Assembly Regular Meeting of April 3, 2025

I'm going to go ahead and, uh, call to order the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly regular meeting of Thursday, April 3rd, 2025 at 6:30 PM in the assembly chambers. We'll have the invocation by Major Dave Davis of the Salvation Army followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

Thank you very much. I've been away for a while, so it's kind of nice. Thank you for being here. Thank you for doing what you do to support the borough. I appreciate you.

Join me, please. Gracious Heavenly Father, we give you the praise and glory. We thank you for the privilege to gather here this evening. And Father, I ask a fresh anointing upon each of these individuals as they serve our community. And Father, may they be useful, their knowledge, their experience, throughout the whole Island Borough.

Thank you, Father, for your continued blessing upon them. We praise you in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands.

One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

We are gathered on the traditional homeland of the Supiaq Aleutic people, and we acknowledge the 10 tribes of the Kodiak Aleutic region. We recognize the Aleutic culture that enriches our community to this day. Roll call, please. Mr. Eames. Mr. Griffin.

Here. Mr. Johnson. Here. Mr. LeDoux. Here.

Mr. Sharrett. Here. Mr. Smiley. Here. Mr. Whiteside.

Here. Mayor Arkoosh. Here. You have a quorum. Thank you.

We have approval of the agenda and consent agenda. Jarrod? Move to approve the agenda and consent agenda. Second. It has been moved and seconded.

All those in favor say aye. Aye. For the public's information, the consent agenda consists of the minutes, approval of the minutes of special meeting March 13th, 2025, and regular meeting minutes of March 20th, 2025. Next item we have is citizens' comments. Those, uh, for those in the room who wish to speak, please come to the podium and sign in, turn on the microphone Make sure the green light is on before speaking and speak directly into the mic.

State your name for the record. Address all remarks to the assembly as a body and not to any member thereof. If you are calling in, the local number is 907-486-3231 and the toll-free number is 1-855- 492-9202. Please turn off any listening devices to prevent feedback. Anyone wishing to come forward or call in, please do so at this time.

Hearing and seeing none, we'll move on. Awards and presentations. We have a proclamation declaring the month of April 2025 Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

It's from the Office of the Mayor of the Kodiak Island Borough, um, proclamation declaring April 2025 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Whereas sexual violence is primarily a crime of power and control regardless of age, ethnicity, race, gender or economic stand— status. And whereas sexual assault is one of the most horrific and widespread crimes in our society today, and sexual viol— violence is an even bigger issue in Alaska, where the rate of reported rape is 2.5 times greater than the national average. And whereas for young people who are victimized, these criminal acts can be cruelly traumatic and force them to forgo the most special times in their lives, their childhood. One in four females and one in six males will be sexually assaulted before the age of 18.

And whereas, often women may experience sexual violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime, and one in five women will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime and each year. It is an estimated 25,000 American women will become pregnant following an act of sexual violence. And whereas, we must work together to educate our entire population about the causes and what can be done to prevent a sexual assault. Perpetrators must be held accountable for their actions. As a society, we must fight sexual assault by striving to increase public awareness of the devastating pain and suffering caused by these crimes.

Now therefore, I, Scott Arndt, Mayor of the Kodiak Island Borough, do hereby proclaim the month of April 2025 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month and encourage all residents to support local activities and programs which assist victims and to learn more about pervasiveness to sexual assault in Alaska, and so we may eliminate the heinous crime. Thank you. And—. Get my thing here— Emily Tiller, you wish to come forward and take this, please.

On behalf of the Kodiak Women's Resource and Crisis Center, I would like to thank you so much for taking time to recognize Sexual Assault Awareness Month. And I'd like to thank you so much for all the support you've given our agency and our clients for so many years. Um, sadly, although Kodiak is such a caring and supportive community, sexual assault is still a big problem here. Too many women, men, and even children experience this horrific kind of violence. Sexual assault is particularly harmful because it's not only a dangerous physical assault, but it is an intimate, personal kind of violence.

What's more, about 80% of rapes are perpetrated by someone the survivor knows, and most of those are someone they know well, someone they trust. In 2024 alone, KWRCC worked with 26 victims of sexual assault in Kodiak, helping them to find safety so they could begin healing. And we know that there are many more who have not reached out to us for help. Some of them may turn to friends or family members, and many of them may struggle alone. And some may not even understand all that was done to them or that they can seek help at all.

