompassing the future home of the Juneau Douglas City Museum, if that goes forward.

Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Any questions for Dr. Smythe? Seeing none, thank you for your testimony.

Next, we have Joe Geldoff.

Good evening, Madam Mayor. Do you have to wait till you get to your mic, please? And I can't say first, please say your name and area you live in for the record. You have 2 minutes. I am Joe Geldoff.

I live in West Juneau. I'm also an adopted member of the Absáalika. Lakota people, which most people know as the Crow tribe. In that capacity, I serve sometimes as an appellate judge. I have absolutely no animosity towards any Native Americans.

I'm also a member of this community, and I am here to tell you that the public interest is not served with an immediate giveaway of a public property. What you should do is adopt the ordinance that puts this out for bid. There's been a lot of discussion about investments. There's been a lot of discussion about grants and everything. You can't make a considered decision on what you're doing unless you know the actual value of the property that belongs to the public.

The city and borough has actually a unenviable record of assessing property. One only need look at the subport to show how far wrong the city and borough was in terms of valuing property in this community. What you should do is direct staff— pass the ordinance, direct staff to put it out to bid, see what the results are based on the market. You're being stampeded into a non-market transaction. If you're going to give away property to Sealaska Heritage Institute, then know what you are giving away.

Any other result violates the public process and doesn't benefit the entire public to which you were elected to serve.

Any questions for Mr. Yeldoff? Seeing none, thank you for your testimony. Next we have James McCants.

Please state your name and area of town you live in for the record, and you have 2 minutes. Thank you. Uh, my name is James McCants, Statter Harbor, and I believe we met before. Uh, based on the questions that have been asked by the assembly, I think we all know where the vote's going. And, um, but anyways, I realize I'm not the orator, I think, um, so I made notes here.

Um, so basically comes down assembly intent. So since that was not put out there, so it could have been this decision is based on tax, uh, what the use might be, is it a question of price or a mix of those, uh, so therefore there's no prior priority established about how this should proceed. Again, whether by tax, by use, by price, or the mix thereof. And so it seems to me for individual members casting a vote It's a form of decision paralysis for the assembly members not having that assembly intent based on tax use or price. And so since that time, neither party has sought appraisal, and that Sealaska has not put in for the appraisal.

And I, if I understand it correctly, the city as well did not do that. And so the question becomes, who would be the beneficiary where that appraisal would go with either way? I don't think there's any true believers in the fair market. If that were the case, we would just say no minimum bid and no reserve, but no one is pushing for that. And so I think based on everything that's said so far, what seems to be is the more moral question of, based on Sealaska's position within the city, it would seem the right thing to do to move forward with the current offer that they've made, because I'm just not convinced of what has— hasn't happened.

We haven't heard any word from any of developer possibly in the future making a bid for this. So this really just comes down to arm wrestling between the city and a great member of the community, which is Sea Alaska. So my position is Sea Alaska, but in the future, that assembly intent, whether you plan to take the route of based on tax, the use, the price to come up with, how we want to move forward, that was never established. So that would be my, my main concern for the future. My name is James McCanson.

Thank you. Thank you. Any questions for Mr. McCants? Seeing none, thank you for your testimony tonight.

All right, I'm having trouble reading this one, sorry. Uh, Jim Simard, please state your name and area, town you live in for the record, and you have 2 minutes.

My name is Jim Samard. I live downtown, and I'm here to speak in favor of selling this property to Sealaska. There's nothing that I could possibly add to the eloquent testimony of my neighbors who have spoken in support of this, but I feel like I needed to add my voice. I've been had the honor to be connected with Sealaska in a variety of projects since the 1980s, the Nakiidi Theatre in the days of the Sealaska Heritage Foundation, and I've seen, like we all have, the terrific cultural and economic benefit of the work that has been done here. So I simply encourage you to pass this ordinance and continue this sale.

Thank you. Thank you. Any questions? Seeing none, thank you for your testimony. Um, next we have— apologize, too many loops— uh, Kaylin Anderson.

Apologize for that.

Please state your name and area of town you live in for the record, and you have 2 minutes. Hi, I'm Kaylin Anderson. I live in West Juneau. But I grew up in Douglas, born and raised in Douglas. As soon as I graduated, I'm like, out of here.

I never want to be in Juneau again. And I came back for Celebration in 2016 and thought, oh, this is, this is nice. I could try this again. And I discovered there was a job opening and applied to work at SHI and have been here for the last 10 years now. Now in the capacity as the HR and Administrative Director for Sealaska Heritage.

And the point I want to bring is that we have about 85 employees that live and work here and pay taxes here. I've been here the past 10 years because of Sealaska Heritage, paying taxes, owning a home. And we've got another person— we've relocated people here who want to live in their ancestral both Native people who want to work for us and non-native that we've helped relocate here, and they are now living here and paying taxes as well. So that's an aspect that I realized you guys might not be aware of, and I, in my capacity as HR, have that knowledge, so I wanted to share it with you. I also wanted to point out Lee had brought up the destruction of the Douglas Indian Village.

My mother is from Canada. She's Inland Tlingit. And she moved here when she married my dad in 1961. She was sent to a boarding school when she was 5, and she never lived at her home again. And she was welcomed here then by seeing this village put to flames.

So this is an opportunity for the city to help heal those wounds that I still feel today. So I appreciate you, Gunasheesh. I appreciate you each for the work that you do. Um, but I want to leave that with you, uh, from me. Thank you.

Thank you. Any questions? Seeing none, thank you for your testimony.

All right, that brings us to the end of the testimony. Do we need 5 minutes before we start chatting, or— All right, um, we could do this a couple different ways. We can just all give our thoughts, or we can try a motion. What do people want to do, give thoughts or try a motion?

The regular way? Yeah, Madam Mayor, I'll— I can— I'm happy to make a motion and then people can discuss. Okay, that sounds—. Um, all right, sounds good. Um, Miss Huskanes.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. I would move that the assembly adopt Ordinance 2026-38 8, not ordinance authorizing the manager to dispose of 155 Heritage Way through negotiated sale agreement with Sealaska Heritage Institute. And I would urge unanimous adoption, and I can speak to that. This is your chance to speak to it. Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Um, I think we've heard a lot of good testimony, and beyond that, I— we've, we've certainly had this in front of us for a little while, so I think we've had ample chance to, to consider it. I will start by saying that, um, there are many ways to look at this. What, what our ultimate goal is— are we trying to get maximized profit? Are we trying to maximize control? I think that was in the earliest memos when we looked at this.

And as we've come to a solution for where we are moving City Hall to, I don't think anyone is wholeheartedly excited about that. It is where we landed because it was the best solution. I value that City Hall has been downtown, right at the foot of the legislature. And as we move out of that space, I think it is so important for us to think about what we leave in that space. That, to me, is kind of paramount.

Money matters too. But as I, I made this decision, that's a key, a key decision. Um, the conversations that we've heard this evening about how, uh, SHI has been able to revitalize the space around us, we've all benefited from that. I work in the Sealaska Building, so I see the campus every day out my window. It's a beautiful view.

