Kodiak: October 8, 2026, Work Session

The October 8th, 2026 work session will now come to order. This work session is open to the public, for those who are listening. Meeting agendas and packets are available online on the City of Kodiak's website. Public members are encouraged to web stream from the city's website portal. Audience and council members, please silence your phones, and council members, please put your phones away for the duration of the meeting.

The first item on the agenda is public comments, which will be limited to 3 minutes each. If there is anyone who wishes to address the council as a whole, please approach the podium. Or call in at 907-486-8610. And please note, this is the only opportunity to comment during this work session, and due to the slight delay in broadcasting, I will be pausing a moment to allow some time for public members to call in.

May, may I start? Oh, please. Oh, okay. Hello, my name is Eileen Fitzgerald. I came in, there are a couple of things that have been happening in town that I have been looking into just because they have made me curious.

And a lot of them are related to the sinking of the Wild Alaskan. I think there's a lot of conversations about that, and for a long time I just let them happen, but then I started deciding that maybe I should see what people are talking about.

There's some really valid concerns. A courtroom might not be the place. People are significantly disadvantaged, but that doesn't mean that the city should just be rolling over people because it can, because it has an attorney. Um, I would just ask you to be really careful and make sure that the city is not engaging in arbitrary and capricious actions then or going forward. I appreciate with interim city manager Putney, there seems to be a professionalism emerging.

I appreciate these memos. I appreciate the friendliness, the community-focused style of management. We really look forward to that. I hope it would continue. I hope— I'm asking you, please, to improve the transparency and candor of the community going forward.

Um, it is arbitrary and capricious to only include some of the information that you're getting to the public. Again and again, you guys are making references to reports as a basis for your decisions, and that information is not available to the public. Uh, reasons that you are stated for suing local businesses are refuted in their answers, and I would just ask you to consider this. Do you know that you are suing a local auto shop? Uh, Julie Liu has calculated 506% more for a local auto shop than Highmark Marine paid for the same year, 2024.

That auto shop is not on subsidized property. That auto shop is not doing city contracts. And Julie Liu is suing them for 506% more. And to be clear, that does not include penalties, fees, interest, or anything. That is the straight-up tax that she calculated.

That is infuriating. That business does our, our Boy Scouts, our Girl Scouts, donates to our families, keeps my old car running. That is shameful, and that falls on you.

Other things that are not appearing that should— every year by code, the city clerk is supposed to prepare a report to you. I'm sorry, the 3 minutes is not enough time. As always, I would love to talk to you. Thank you. Thank you, Adine.

Would anyone else like to approach the council?

And there's no one on the phone.

The next item on the agenda under standing items is to discuss city revenue and finance, and I'll turn it over to interim city manager Tim Putney to provide a review.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. In the packet tonight is a review of, uh, last fiscal year. It's the unaudited review, so we expect some changes, um, but this is kind of a summary report from last budget year on where we anticipate falling, uh, with the deficit. Um, we've talked a lot about it, and we've, um, you know, it seemed like a couple of months ago it was going to be a couple million, and now it's down to about $92,000 or $94,000 after, um, some, some transfers from investments and stuff. So it's Looking a lot better than it was a couple of months ago.

Miss Lu is here if there's any specific questions.

Are there any questions from the council? Council Member West? Yeah, thank you. Thank you, Julie.

Ah, I'm gonna guess from what I've read, okay, uh, it looks like because of our, um gains in our investments. We're able— we're taking the interest gained this last session season and, and adding that to our, um, general fund. Is that, is that anywhere close?

Yeah, go ahead.

Through the mayor, um, Council Member West, um, essentially by code we have— we, we had to look at what the investment earnings of the enhancement fund was for the fiscal year, and then we also had to calculate what the inflation-proofing amount is by looking at the last 5 years of inflation rates. So it came out to be that the investment earnings was greater than the inflation-proofing amount, and as such, the code stipulates that we have to transfer, um, the difference between the earnings and inflation amount to the general fund, provided that the general fund does not have— does not have a deficit. So in FY26, we are anticipating the general fund to have deficits. So as such, we transferred about $1.14 million from the— from the earnings of the enhancement fund to the general fund, and that essentially helped to reduce the shortfall, uh, of the general fund. Thank you.

That was kind of what I thought, but you said it clearly, and I appreciate that.

Any more questions from the council?

Well, thank you, and thank you for this exhaustive report. Um, could you explain again the difference between the time we have to report and then the last quarter of tax revenue? Sometimes Do we still have more tax revenue to come in for this final quarter? No, that's it.

Can't squeeze that lemon anymore. Um, Mr. Mayor, no, this report based, um, covers all the tax, um, sales tax and hotel motel tax, um, because the June quarter sales tax is due, uh, at the end of July. So usually we wait because then there might be some that are late that trickles in in August. So the number that you have there includes both the sales tax from that we collect directly as well as the sales tax collected by the Remote Sellers Sales Tax Commission. Okay, thank you.

Any more questions from the council?

Thank you, Julie. Thank you, Tim. The next item on the agenda, understanding items, is elected official travel. Are there any requests to travel on behalf of the city?

And I know a number of us were going to the December Alaska Municipal League conference.

That's a ways away, though. Yes. Yeah, so, um, that's going to be the first, I believe, second week in December. Um, and we did budget for, I believe, 6— all 6 council members, um, to attend. As of right now, I think— I believe I've heard from 2 that want to attend.

So if you want to attend, so let the clerk know if you want to attend.

Yes. The next item on the agenda, understanding items, is update on the city manager recruitment. And I'll turn that over to City Clerk Brandy Warnicki to provide her update. Thank you very much. So you have before you in your meeting packet 5 city manager applications that were received.