So I'm really grateful that survivors have KWRCC to turn to for support. Not only can we provide safe shelter for them and their children and support them through any legal processes, but we're able to help them find a path through the many complex systems they must navigate to access the resources that they need to move forward. And so we're so grateful to have so many reliable partners who can help provide those resources. And we know that it will take all of us, the whole community, to bring an end to sexual assault. Supporting agencies like KWRC is a great start, but we all need to take a stand.

So please talk to your families and your friends about this issue and about what healthy relationships look like. Talk about consent, about the fact that in all of our relationships, sexual or not, it's important that we value both our own and others' safety, and comfort. And when you get that feeling in your gut that something is off, that someone might not be safe, step in and say something and check on your people. When we talk about it, when we shine light on this problem, we empower victims to seek help, and hopefully, we can stop sexual assault before it even begins. And I know that it can be hard to start these conversations.

They are uncomfortable. But one great way to start speaking up is to join KWRC-C and our partner agencies at the Choose Respect March on Wednesday, April 16th at noon, starting at the auditorium, and help us show that Kodiak does not accept sexual assault or domestic violence because Kodiak chooses respect. Thank you so much. Thank you. Here you go.

Next one we have is presentation of the Certified Municipal Clerk designation to Assistant Clerk Irene Arellano, CMC. Novo, you have some things you'd like to say. Yes, thank you, Mr. Mayor and members of the assembly. The Certified Municipal Clerk program is designed to enhance the job performance of the clerk in small and large municipalities. To earn the CMC designation, a municipal clerk must attend extensive education programs and courses through a variety of methods.

Assistant Clerk Irene has earned this prestigious designation through her aggressive participation in educational programs and involvement, involvement in a variety of professional development activities. She has successfully obtained the esteemed Certified Municipal Clerk designation from the Institute— International Institute of Municipal Clerks. Remarkably, Irene completed her certification in just 2 years, a year ahead of the usual 3-year timeline. This certification prepares her to meet the challenges of the complex role of the municipal clerk. The CMC designation is more than just a pin, a certificate, and 3 letters at the end of her name.

It is a declaration that Irene is proficient in her position and she demonstrates mastery of administrative skills critical to good government. The borough congratulation— congratulates Irene for fulfilling the requirements of the Certified Municipal Clerk program. Congratulations, Irene. Thank you. So I have the, um, certificate.

International Institute of Municipal Clerks hereby confers the title of Certified Municipal Clerk upon Irene Arellano, who has completed the requirements prescribed by the International Institute of Municipal Clerks for certification, uh, certified this 15th day of January, 2025. So It's—. I'm going to meet you over here.

I got the good stuff. Are you all going to hold out for chocolate?

No stabs. I figured I might stab my finger. That's okay. That's what I thought. That's how they put the wings on.

I bought them the other day.

Please, please do. Please sign in.

Well, I have to get this ready because I'm going to be nervous, but I want to thank the Kodiak Island Borough and the assembly members for their support of the employees' professional growth and development. I appreciate the opportunities provided to attend these trainings and conferences. That help us earn credits and obtain our certifications. This educational experiences have been incredibly beneficial for me, allowing me to acquire essential knowledge and connect with outstanding clerks in our profession who serve as excellent resources. I also want to thank our borough manager, Amy Williams, for inspiring leadership and fostering a positive work environment.

I also appreciate all the borough staff for their excellent teamwork and dedication, and a special thank you to Lena and Nova for their guidance, patience, and understanding. I'm grateful to be a part of the clerk's team, and thank you. I look forward to apply the knowledge I've gained and use all the resources available to enhance our public Thank you. Thank you, Irene.

Do we have any committee reports? Dave? Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Just briefly, had Solid Waste Advisory Board last night. A very thorough discussion on Senate Bill 61 and some other Solid Waste Advisory Board priorities.

One thing that came through that was maybe a little muddled was there was discussion on the threshold contract, which the Advisory Board supported moving on to the assembly for discussion, which I would take as a kind of a neutral endorsement that they didn't want to be seen as, you know, endorsing the terms of it, just that they of course feel incredibly strongly that we do need a recycling program. Here in Kodiak. Beyond that, I don't know there's much else to report. Thank you. Bo?