And when I think of us moving out of that space, I think we could be proud to have this beautiful arts campus that is following this beautiful mission and is a strong and valued community partner who does, as stated, contribute financially to the city in so many ways. There is so much to lose. I won't focus on the other one because I'm not interested in it, but I I just think if we looked at this from an investment perspective, we're weighing— this is the amount of money we're going to get, but we consider all those other factors that are non-monetary and some of them that are monetary. I think it would be a no-brainer. This is a way for us to leverage this opportunity that is going to result in the maximum community good, um, and is something we can feel good about in completing a beautiful campus with a beautiful mission.

Thank you for that. Any objections? Mr. Brooks. Thank you, Madam Mayor, and I'll object, and it, it's a really unfortunate scenario because if we're in a financial standing a year prior, this would be an absolute, you know, easy decision. But we completely wasted all of our savings.

We, uh, we didn't make the kind of progress that we really would have liked to in the foregone revenues and ways to address it, and it's not like less issues are coming up on a regular basis. You know, we have the, the aging infrastructure and so many other things that are impacting the health and safety of the community, and not having anything to be able to respond to these things that, you know, can impact the health and safety makes me feel very uneasy for the community as a whole. And that's why I believe that we should try and get as much money as possible for the property.

But in, you know, regular circumstances, I wouldn't see it that way. But this to me is viewed as one of the few opportunities that we can recoup some of that much-needed reserve funds.

Thank you, Mr. Brooks. So we have Mr. Kelly and then Ms. Wall. You raising your hand? Okay. Thank you.

I would like to speak in support of this motion. Um, as just as soon as 12 hours ago— I actually, maybe as soon as 2 hours ago— I wasn't sure which way I was going to go on this. I think, I think Mr. Brooks does raise a good point that we are in, in dire financial straits. But I think a lot of the decisions that we made in this last budget cycle, a lot of the questions we were asking is what makes— is about quality of life and what makes people want to live in Juneau, what makes people— what gives people— what's the spirit of the community.

I look at this as an opportunity to kind of set that tone, to make make that kind of investment, because we're not just talking about funds here. Like, we have more than just a fiduciary responsibility to the city budget. We also have a responsibility to set the course of our future of Juneau, to set the course of the future of downtown. I, I feel like setting that tone by having someplace that we are sure is going to be open year-round that is going to— yeah, I feel like that is the tone that we want to set here. I feel like that'll make downtown— they'll keep downtown alive, keep downtown going throughout the year.

And I feel like this is more consistent with the spirit of our, of our downtown plan and our comprehensive plan. And so I support this motion. Thank you, Mr. Kelly and Ms. Wall, and then Ms. Hall. Thank you, Mayor Weldon. Um, I think our testifiers, um, and Ms. Husekandis and Mr. Kelly have done a good job speaking to, um, why I support this motion.

Um, you know, it's really about our vision for downtown, which which is, as long as I have been on the assembly, um, the heart of many of our goals in our economic development plan for the community is keeping a vibrant year-round downtown. And, and this is a significant loss to lose the seat of city government from this building. That, that is going to affect all of downtown.

But I did just want to speak on the financial end of things here.

You know, I hope you all who I serve with know, you know, how seriously I take the responsibility to balance our budget. I feel like my voting record over the years shows that.

And I'll just point out that selling this building does not— would not to the highest bidder would not solve any of our problems. What we're looking at is a structural deficit that can only be filled by changing our tax structure or making cuts to our ongoing revenue. So I think it's an easy argument for me— for people to make that we shouldn't make this— shouldn't sell this to Sealaska because of our budget. But there are so many other ways that we can address our, our budget deficit. We just have to do that.

Um, I'll leave it there.

Thank you, Ms. Wall. We have Ms. Hall and then Mr. Steininger.

Thank you. Um, I'm familiar with the evidence showing the positive impacts that cultural revitalization can have on a community. Many of the programs, in fact maybe all of the programs supported by SHI, contribute directly to primary prevention and the mitigation of childhood and intergenerational historical trauma. During my last 4 years as a school nurse with the Juneau School District, I served at Harborview Elementary, which houses the Tlingit Culture Language Literacy program. That experience gave me a front row seat of how this— these investments benefit our youth and the broader community.

The pride the students radiated as they learned their language, heard stories from the elders, participated in harvesting and gifting, took walking field trips to the clan house. It was just amazing to witness that. As a nurse, I'm also mindful of the public health research showing that strong cultural connection leads to better health outcomes. That's a cost saving that we haven't talked about, right, you know, in this financial discussion. From that vantage point, I see the proposed SHI option, sale to SHI, as an investment in the future well-being and resilience of our community.

Thank you.

Uh, thank you for that, Miss Hall. Mr. Steiner. Thank you. Um, so I've thought about this and debated it when we first started talking about disposition of City Hall, or disposal of City Hall. You know, initially I was sitting in the camp of we need to get the most money we can, we need to try to pay for our move to, to the Burns Building as much as we can.

The more conversations I've had with people in the community, though, and people in the downtown businesses and people throughout downtown, the more I hear those concerns about the characteristics of what replaces City Hall, and that we need to be more careful and not just look just at the dollar signs and look at what replaces City Hall, what preserves that character, what best replaces this kind economic center, bringing people in. And I, I've, you know, kind of shifted in the way I've been thinking about this, but I'm still concerned with this ordinance we have in front of us, not necessarily on the financial grounds, but on the picking winners and losers from this dais and not following any kind of true public process. Yes, we have an ordinance and a public comment, but normally if we're looking at, you know, in this sense, we're kind of spending $1 million. If we think this is truly worth $2.5 million, we're spending $1 million by selling it for $1.5 million. Normally you would follow some kind of public process that would allow for more than just one entity, the, you know, the entity that came to us first to provide ideas, or we would have a conversation as a body to say, you know, what are the characteristics of this proposal that everybody spoke very eloquently to?

Is an amazing proposal and a great idea for what can be done with this property, but we didn't provide an opportunity for anyone else in the committee— community to give us that. We've talked about it. It's kind of the next ordinance on our list here, but that also doesn't really care for any of those community concerns. And, and so I've really struggled with this, and I don't, I don't think it is prudent for us to go forward without either knowing how much this building is worth. Are we giving a discount or not?

Are we spending public funds? Are we effectively giving a $1 million grant? Or are there other ideas out there that might fit some of those community characteristics that, you know, might also work in this space? And if we want to pick winners and losers, I think we owe it to the public to walk through and say what these characteristics are that we're looking for here, and not just take kind of the first proposal that comes in front of us. So I know probably an obnoxious thing to say.

I don't think I can support either of these ways forward. I think if this is the direction we want to go, we need to sit down and actually talk about what characteristics we want to see here, put something out that Sealaska can respond to and gives other community members the opportunity to give input. And I think from what I've heard, this probably would be the proposal that wins out at the end of the day. It makes a lot of sense for the character of downtown. But I don't think we have done our public duty in soliciting that information yet.

I, I think we have not given proper opportunity to those who may have other ideas to come forward with them. And this is, this is bigger than just a simple land swap. This is a significant part of downtown. I, I think we need to be a little more deliberate about it and not move so quickly.