Um, you also have before you 4 additional ones that were received after the work session packet was printed. Um, so I'm able and willing to take any questions or any discussion. It was a wide range of applicants. Any questions? Uh, Council Member West.

Um, are we going to talk about a way forward with, um, or do we have to wait for, uh, elections to be finalized? Because We could talk about a way forward. Correct. So, my, my hope is to schedule this at a work session where we put all the applications together, give the council the chance to look at all the applications with the matrix that was determined. Um, June, April, that council saw in one of the work session packets from April.

They want to change that matrix. We can discuss that as well, but to review, all the applications and determine where council wants to go from there. Um, and so we would need to schedule a work session for that item. Yeah, thank you. I just have an idea for the council.

Um, since, um, it looks like we'll be able to broaden, um, the area for residents, I was wondering what people thought about opening up— um, like, not opening up because it's open now, because apply, but put a deadline like in 30 days or 60 days that we end our application receipts. That way, if there's somebody that lives within that extended 5-mile period that wants to apply that has not yet, we would have a, a definite date of when we are no longer receiving applications, and then we can make a decision. So that's just, um, something I've been thinking about in the middle of the night. Do we have a date picked out when we were going to stop receiving applications? Not at this time, no.

So it's, it's just open, correct?

Well, that sounds like something we can talk about at the next work session, like she said, right? Yeah, we can have that discussion session. I bring my calendar, um, at Yes, so with the change in council, the, the certificate of election will come on the 26th. So canvas meets next week, certificate of election is the 22nd, new council members start date will be the 26th. So if there's availability that week or the following week to have a work session where that is the only item on the agenda.

That's, that's the council's focus for that whole meeting. The week of November 26th, then? October. October. Yes, if that works for the council, or the week of November 2nd.

Councilmember Walker.

So, so this room is available on October— if I remember correctly from when I looked at the calendar today, October 27th. That's Tuesday evening. It would be at the same time, roughly 6:30. Does that work for the council? Okay, looks like it does.

22Nd. 22Nd? 27Th. Oh, 27th. Yes, October 22nd.

Can you hold up fingers next time? Sorry.

All right, any further questions or comments about the city manager group? All right, thanks everybody.

The next item on the agenda is the packet review for the October 8th, 2026 regular meeting later this evening, and we intend to approve the minutes of the September 10th meeting and the September 30th special meeting, proclamation for Filipino American History Month. Public hearing on license number 21113 for Hi-Rise LLC. A public hearing on the renewal beverage dispensary license number 85 for Blue Incorporated, doing business as B&B Bar. That will bring us to reports of boards, commissions, and committees and unfinished business, of which I see none. New business will include 1st reading of Ordinance Number 1477, authorizing the City Manager to sign a loan agreement borrowing from the Alaska Clean Water Fund in an amount not to exceed $3,400,000 to pay the cost of Volition Homes Phase 7, Project PN20-05/70047.

That will bring us to 1st reading of Ordinance Number 1478. Authorizing the city manager to sign a loan agreement borrowing from the Alaska Drinking Water Fund in an amount not to exceed $2,200,000 to pay the cost of Volusian Homes Phase 7 Project PN20-05/70047. Which will bring us to Resolution Number 2026-34, accepting a State of Alaska Department of Education and Early Development Public Library Assistance Grant in the amount of $7,000.

I wanted to say $7 million. Then that will bring us to Resolution Number 2026-35, a resolution of the city— Kodiak City Council and Kodiak Island Borough Assembly rescinding City Resolution Number 07-17 and Borough Resolution Number FY 2007-38, officially dissolving the Joint Kodiak Fisheries Advisory Committee. That would bring us to consideration of marijuana retail store renewal application number 2120— rather, 113 for Hi-Rise LLC. And finally, consideration of the renewal of beverage dispensary license number 85 for Blue Incorporated, doing business as B&B Bar. Next will come staff reports from city manager and city clerk, mayor's comments, council comments, audience comments, and then adjournment.

Are there any questions or comments? Council Member West. Always. So item A under the, um, new business, um, it's the loan agreement borrowing from the Alaska Clean Water Fund It's a healthy payment. It's a loan.

It's got good interest. We love flushing our toilets and turning on the tap. I'm gonna say we love that. So is there a plan where this money comes from to make the payments? How do we— how do we do that in the budget?

The water and sewer utility funds are enterprise funds, so we use the money that the payments from the users and apply that towards the loan amounts every year and kind of budget that. Yeah, that makes sense. And actually, I have here that budget. I could look it up, but I, I was just had that question where it's, where it's coming from. That makes sense.

Enterprise, right? Okay.

Thank you. The other questions, D, which is the fisheries advisory. So I wrote it down on one of my scraps of paper, but that's where I am. There's a, there's a group now, right? There's a fisheries group.

Is the group meeting? Is that alive and current? It is still in existence and should be meeting again soon. But what this is, is the precursor or the, the Neanderthal to its, its, in its development. They don't meet anymore.

It was a bigger group. This one doesn't meet anymore, but the Joint Kodiak Fisheries Work Group, they still meet.

Yes. The—. When was the last time they met? Just— Hmm?

Um, couldn't answer that. It's been a while. They need to meet.

We need to appoint new members. More joints. So we're probably, I think, right after we get our new members seated, we can look around for who wants to be on the Fisheries Committee. Is there a chairman on that group? Yes, it, it rotates.

Okay. Okay. Between the borough and the city.

All right, those were my packet questions, roughly. Thank you. Anyone else have any packet questions?