All right, thank you.

So the Kodiak Island Borough and City of Kodiak Joint Fisheries Workgroup met again on March 26th. So items we talked about, we received an update from the Alaska Groundfish Data Bank from Julie Bonney. This was a fisheries update for for our groundfish, local groundfish fisheries, and how those are going. Pollock's winding down, and I believe actually closed now, and the council meeting has begun, and there's some topics that, um, that group is, is speaking on, um, this week, probably through Sunday, I believe. Uh, the, uh, we received information, it was very educational, from Miss Linda Freed from the Kodiak Fisheries Development Association.

This association manages quota for, for the Kodiak Archipelago. So it was really interesting to learn about how they can acquire quota and then lease it to local entities to preserve those here locally. So I thought that was really interesting. I had no idea that existed. So we're really grateful for Ms.

Freed to come and educate us on how that all worked. They are currently looking to acquire more quota from, from various fisheries to keep here in Kodiak. So it was really great to learn that that exists. We received a Kodiak Chamber of Commerce update from Miss Simeonoff relative to COMFISH Alaska, which is coming up— I forgot the date. Amy, help me.

Next week? Next week.

9Th through the 11th. They have The Chamber of Commerce has lined up an outstanding panel of guests every single day. All, every one of the, our state and federal legislators are going to be presenting at COMFISH this year. So this is a big one. We're going to have a lot of people.

Dr. Bob Foy will be here presenting for National Marine Fisheries Service and how maybe current political events have, may, may or may not change how the National Marine Fisheries Service can assist research and management and surveying for Alaska waters. So we're curious to hear what that update will be. And then the selection of co-chairs. So we, we swapped that role over, and Mr. Griffin will be chairing for the Kodiak Island Borough, and Mr. Haynes will be chairing for the City of Kodiak. So we were grateful for them to step up and offer their, their assistance with that, and We look forward to more meetings ahead.

Are there any other committee reports? Seeing none, we will move on to Borough Manager Report. Amy Williams. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I always do it the first time during the meeting.

Good evening, Assembly members. This week on the 1st, you will have received an email that has the manager's budget as required in KBIC Code 3.15.1. 3.030. Uh, there is a link sent to you and sent to the clerk so they could print it out as needed. Um, in the manager's report tonight, you're going to see how it looks when you're finding it on the website.

So if you go to the, uh, KIB website, uh, and I wrote out the path for you— home to departments to the finance department to accounting and reporting— the screenshot that you see on the left is where that report is at, or the budget is at. So if the public is looking for the budget That's what the screen will look like, and they can click on there and see that Level 1 budget. Uh, this week I sent an inquiry to the state assessor to ask for clarification on how senior citizen and disabled exemptions are applied in different situations. Uh, not saying that our assessing team is doing it wrong because they're not. They're following the policy given.

I just want to see that policy in writing, and I can't find it anywhere. And so I'm asking the new state assessor to put it in writing and send it to us. I get a lot of questions about how those are applied when we're not giving the full exemption, so I'm asking for clarification on that. So hopefully we'll hear back from them soon. I wanted to keep putting that volcano readiness item on there.

The state of Alaska has a website, ready.alaska.gov/volcano, especially important for us here when we're talking about state facilities and airport operations. On April 9th, next week, the Rural Community Assistance Corporation is partnering with the Kodiak Economic Development Corporation on their Recharge Our Community's Economy series. The April 9th meeting is held from 10 to 4 at the marketplace.

Uh, North Star Elementary— there's a resolution that will be setting up the North Star Elementary School Facility Work Group. We're going to see on the April 17th meeting, so it will show up in packet review next week. We are currently recruiting for our maintenance mechanic and on Unfortunately, an accounting technician in accounts— our accounts payable, uh, um, person put in their 2-week notice this week, so we're going to be looking for a new accounts payable person to come into finance. For the 2025 bond refunding, the refunding pricing occurred on March 25th. The outcome saves the borough $323,259 over the next 10 years.

The mayor just signed the paperwork tonight right before the meeting, and it is back with the clerk so that can get FedEx tomorrow. So that'll be set for the 2024 foreclosure process. All delinquent property owners have 30 days from March 14th to pay delinquent taxes and be removed from the foreclosure judgment and decree being filed with the court. In community development, Planning and Zoning Commission will have a work session on April 9th. The meeting will include commissioner training and a review of the April 16th meeting.