Thank you, Mr. Steininger. Mr. Smith, do you have your hand up?

I'll object for purpose of a question. Um, Madam Manager, Madam Attorney, how, how long does a sealed competitive bid process take?

You know, I think when we originally brought this to you, we were estimating about a 9-month time frame. That was— it certainly could take less time than that, but, you know, we will be occupying this building until at least spring of next year.

Oh, okay.

I thought I'd heard a much shorter timeframe than that, but maybe I'm— maybe I Anyway, I don't know. I don't know. So thank you. Um, City Attorney mentioned that our land manager did give a much shorter time frame to her today. When we originally brought this to you again, we were looking at a 9-month time frame just based on our regular process.

So of course that can be expedited. Uh, it's just, you know, takes more effort, but we can expedite that. Back, um, in probably as little as a couple months. Okay, thank you. Just to confirm, 2 months was a potential time frame provided by the lands manager?

That's right. Okay, thank you.

Uh, Miss Adkinson, do you want to comment? Uh, no, thank you, Madam Mayor. I think Miss Huskandies and Miss Wall really, uh, captured my thoughts.

All right, thank you. Uh, Mr. Smith, you're the last one. Do you want to say anything, or I'll Yeah, thank you, Madam Mayor. I will. I guess you've heard me asking about dates and times and all these things, probably.

Anyway, a little, a little too much, maybe fixated. And the reason for me doing that is I feel that in our current financial situation where we have less than $3 million in fund balance, have a recurring deficit of at least $6 million every year, possibly higher, but we'll go with the low number. For us not to at least seek out and seek to, you know, ascertain what the market may pay for this property, it just doesn't feel right to say we're in a budget crisis, but we're not even going to take that step. Personally, I think we could take that step. See how it goes, and still potentially negotiate with SHI, even with some of these, you know, time frames that Mr. Kaninger laid out.

Uh, the benefits and value that SHI provides to our community, our people, our kids—. I mean, we don't—. We all know that those are incredible amount of value. With our budget situation though, when we do not have any money these are, these are sometimes the actions that we, that I feel like we actually have to take, even though I'd much prefer to just go ahead and, and, you know, take this amount and give it and, you know, work with this organization. When we don't have money, we can't do— I mean, it limits what we can do that's bigger picture, and, and hence why I, I'll oppose this motion.

Not that I oppose a potential— this being an actual thing that actually happens. I just feel like we need to do some other work first, um, because of our financial situation. Thank you for an amendment. Do you want to offer an amendment, Mr. Smith?

I'm, I'm counting, and I don't think it would make a difference. Thank you. All right. Um, I'm wrestling with this decision, which is one of the reasons Mr. Kinger came and chatted with me this morning. Um, still wrestling with the decision.

Um, there's no doubt that Sealaska Heritage Institute, um, has done great things, and they would be a solid partner and, uh, transform this building into probably something very beautiful. So you have that on one hand. And yes, they might not pay the property tax, but they do benefit the community in a lot of other ways financially, as their HR director pointed out. And we've heard many times the amount of payroll that, um, SHI supports. So that you have that on one hand, and then you have the other hand of Mr. Steininger alluded to it, that We seem to be jumping the gun a little bit.

Should there be a public process?

Should we put it to the highest bidder and hope we get more money out of it? So I've been spending the last couple days trying to ask questions around town, and I can't find any hint of anybody that's even interested in this place. So that's swaying my decision slightly. But, uh, and I agree with Ms. Wall, our, um, if we get money for this, it would be one-time money, and we have a structural deficit in our budget, and we have $7-8 million that we have to come up with. So, um, but in my plug to vote carefully, um, so that's a tough one.

So I'm gonna remain quiet on this one and still ponder it because I have some time. So, Miss Hughes-Scantis, you already spoke, and the mayor gets to speak last. Yeah, thank you, Madam Mayor. Now we're on to round 2, I believe is how it goes. Um, I don't think I gave you that permission, but go ahead.

Just swimming into it frantically before the lifeguard can pull me out. Um, I just want to add a couple of things because I do sense, you know, even when when we think we might vote differently on something, obviously there are pieces where we can say, oh yeah, no, I do agree with you on that. I wanted to say to Mr. Siniger's point about this is a huge impactful decision, it kind of warrants a not a rushed process, which I don't think this is a rushed process. But you know, when we started this, I said, do we really need to take this up? I asked the manager questions along those lines.

Those lines. And, you know, I— to my satisfaction, I get that it's not super healthy on our budget or on, um, administrative process when we're trying to mothball things. We learned that with the school building. So it was enough to convince me that, oh yeah, we have to do something about it either way. So I guess we better start it now because we know as a city things are going to stretch out and take time.

Um, but some of the things that have been brought up at the outset, I said, let's do an appraisal. Uh, if you want to know what we have, then let's do an appraisal. $15,000 Compared to some of the appropriations we make, that's nothing. At the time, that was pretty roundly put down. I wasn't the only person on support, but to come back to that now, I say, where was that?

But this is how we started this conversation, saying, should we go slower? Should we do an appraisal? So, and certainly we all think, uh, iteratively. So I'm not, I'm not faulting anyone for having those thoughts now. Um, I do want to point out when I don't think the words giveaway or, you know, that we're spending money are appropriate in any way without an appraisal, because with the input from the assessor, the range was the first time it came to Lands, $900,000 to $3.5 million.

So that $2.5 is— that's a reasonably large range, um, and if you're not willing to do an appraisal, then I don't think you can say, um, 2.5 is more solid than 1.5. I certainly know that, um, SHI has been pretty free with their— here's how we got to 1.5, um, and based on the developing all around this building, it seems pretty solid to me. Um, and then also, just because it was already said in testimony, but I do think it's important to to keep clarity about it, because when we're talking about that financial piece, which I do care about a lot, um, when we're talking about the trade-off in the financial piece, there is some property tax being paid. Yes, there is the year-round workers, and then there is also the financial support to our school district, which we are not the school board, but I'm pretty sure they would feel like is pretty invaluable. Um, and then the only other thing I wanted to add in hearing the good conversation is it makes sense to do a highest bidder if you are willing to accept the highest bidder.

And it is very easy for me, which I told you kind of how I approach this process, and we all have different ideas of what we're making the most value. If you are not willing to accept the highest bidder, then it is— it does not so much make sense. Uh, it is one-time funding. We do have a structural deficit, but let's say one of the cruise ship companies offered us $20 million, like a subport situation. Would we have any concern about what that building was going to look like, what it was going to be used for, if it was going to be shut down?

I would have major things that say not worth it with $20 million, but obviously it's, it's both, right? It's money and use. So I just wanted to add those additional thoughts.

Uh, thank you for that. Uh, we have Mr. Kellingham as well, and then Mr. Brooks. Thank you. I just have—. Everybody gets round 2 and that's it.

Well, I might have a question and a follow-up for the attorney. Um, Madam Attorney, I am noticing on, on the last line of this ordinance that it doesn't cap the price at $1,500,000, but it says it should be sold for no less than. So I guess maybe I could do this in one question. Um, so if there were any, anything that were would— I, I'm assuming there is some sort of assessment or appraisal process that happens as a part of the real estate transaction. If that were to reveal something, it would— I guess, what would our options be?