At— on April 16th, they're going to be reviewing a preliminary subdivision case, 2 rezone cases, and a land disposable review for easement. That land disposable review for an easement is for the folks that live on the Russian River, so they have permission from the borough to go out and stabilize their riverbank in front of their home. That one's been a long time coming, so we're happy that we're finally being able to take action on that. So if Planning and Zoning passes it through the work session and regular meeting on the 9th and the 16th. It is on the agenda for us on the 17th.

Our hydrology and hydraulic study of the Russian River and Sargent Creek, we had a preliminary findings report. We met with them on April 2nd. The draft findings report is going to be submitted back to us in 2 weeks, and there's going to be a 30-day review period in which the assembly will get a chance to see it and ask any questions that we might have. During the process of that study, the state of Alaska put out an RFP to work on our bridge replacements, in which they show huge berms that they're interested in building to reroute those rivers, which will both save the Sergeant Creek Road and reroute the river, which no one really told us was coming. We just saw designs of, um, of those berms from River Focus.

So we're excited to learn more about that. With DOT. That's going to be one of the things that I spend my time on when I go to the infrastructure conference in a few weeks up in Anchorage to find out what that looks like and how that's going to affect us. In assessing, staff has begun checking PFD information to validate residency requirements for our senior citizen and disabled veteran exemptions. For appeals, the appeal period officially ended on Friday, March 28th.

The end of the appeal was very busy. We had 52 people come in on the last day. Before that day, only 5 appeal forms were given out. On that day, 17 more were given out, but a lot of them were just because people came after— in after 3 PM, and we just didn't have enough time to talk to everyone. So by the time the deadline came at midnight that night, there were 13 appeals that were filed by the clerk's office— or with, sorry, with the clerk's office, and assessing is going to continue working with those property owners to see how many of those will go to the BOE.

The Lutig Foundation exemption appeal is scheduled for July 17th. I believe there is emails that went out about this, that this week the assembly is going to receive their informational books about the appeal on July 7th as required, 10 days before. And a reminder, the ex parte communication rules will continue to be in effect until after that hearing is completed. Next week, uh, we will be advertising for an appraiser tech. That was because Jeanne Friel retired.

Her last day was April 1st. Those listings happen in-house for a week, and then they go out to the public next week. In Engineering Facilities, the contractor demobilized, so no one's working out there right now, but they are scheduled to return on April 6th. The abatement is expected to begin next week, and they intend to complete the entire project by early July. At the landfill, the staff is working with the Chamber of Commerce on coordinating the community cleanup event.

There is a commercial cleanup event on May 1st and 2nd and the community cleanup event on May 3rd. And we've had a lot of organizations reach out and express interest about helping pick up all the yellow bags that get left all over the community. So thank you to the folks that are going to do that. We have a regional solid waste management plan proposal that's due on April 8th. We're going to be ready for that, and staff is currently reviewing the fee schedule to determine if updates need to be provided for the per-ton rate at the landfill.

At the leachate treatment plant, the leachate treatment staff took a leachate management class with SWANA Northern Lights Chapter yesterday. At Carluk, we are meeting with a company called Three Tier Alaska and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation on Tuesday next week to figure out our path forward to see if further delineation is going to be required for that UST leak that we had out there. The community pool, the, um, is going to start their, uh, tours of the pool on May 19th through 21st, and the pool will be drained for that so they get a full look at the pool. In service areas, staff received final evidence from our road service area members and from the KIB staff, and so those invitation to bid documents are going to go out on April 11th. In information technology, they are working on blacklisting foreign networks that attempt to attack our servers, which seems like a sci-fi movie, but we have had so many lately, it's kind of crazy.

So thanks to Fred and his team for keeping us safe. They're scanning our systems for compliance, and they're actually having to rebuild two servers to ensure their integrity. GIS is continuing to work with Community Development getting ready for upcoming meetings for the comprehensive plan. And so we are keeping Travis busy in GIS. At the end of the report every week, I have things that are upcoming.

We talked about our nonprofit use of opioid settlement funds at the work session on the 27th. And so still upcoming, we will be talking about accommodations tax. And next week when we're in Community Development, we will add in the discussion about if we want to add more funds to the junk vehicle removal line item. And I'm happy to answer any questions that you might have. Scott.

We heard that regarding the PCBs that the landfills in the state of Alaska allow 1 part per million. And That means that many places will have to ship things out of state, which is going to be ridiculously expensive for all the municipalities that don't have a higher level. Have we talked to our two state representatives about getting a plan to move the level from 1 to 5 or something that would be more accommodating? Um, so yes, we did meet with ADC and talk to the representatives about why Alaska landfills are using that 1 part per million, and they gave us the references and the codes that they use and the tables that they're referring to. We've also found out that 48 out of 50 states in the United States use a 50 part per million level.

And so we're asking— working— the letter is in progress. We're working on asking the state why we're using the tables that we're using instead of using the EPA standards of 50 parts per million, uh, we'll be asking for a regulatory review to look at the economic impact on that decision on Alaska. I mean, we're doing it on behalf of the borough, but we're going to be asking on behalf of Alaska because the— if that little project— I'm like, where are we— out there is costing us $350,000, I think it's gonna— and we're on the coast. Imagine what it's gonna be like for someone on the North Slope to get stuff out of the state. So We are— that is something that we are pursuing.

Are we working with Stutes and Stevens? We are not working with our state people yet. We are going to be taking it to the Office of Management and Budget with the governor's office and asking them to look at the ADEC requirement first. And then if that yields results, yay, and if not, we will continue from there. Thank you.

Any other questions? Seeing none, we'll move on. Next item is new business ordinances for introduction. This is ordinance number FY 2025-15, amending Title 2, Administration and Personnel, Chapter 30, General Rules, Section 2.30.020, to allow electronic participation of mayor and assembly members to meetings. Jared, move to advance ordinance number FY2025-15 to public hearing at the next regular meeting of the assembly.

Second. It's been moved and seconded. Staff report, Nova. Thank you, Mr. Mayor and members of the assembly. On December 20, 2024, assembly members Dave Johnson, Ryan Sherritt, and Bo Whiteside submitted an agenda item request form requesting staff assistance to prepare an ordinance allowing remote participation in meetings.

Uh, we presented that initial draft at the work session held on March 13, 2025, and at that time the assembly reviewed the draft and suggested modifications. Those modifications were included in the draft that is— or the ordinance that is before you in the packet. It is now an ordinance for introduction. The ordinance requires assembly members to notify the clerk of their contemplated absence at least 24 hours in advance. We change it from mayor and clerk to, to clerk because this ordinance would require that I check who's going to be physically present at that meeting before any, anyone will be allowed to participate.

So there's going to be a slightly more strict monitoring on who can participate. So if, let's say for example, uh, the notice is less than 24 hours, the mayor of the ordinance would allow the mayor to make an exception as long as the notification is before 5 PM on the day of the meeting. It— the ordinance also, uh, details the recognized reasons that would allow electronic participation. For example, The first one would be illness or injury of the mayor or assembly member or their family member, the passing of a family member, obligations related to employment, responsibilities pertaining to borough business— that would include the travels on behalf of the borough— out-of-town commitment that prevents the mayor or assembly member from attending in person. Electronic participation will be permitted, provided that a quorum of assembly members is physically present at the meeting.

This ordinance— and I already spoke about the mayor would be able to waive that 24 hours— this ordinance also limits the attendance to regular meetings up to 4 per year. It would also require a video conferencing type of attendance for regular meetings, but for work sessions and special meetings, you will be allowed to participate however you want. I'd be happy to answer any questions that you may have. This will be up for public hearing at the next regular meeting. Scott.

This issue came up a few years ago, and We voted it down at that point. I want to speak to the voting it down side of this, but before I do that, I'm a little concerned that we're not limiting the number of times that people could use electronic communication to do this. We have a statute that says that you can only miss 3 regular meetings in a row. Without penalty. So if all 3 of them could be done by electronically, then, then we wouldn't have that anymore.

I think that's a mistake. I think we might want to limit the number that you could do to 1.

Some people say 2. I think 1 is a nice number. And Mr. Arndt is wrong again. Sorry, but In addition to that, my reason for not supporting this is that the electorate has elected us. There's been a diminishment of people involved in voting over the years since, I guess, World War II, and we have very few— maybe 20, 25% of the registered voters actually vote on us.