Adam, um, thank you for the question. Um, so the ordinance is drafted the purchase price shall be no less than $1.5 million. You'll also notice that it's not in the title, so that means that that dollar amount can be adjusted up or down by you, or you can put other terms and conditions in there. That's why it's written that way, to give, to give you the most flexibility possible. However, I would say that the way this is, and I'll let Madam Manager weigh in, I don't believe that there would be an appraisal in here at all.

Um, you would be directing the manager to negotiate, um, and part of, part of the reasoning behind the drafting of this was a knowledge that there was some type of abatement that might need to happen, or there were hazardous materials. That was a prior conversation that the assembly had when directing me to draft this, but there's no appraisal contemplated in this process. It would be minimum 1.5, and that's it. Thank you.

As well, thank you, Madam Mayor. Just want to, um, address Mr. Steininger's concerns. Um, I am glad to hear that it may— Mr. Steininger may become the new process hawk walk when I am off the Assembly. But as someone who loves careful, slow process, considering all the, all the things, I feel like I've also learned when you need to take advantage of an opportunity. There is, there's nobody else.

I've, I've, since this has come up, I've thought about what are the other things that could go here, and people that are interested and have the resources to put something that we're going to be proud of as a community here. Um, and I, I don't think they exist. I don't know that we will have this offer forever, um, and this opportunity. And so to me, um, although if I had designed this process back at the beginning, I would have done it differently, now I think, I think we're here, that the opportunity is clear to me.

Anybody else want— oh, Mr. Brooks, you had your hand up. Thank you, Madam Mayor. And it's, it's just one more thought of where my mind space is on this. We are going to have to make some more really serious budget decisions next year, uh, regardless of what happens. And, you know, not everyone sitting up here is going to be subject to those decisions.

But, you know, we have the Diamond Park Aquatic Center that needs a $5 million air handler unit 5 years before the end of its service life. And I see potential revenue from the sales of this building being something that could maybe help that, or any of the other things that we seriously need to address to make sure that facilities that are open, available, and benefit the entire community if they so choose to use them. Are still there and we're able to still operate them. Uh, if, if we don't do something to replenish our accounts, I, I fear that those least desired options for budget and service cuts that we're able to get by without doing this year would have to be a lot more heavily considered next year, and that's where I'm trying to weigh what kind of impact, you know, it— if we still had the $30 million in our reserves, if we didn't, uh, you know, get out of the RSA with Gold Bell, it's like this would be a lot easier decision for me, but we, we don't have nearly anything in our accounts, and there's still so much that needs to be addressed, like, right now. And, uh, and normally the way it operates— like, I know it's not all about the money, you know, the, the relationship and benefit that SHI brings to Juneau cannot be argued whatsoever.

It's absolutely there, it's apparent, and those relationships and partnerships are growing in other areas. It's It's not, um, this specific transaction isn't the bottleneck of that. So, and also the, the closed bid allows for SHI to still partake in trying to purchase the, the facilities. So it's the combination of all those things that's making me focus more on the financial side of it, but it's not just the money. It's what, what what could happen by not having emergency funds available to address all these emergencies we're currently in right now.

Thank you, Mr. Brooks. And Ms. Atkinson, are you ready to weigh in yet? Um, yeah, thank you, Madam Mayor. I think that we are putting a lot of pressure of our entire budget situation on this one one-time transaction. And I would say that if people on the assembly were concerned about the state of our fund balance, then we should have made different decisions in our recurring budget process.

Um, this is not the weight of the entire city future because it can't be, because it's one time. I would rather have this be something where that our city is proud of, that is year-round, that supports cultural education, and rather than have a $5 million one-time slug of cash to put somewhere. Uh, I would have been happy to have more money in our fund balance, but those were not the decisions we made last budget cycle. Uh, thank you, Miss Agneson. Um, anybody else?

Seeing none, I'll get my final, uh, second thought in. Um, what is going through my mind is I agree with Miss Scandies. She did want an appraisal a long time ago. We just slammed her down. And then second, I remember when we talked about this a little bit, and we've been talking about this for quite some time, we started to throw conditions on it.

So, and if you look at it, SHI meets most of those conditions we were going to throw on it. So, year-round providing to the community. So it's a tough one. But anyway, Mr. Smith, I'll do it and call the question. Madam Clerk, will you call roll?

Thank you, Madam Mayor. For Miss Hughes-Scandies' motion to adopt Ordinance 2026-38, an ordinance authorizing the manager to dispose of 155 Heritage Way through negotiated sale agreement with Sealaska Heritage Institute. Miss Hughes-Scandies? Yes. Mr. Brooks?

No. Mr. Steininger? No. No. Deputy Mayor Smith?

No.

Miss Wall? Yes. Mr. Kelly? Yes. Miss Adkisson?

Yes. Miss Hall? Yes. Madam Mayor?

Yes. Motion carries with 6 yeas and 3 nays. Okay, let's take 10 if we can.

We'll bring us back to order because we're on item number 2.

Item number 2, Madam Clerk. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Ordinance 2026-40, an ordinance amending Chapter 03.35, Continuity of Government Code, to improve city and boroughs' unit procedures for emergencies. Uh, thank you, Madam Clerk. Madam Manager.

Thank you. This ordinance amends CBG Continuity of Government Code. This section of code requires city officials to choose 3 interim successors in the event that the member is not available to serve on a temporary basis. So we, members are required to select multiple temporary successors if they cannot serve for some catastrophic emergency reason. I was super happy that this was something you guys had to do until I I read the ordinance and Brecken put in my inbox that this is something that not only do you have to do, but the manager, the attorney, and all the executive department heads also have to do.

So this ordinance repeals all of that language and just replaces it specific to the assembly with the majority of the remaining assembly members will make that appointment for who fills those seats. I recommend you take public testimony and adopt this Is there any member of the public that would like to speak to this? We've lost all of our public. I'm seeing none. Ms. Wall.

Um, thank you, Madam Mayor. I move the assembly approve Ordinance 2026-40 and ask for unanimous consent. Is there any objection? I see none. This ordinance passes.

Oh wait, Mr. Brooks, I didn't see that. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Uh, objection for the purpose of a question is, uh, that majority, um, assembly to appoint the successors, would that also be how we do it for the manager and attorney? That's correct.

I'll remove my objection. Thank you. I was just going to ask you that. Um, any further objections? Seeing none, that ordinance passes.

Item number 3, Madam Clerk. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Ordinance 2025-01 lowercase b uppercase AQ, an ordinance appropriating $526,602 to the manager for 2024 Glacier Lake Outburst Flood Response and Repairs, and deappropriating $302,781 from the manager for 2024 Glacier Lake Outburst Flood Response and Repairs, funding provided by the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. Madam Manager. Thank you. This ordinance reimburses CBJ for just over half a million dollars from the 2024 '24 flood and public infrastructure damage. So when Emergency Manager O'Shaughnessy was talking about public assistance, this is the type of public assistance that we apply for and then get reimbursed for.

There may be additional applications coming through, but at this moment, this is for some repairs to stormwater drainage infrastructure, embankments, and some debris removal. I recommend the assembly take public testimony and adopt the Well, thank you. Is there any member of the public that wishes to speak to this ordinance? Seeing none, we'll back to the assembly. Mr. Brooks.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Um, I move that we adopt Ordinance 2025-01_bAQ and ask for unanimous consent. Is there any objection? Seeing none, that's so moved.

Item number 4, Madam Clerk. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Ordinance 2026-01, lowercase b, uppercase B, an ordinance appropriating $45,000 to the manager for fiscal year 2027 museum operations funding provided by a donation from Norwegian Cruise Lines. Thank you, Madam Clerk, Madam Manager. Thank you.

Uh, when we, uh, the community heard about the cuts and the potential closure of the museum, Norwegian Cruise Lines came forward and wanted to help with keeping doors open. Uh, so we were able to use these funds to fund 1 to 2 positions. We're advertising for 2. One of those has been hired, and that allows the museum to have posted hours right now. It's, uh, 11:00 to 4:30 Wednesday through Saturday.

I recommend the assembly take public testimony and adopt this ordinance. Thank you, Madam Manager. Is there any member of the public that wishes to speak to this ordinance? Seeing none, we'll bring it to the assembly. Mr. Steiner, I move the assembly adopt Ordinance 2026-01BB and ask unanimous consent.

Is there any objection? Seeing none, so moved. Item number 5, Madam Clerk. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Ordinance 2026-01 lowercase b uppercase C, an ordinance appropriating $50,697 to the manager for the air traffic control tower capital improvement project, funding provided by airport capital reserve funds.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. Madam Manager, thank you. This ordinance appropriates $50,000 in local match from airport funds leveraging an FAA award just under $1 million to replace the 1987 existing tower roof, roof hatch, and access ladder. I recommend the assembly take public testimony and adopt the ordinance.

Any member of the public wish to speak to this ordinance? Seeing none, we'll go to the assembly. Mr. Steininger— oh, sorry, you already did one. Ms. Hall. I thank you, Madam Manager—.

Or Mayor. Um, I move Ordinance 2026-01 lowercase b uppercase C and ask for unanimous consent. Any objection?

Seeing none, that ordinance is adopted. We have no unfinished business, so we'll go to new business. Madam Clerk. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Hardship and senior citizen disabled veteran late-filed real property tax exemption applications.

Madam Manager, thank you. You have 26 property owners that have requested you to authorize their late-filed application. I recommend the assembly act on each of these applications individually. Thank you, Madam Manager. We will go to the— Miss, you scan these for this one.

Uh, thank you, Madam Mayor. I will note that these have all been considered individually. I recommend that— or I move that the assembly, uh, give direction to the assessor to accept the late file senior and disabled veteran exemptions for John Berger, Anton Farrell, Barbara Lind, John Miller, Christina Munson, Marie Parfit, Rebecca Penrose, Clinton Scott, Howard Starbard, Margaret Wilkinson, Rosemary Alexander-Isett, and Ardaine Womack. I would further recommend that the assessor accept— or move that the assessor accept the late file senior and disabled veteran hardship exemptions for William Carrillo, Marilyn Dole, Chris Gress, Martha Hobson, Cynthia Hudson, Louise Keller, Margie Mackey, Margaret Martin, William Morris, Christina Smith, Ward Taylor, Elizabeth Tompkins, John Vavallis, and Dennis Wink. And I would ask for unanimous consent.

Thank you. Any objections? I have an objection for purposes of a question. Um, we have passed an ordinance on hardship. When will that take effect?

I just didn't know if these are going to cross somewhere, so I can go back and look. I believe that it was Um, right, so go ahead, everybody, go ahead. No, I just wanted to, um, mention that because our property taxes are on, uh, the calendar year, um, the, the effective date of the ordinance, um, doesn't matter so much as when we're considering property tax for the upcoming year, it will be underneath that new ordinance. Ordinance. Normally it's a 30-day effective date.

These gals are confirming that. That's what, uh, I wanted you to say. So this affects next year, not this year, because we've already done this year. Okay, I remove my objection. Seeing no further objection, that ordinance passes.

So next we go to notice of appeal.

Madam Attorney.

Mr. Kelly. Sorry, forgot. Mr. Kelly. Thank you. Um, I have spoke with attorney and I have a conflict with the appeal.

Uh, I move that I be recused from discussion and voting on this issue. Thank you. You're gonna take a 2-minute break. Hop down, Madam Attorney.

Thank you. So at its regular— I'll just read the beginning part and then I'll give you the cliff notes on the rest. So at the regular meeting on July 28th, 2026, Planning Commission considered SMP-2026-0001 and made a motion to approve the Community Development Director's analysis and findings with an additional condition requiring a hillside endorsement. The Planning Commission consisted of 9 members. 5 Votes are required to pass a motion.

The motion failed on a 4-3 vote, and they didn't make any other motions. So because they didn't make any other motions, that preliminary plat was denied. The applicants filed a notice of decision with the clerk's office on August 4th, and that was timely done in accordance with the code. Today you need to decide whether to accept or reject the appeal. You do that based on a liberal construction.

Um, oh, you didn't get to say the title. Sorry. Okay. Um, so the title is Notice of Appeal, Chilkat Vistas. Um, sorry, Madam Clerk.

In accordance with the code, you have to decide whether to accept or reject the appeal. You do that by liberally construing the notice of appeal, um, which was provided to you. They have given you— my recommendation is to accept the appeal. They have given you plenty of justification for an appeal. If you decide to accept that appeal, you then, similar to what we discussed a few weeks ago on appeals, you either appoint a hearing officer, separate hearing officer that we pay, or you appoint someone among the assembly to be the hearing officer and you yourselves hear this.

So those are the two questions you have to decide, whether to accept the appeal and what to do with the hearing officer.

Mr. Smith. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Thank you, Madam Attorney. It's been a long time, but I feel like I've heard in these cases before that an applicant could also just like resubmit or re— essentially reapply. Is that an option?

Do they have to pay if they do? Is it faster than an appeal? That's correct. So, um, the notice of decision that was issued to Chilkat Vistas informed them that they could resubmit the preliminary application. Preliminary plat.

There's no additional funds for doing that. Um, also, if you look at their request for, um, uh, a remedy, they, they ask you either to disapprove this project or remand it back to the Planning Commission, basically for a do-over to make a decision based on Title 49 and the director's decisions. So yes, they can resubmit. It, uh, without any additional cost. Yeah, Mr. Smith, it's to you anyway, so it's your turn.

I was just going to follow up when you're saying— I mean, we can't— remanding, we— it is like the best, maybe easiest way to like accept the appeal and then direct them to resubmit to the Planning Commission. Do we have to do anything with the appeal if If we're accepting it and then directing them to resubmit, I mean, yeah. So if the assembly would like to have the applicant go ahead and resubmit and go back through the Planning Commission before you hear the appeal itself, you would accept the appeal and place a stay on it. That way it preserves all of their appeal rights, the timelines. We want to make sure that that is all held.

At the correct timeline. So you would accept the appeal, appoint a hearing officer, place a stay, and, and direct the applicants to resubmit. Um, and if I am recalling correctly, I did look at the timing on this one because you all have an election that happens in the midst of this, right? There is a Planning Commission meeting on September 22nd, I believe. That's the next one if you wanted to require a resubmit.

All right, Mr. Smith, I would say you're volunteering to be the presiding officer. Let me—. Okay, I'll make them accept the appeal. Yeah, I'll make a motion. I move that we accept the appeal, place an immediate stay and direct the applicant to resubmit to the Planning Commission for the application to be, to be assessed within the confines of Title 49.

And I would also add, I could, I would, I can designate myself as a presiding officer should the appeal come to us.

That was very long-winded, uh, motion, and I don't know if you can designate yourself.

Any objection, Ms. Wall? Just objection for a question I want to— maybe for the maker of the motion or the attorney. I, I assume this is coming from a place of recognizing that was a 4-3 decision and we want to make sure the Planning Commission has 5 people to vote on the decision here, whether that's pass or fail. But just to make— can we make sure to get that message to them so we don't end up in this situation again? Is, is that your intent?

Yes, to essentially to send it back to them where they have a fuller roster. So yeah, uh, Miss Youskany, you had your hand up too.

I'm good, Madam Mayor. All right, uh, any objection to that? Mr. Brooks? I'll object and amend it because I'd like to elect myself as the presiding officer.

I appreciate that one. This one sounds a little tricky. One day you'll get your chance, Mr. Brooks, but we can vote on that. Uh, well, do we, uh, popularity Yes, so Mr. Brooks would like to be the presiding officer. Objections to that?

Ms. Hall, you're objecting? Yeah, well, for, for just what you said, I, I think, you know, this could be a little tricky, and I'm, I'm hopeful that it'll be resolved in Planning Commission. Yeah, and I would object also. So do we want to take a vote? Are you guys good accepting Mr. Smith?

Okay, we'll take a vote because you guys are very quiet. I will just say I'm the— I have a lot of construction experience. I was in the trades for 10 years. I've worked on a lot of commercial, residential, and federal, state, and municipal jobs, and, you know, have the merit to oversee this. I appreciate that as you're campaigning, but really all a presiding officer does I've never really heard cats.

Madam Mayor, uh, tragically, I never was a presiding officer myself, um, and that ship has sailed. But, um, I just— question for the attorney, because my understanding what the presiding officer does is a lot of, um, logistical, uh, they're not anymore involved in the decision-making. It's really about scheduling and working with the attorney. And in that case, I don't have a problem if Mr. Brooks is raring to go. So is that— it's my understanding of what's— what's a presiding officer really need to do?

So your understanding is correct, it is herding cats. Um, uh, so it's basically setting forth the timelines, making sure all of the evidence comes in, and directing the process when you actually hear the hearing itself. So the whole assembly hears the testimony from each side. The presiding officer kind of directs that the way, you know, any chair would. So it's the head administrative person in that instance.

Yeah. Anyway, so we have—. Yeah, there's nominations. We have 2 volunteers, Mr. Brooks and Mr. Smith. This.

So think about it for a second, and, uh, we'll start with, uh, Mr. Brooks. Uh, um, let's just call roll, Madam Clerk. Yeah, remember, remember this. Let's not designate ourselves and let the mayor do it, then we don't have these issues. Yeah, for the motion to appoint Mr. Brooks as presiding officer, Mr. Brooks.

Ms. Brooks? Yes. Ms. Hall?

Sure, sure. You said no, that's why he went to you, but that's all right. Mr. Steininger? Yes. Ms. Adkinson?

No. Mr. Kelly? Uh, he can't vote. Oh, apologies. Ms. Wall?

Can I hear from Mr. Smith first? I'll, I'll vote yes.

Miss Hughes-Candies? Sure. Deputy Mayor Smith? Yes. Madam Mayor?

Um, sure. Mr. Brooks, you are the new presiding officer. Uh, work with the attorney on this. Thank you, Madam Mayor. I feel so much confidence for my fellow colleagues here.

As you should. Anyway, before we lose this— yeah, yeah, before we lose this, we're going on to the assembly reports. I'll start with my mayor's report. Um, do I have to separate you guys down there? Um, first of all, the biggest thing, obviously— I'm sorry, that's not an official vote, by the way.

Yes. Yep. There is. So our—. Yeah.

Okay. We might just make this really short unless we can behave ourselves. So the biggest thing, of course, has been the flood. So again, thank you to all our partners, especially Tlingit and Haida and the Coast Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers. Shout out again to the governor and our federal delegation.

They've done a lot for us and everybody else involved. Um, I want to do a special mayor shout out to our communication team, um, and everybody's good communication. That's what I heard about walking around and talking to people was we have so much more information than we did last year. So big shout out to them. So appreciate that.

Um, I got to participate in a mayor's former forum by the League of Women Voters. Mayor A few weeks ago, Fran Ulmer, Mayor Sally Smith, Mayor Bruce Bertello, Mayor Mary Becker, and myself did that. It was fun listening to the historical parts of the challenges they had and the challenges we had, sometimes not very different, but. It would— that was just a good thing, so thanks to the League of Women Voters for putting that on. So, and then lastly, I just want to remind everybody that there's a primary election election tomorrow.

So remember, this is a state election, not a city election. So go to your state precincts. And if people don't remember, this is something that you vote on a candidate and the top 4 vote getters will move to the final election in November. So with that, we'll go to our committees. Mr. Smith, Committee of the Whole.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. Committee of the Whole earlier this month was Cancelled. I like short reports. Ms. Wall, uh, Finance Committee was also cancelled.

We will have one in early September, and we are figuring out the agenda for it this week. I know that the nonprofit sales tax exemption was sent to that committee, so there'll be one item on there, um, and more soon on what else will be All right, thank you for that. And sadly, this will be the last finance meeting for Ms. Wall and Ms. Hughes County too. Lands, Housing, and Economic Development. Thank you, Madam Mayor.

We canceled to be in accordance with the other meetings pre-GLOF.

Yep. Public Works priority also canceled. So no, in fact, we were not, Madam Mayor. Oh, good. Glad to hear.

Glad to hear someone was working. Go ahead, Ms. Hackinson. I was gonna say, we, uh, Public Works did work. Um, we were not taking the day off. Mostly we just accepted federal money for the golf.

Thank you for that. Is that your full report?

Yep. All right, thank you. So that brings us to Mr. Kelly. Thank you. And we, we also did work.

All right, uh, we actually, we had quite a few appointments, so I'll get started because I know Madam Mayor likes short reports. So, um, I move that the assembly reappoint Robin Brenner and appoint Elizabeth Kell and Anjali Grantham, all to terms beginning immediately July 1st, 2026, and ending ending June 30th, 2029, to the Historic Resources Advisory Committee and ask for unanimous consent. Any objection? Seeing none, they are appointed. Thank you.

My next motion: I move that we reappoint Janet Schempf, Grant Ritter, and Stuart Konan to their Utility Advisory Board current seats, all for terms beginning immediately June 1st, 2026, and ending May 31st, 2029, and ask for unanimous consent. Any objection? Seeing none, they are appointed. Thank you. I move to reappoint James Powell and to appoint Connor Lindrum and Flannery Ballard to the General Commission on Sustainability, all the terms beginning immediately and ending June 30th, 2029, and ask for unanimous consent.

Any objection? Seeing none, they're appointed.

I move that we forward to the State of Alaska Emergency Response Commission the reappointment of Lauren Jones, American Red Cross, seat 7A, to a full term beginning immediately and ending December 31st, 2028. Appoint Mark A. Smith, General Public Seat 4, and Tara Steffen, Bartlett Regional Hospital Seat 5A, both to unexpired terms running immediately and ending December 31st, 2026, and full terms running January 1st, 2027 through December 31st, 2029, since both seats are within 6 months of reappointment, all to the Local Emergency Planning Committee and ask for unanimous consent.

Thank you. That was a long one. Any objection? Seeing none, they are appointed. Thank you, Madam Mayor.

And this will be the last one. I move that we appoint Emily Ferry to a public seat for a full term beginning September 1st, 2026 to August 31st, 2029, and appoint Jake Price to a general public seat for an expired term beginning immediately and ending August 31st, 2028, and appoint Levi Spaulding to a youth 19 or younger seat for an unexpired term beginning immediately and ending August 31st, 2027, all to the Youth Activities Board, and ask for unanimous consent. Any objection? Seeing none, they are appointed. That concludes my report, Madam Mayor.

Any other committees out there? We've been pretty busy with the flood, so I don't know that it's there. All right, this brings us to liaison reports and comments and questions.

Ms. Huskies.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. There's always one thing I forget, and liaisons always takes me by surprise. Um, thank you. I met with the Chamber of Commerce last week at some point. We had some good conversation around the 5-ship limit ordinance.

They had some feedback on that and how the best way for that to, I guess, coalesce, coordinate with the current VDEF going on. I felt like it was a productive conversation, so So, uh, we drew on some of the historical surveys, and I felt like they were slightly changed. If we have not already received a letter from them, we may receive a letter from them, and I don't know if the nature of that letter will be different following that conversation. But in any case, um, it was a good conversation. I was out of town for the last Bartlett Board, uh, meeting.

I have a meeting this week with, uh, I'm forgetting Joe's last name, uh, Warner. Thank you, Mr. Warner, the head of the hospital, who is casual and goes by Joe. Um, and I guess I would just, as I'm, you know, literally less than 5, you know, less than 3 meetings left with you all, and similarly starts to translate to those less than 3 liaison, you know, duties and things like that. And I think what are the things that need to be communicated? And the hospital is one that I really, um, I think I will have additional information to communicate following my conversation with Mr. Warner.

But there have been some changes on the federal level that are pretty impactful, and I think we are aware of that and have been watching that. But it's another one of those situations where not that recently, we— the hospital was suddenly looking at financially being in a world of trouble. And I think it would just behoove us as the assembly to pay close attention. They not— no one's throwing you know, warning signals over there. But I would just want to communicate that, that probably with the next liaison, you know, we'll want to make sure that we're getting good communication back and forth with them.

Um, would you suggest that we have a joint meeting sooner rather than later with that information, or—. Let me— I'll follow up with you after I speak with Mr. Waller. All right, sounds good. And maybe Ms. Hall and I can speak because she's I was going to say, Ms. Wong was actually at the meeting if she wanted to add anything.

Yeah, yeah, that'd be great. She's been going pretty regularly. No, I think you captured it well, and I think I'd be happy to go to that meeting with you, Alicia, you know, just to keep abreast. Continuity. Yeah, that'd be great.

All right. Oh, and if I could just for a quick second, that concludes liaison, but just Similarly, I, I reference the fact that I don't have that much time left because this falls into the category where I would say, hey, I'm, I'm interested in pursuing, maybe looking into this. Does anyone, you know, have any issues with that if I start talking to staff about— and it's something that was raised to us. We talked about our budget problems here tonight that we'll have to look at. You will have to look at.

Next year. And, um, a member of JCOS, maybe both a member of JCOS, but we received public testimony during all that budget testimony that was related to a gross smelter tax related to the mines. And I believe maybe Madam Mayor and Madam Manager even met with some of the folks when they were shopping that around. So I'll forward emails that I received with that idea to the clerk, and maybe the clerk could distribute that to you all. But I'm just trying to think of those things that are kind of unfinished pieces that may be useful in your arsenal as you make those decisions next year, right?

And, um, we talked briefly with probably a member of your other organization, and I think, uh, we, uh, lightly put it in the City Attorney's office, but they're a little short-staffed, and with the glop and everything, I doubt she's had a chance to look at it. But we can bring it more closer to the table. But is that it, Miss Hughes-Gaddis? Um, as well, thank you, Madam Mayor. Um, the PRAC meeting this month was canceled, but I realized I— because I missed missed our last regular assembly meeting, I wanted to flag in case you hadn't picked up from the testimony today, um, that there is an ordinance that, um, went through the BRAC and is headed to the assembly.

I think they'll head committee, um, on e-bike regulation. Um, and so that did pass unanimously in through the committee. The committee did have a conversation, a good conversation about it. I know that members of the Mountain Bike Alliance were here tonight and have a different ordinance. I don't know, you know, I haven't— I know the fees was something they looked at.

I don't remember exactly how what they were proposing differs from what the PRAC put forward, but just wanted to put— make sure that was on everyone's radar that that topic will be moving its way through for you all. And that's all. Ms. Wall, yep, my question to you would be, since we're going to be changing faces, do you think the Lands, Housing, Economic Development Committee would be better, best served with that, or do you think it should become the Committee of the Whole? What's your thoughts on that?

I, I think it, um, If, if it, if they, if the Mountain Bike Alliance hadn't brought to, brought forward a different version, I would say we would just, you know, given that it was unanimous, send it through the smaller committee. But if it seems like there's substantive differences between the two, maybe it's going to need more discussion. But I think that could happen at the LHED. So I think the chairs can figure it out, maybe, on which, which has room on the agenda. It did sound like the Mountain Bike Alliance was hoping we would take care of it shortly, but I know we all have lots of other priorities.

And Madam Mayor, I just add, it's on the agenda for the next LHED, so I— if, if it seems to warrant from the conversation, then I'm sure we'll refer it to Cal if it seems like it needs more combo. All right, thank you for that. Mr. Steineger, I was just going to ask a question because what we got on the e-motos is kind of different from what I saw come out of the PRAC. And I mean, very related but kind of different conversations. And I'm wondering, will we have kind of both for discussion at LANs or just kind of blend them together based on—.

Oh, sorry, we got a hand from the attorney. Madam Attorney, I think I can offer an update, um, because there were a lot of conversations today. So as of this afternoon, um, I was asked to bring to lands, um, to review the ordinance that was sent in an email, um, from Mr. Harris. There, there are some things that he told me he wanted to change, so he wanted me to look at those. So you will get the prac version, you will get something from Mr. Harris to look at, something similar.

You will get Anchorage's language, and also Seattle just passed legislation as well. So with the e-moto change in discussion, we're going to bring all of those to Lance, and then you can decide where you want to go with, with that. If you want to send the prac version through and then keep working, that's up to you. Great, thank you. All right, and of course, if people are interested, they can always attend the LAMS meeting.

So, all right, Ms. Wall, are you finished? Mr. Brooks.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. The school board has been meeting, and at the most recent one, they were designating new administrative officers and kind of getting everything structured before the school year starts, which is next week. August 20th, right? This week, yeah. It's crazy, summer came and went already.

But also they're ironing out and still working on their code for rules and procedures on certain things.

There was the JCoS meetings, they've been doing their invisible infrastructure walkthroughs at the Sheep Creek Power Plant, and then there was one done up at, I think it was the wastewater facilities. I haven't been able to attend those, but definitely a great opportunity. They're available to everyone in the community if you want to go around and check out really cool infrastructure within the community. Monthly. I think that Joyce was able to attend one of them and just waiting for the opportunity to, but they're usually in the afternoon and for a couple hours and they'll go on a tour of some, you know, city facilities.

So I think that's a great resource for anyone in the community. In addition to us as the members as well, local emergency preparedness has cancelled the last couple of their meetings in anticipation for the GLOF, and, uh, it'll be interesting to kind of just see where everyone's coming from and what their experiences were at the next meeting. And, uh, I'll have a lot more to report then. Thank you for that, Mr. Steininger. Whoops, sorry, Ms. Adkisson.

That's actually fine, Madam Mayor. I have no report tonight. Perfect. Miss—. Mr. Steininger, Uh, thank you.

The, uh, Systemic Racism Review Committee met. They're, um, feeling some relief on being able to meet quorum just with the number of members they have, so that's been helpful. Um, you saw their, you know, review notes in the packet tonight. Um, Eagle Crest Board met. They changed their officers.

They elected new officers. Uh, Mr. Sore Lindstrom is now the president of the Eagle Crest board. And I apologize, I forget all the other officers that they have in terms of who's their treasurer and secretary now. Um, they also discussed a new policy where they'll be doing monthly meet and greet, kind of meet the board, you know, less formal than full board meeting, more of a community engagement, um, thing. They put together a policy for that, and that was introduced and passed at the board.

So start— we'll start seeing more kind of less formal but still formal outreach by the board there to try and address community relations. And then kind of on a more, I guess, personal note, I want to say thank you on behalf of my family for all the team that worked on the flood response, constructing the barriers, fixing the barriers, you know, the the staff at CBJ in the emergency operations group, the staff over at the Army Corps, the folks at Lincoln and Hyda, um, everybody. And, and also the press here in Juneau, because my parents were out of town and I was able to direct them to K2 instead of giving, you know, questions and phone calls every half an hour. They could just watch your live stream, and that was— that took a lot off of my plate. Thank you.

So thank you to everybody.

Thank you for that, Ms. Hall. Okay, thank you. And Duxton Harbors met on the 30th, and Shem Suter was reappointed as the board chair. Um, uh, they had a ribbon cutting on, uh, just earlier this week— or no, last week— for this Thane Storage facility.

Uh, he, um, Director Carl did not have anything to add to, you know, the rescue of the person off the steamship dock. Um, that sounds like it went well, and, and people standing by, you know, great, great response. Uh, they're in advertising for an engineering design company to begin the process to expand the North Douglas launch ramp. Of course, funding construction isn't in place yet, but they want to be competitive for the 2027 1% sales tax initiative. They're applying for ODOT harbor facility grants.

Those are due this week for Echo Cove boarding float and the Statter Harbor Phase 4. The Salmon Derby went off without a hitch from their perspective, and The Juneau, Port of Juneau and the Navy League is working to ensure the buoy tender roundup participants feel very welcome here in Juneau. JEDC did not meet in July. The next one is this coming Monday. However, on the 7th of August, they had Federal Reserve Governor Dr. Lisa Cook was in town, passing through town for a day, and that was It was quite an opportunity to sit in the room with— she was also on the front page of the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal the same day.

So just wide-ranging discussion: senior housing, tourism monopolies, healthcare system. She was kind of curious why our university did not have a school of hospitality given the prominence of the tourism industry.

Yeah, yeah, and I think that's it for my report. I would like to flag, you know, discussion of the hospital and the changes that federal funding, the changes to the Medicaid is going to impact not just the hospital but all of our healthcare and social service systems, and I don't know if there'd be some way to get a brief report support from all our community partners as to how this is impacting their agency, if there'd be an easy way to, you know, maybe Director Skilbred over at the Juneau Community Foundation might be able to reach out to them, but I thought it would, it would be good to know how other Medicaid-dependent systems in our community are going to fare. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Hall. Mr. Kelly. Thank you. Um, before I begin my report, I think I'll, I'll second Mr. Brooks' recommendation to participate in the Invisible Infrastructure Tour. I got to participate, I think, a month or two ago when they did the tour of docks and harbors and learned a lot.

So I recommend that to the community. The, um, Juno Commission on Aging met on the 21st. They— since most of them are volunteering for the polls, including their liaison, I'll be working the primaries tomorrow— they postponed that meeting until the 19th. It'll actually be in person this time. It'll be at the, at the downtown library, and they'll be discussing a survey that AARP did It's kind of a bit of a comprehensive survey.

So I'm looking forward to that.

The, um, C-SWA met on August 5th. They did not have a quorum, but they did discuss, um, kind of catch each other up on, on their latest. And talked about more about regional planning. Their next meeting will be at the Southeast Conference next month, which will be thankfully also be available online since I will not be attending that in person. The Downtown Business Association has been on summer hiatus.

They've been holding work sessions throughout the summer, but have not met formally otherwise.

Thank you, Mr. Kelly. Mr. Smith. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Um, the Planning Commission met last week. Uh, to take up a conditional use permit application, um, regarding having some farm animals out in the valley off Silver Street, um, potentially up to 200 hens, roosters, and meat chickens at a time.

It sounds like that number's high, but it sounds like it's like they'll grow them and then they'll be a slaughter, so they won't be 200 all the time. Um, and then up to 30 other farm animals, which can include horses, cows, sheep, goats, swine, wine and ducks.

They—. There were only 5 members of the Planning Commission, and I think maybe learning from their late July meeting pushed the decision to when there was a larger roster, because as we know, they need 5 to make any motion there. So they heard it, but they'll take it up again at their next meeting. The Juneau Coalition on Housing and Homelessness is doing some, um, seemingly like some kind of work on strategy or kind of like what their role and pieces are. Um, I, I wasn't able to attend their kind of longer strategic session, but I've got some notes and outputs.

And, um, anyway, it does seem like they're kind of searching to, um, maybe find their, their core and, and a good direction forward, but Um, that's all I had. Thanks, Madam Mayor. Thanks. Anything further from the staff?

And the one thing that we did forget on the flood is thank you to all our media partners. You guys did great. So with that, uh, we are adjourned.