I think that by invoking a measure of electronics into our dialogue we remove ourselves even further from our electorate. And I think it's important that individuals stand up and face the electorate in these meetings in order to maintain that connection with the people that elected you. Thank you. Ryan, and then Dave. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

I could not agree more that we should stand and face those that elected us, so I am proposing prepared to quantify that statement. Today I completed my 30th trip from Anchorage to Kodiak or Kodiak to Anchorage, and during the 2.5 hours that I was sitting at Gate C1, I had about an hour and 45-minute conversation with a constituent in Service District 1 voicing concerns that has not yet come and testified. So If your fear is lack of representation from a physical location, I would argue that, uh, at least in transit, those that know that we are an elected body, uh, certainly enjoys the freedom to converse as opposed to their 3 minutes on a stand. And I would say that we would see more of an efficient conversation in our travels. So that would be point number 1.

Point number 2, I actually support this. Obviously, I'm a co-sponsor of this. I support this for more inclusion. We have developed technology. Hopefully, Madam Manager is working on a different technology for inclusion on remote participation that enables a wider and more diverse participation in the assembly members that have consistently been elected out of, in my opinion, necessity or lack of people or with interest to run based on availability.

So I actually think that the remote participation would open up additional interest in those assembly member seats, and I fully support this for those reasons. Pending any questions, I sure appreciate the opportunity to give that feedback. Dave. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And to echo what Mr. Sherrod had said, I, you know, um, sorry, I got a rip in the carpet that's got my wheel stuck.

That wouldn't have happened and my train of thought wouldn't have been interrupted. No, I introduced this because, you know, through this body, uh, you know, having previously been on the school board and attending a fair number of city council meetings, I routinely hear our elected bodies bemoan the lack of participation from younger adults in our community in terms of running for seats. You know, we say we've got to get the next generation in these seats. Well, this is a step in that direction. Um, it is incredibly hard to be available every— well, not every single Thursday, 48 Thursdays a year, um, when you're a working parent.

And the opportunity to call in and participate remotely in a regular meeting while at a child's hockey tournament or a child's doctor's appointment or orthodontist appointment in Anchorage or whatever other reason that takes working-age folks out of this community, away from home, on a fairly consistent basis, giving them the opportunity to participate remotely is how we bridge that gap and get more working-age folks running for office. So that was the one and primary reason, but as Mr. Sherrod said, and talk about representation and equity, we represent more than the folks who live right on our road system. We all know that. But nobody who lives off our road system can be afforded the opportunity to realistically run for a seat when required to be here physically every other week. So if this were to pass, and as I see it says a maximum of 4 times per year, you know, that might be enough that somebody can say, you know, they can carefully plan their year and be be here physically for enough and during fishing season or whatever, and then, you know, remote in at other times of the year.

And we might see a whole new candidacy from a community that has never been able to have a representative on this board. So those are my two reasons, and for those reasons, I certainly hope that this will pass through. Thank you. Steve.

Um, I will be in favor. I think the times have come in working remotely that has become very commonplace. This summer I ended up working a lot more out in Old Harbor than I intended to, and on the attendance tally we got today, I do have absences, and every single one of those When I was out in Old Harbor, I had a plane seat to come to the meeting and did not make it because of weather.

I think this would ease situations like that because unfortunately or fortunately, a lot of us have to travel for work these days. And I think it could smooth that out. I realize it's a new technology and But it's what is up and coming, and if it doesn't pass, I think this is a matter of not will it happen, but when. And I think the time is now. Thank you.

Bo. Thank you. I agree with everything said so far, and, you know, we initially were looking at twice the amount of regular meetings allowable per year. We've already looked at reducing that down to 4 regular meetings a year. I think that's quite reasonable.

I certainly don't advocate for missing or being able to do this remotely for all meetings, with the exception of— I would be open to discussing that for members of or citizens of the Villages at some point. I wouldn't be opposed to that one bit. However, for us here living on the road system, I think 4 is reasonable. I think we miss out on a lot of good input and knowledge when folks are out sick, they're out traveling for work, or if they're out on borough business for AML or out in D.C. on the Hill, we could still benefit from their knowledge and participation by participating remotely. And that's what I'm viewing here.

So, if folks fall under these categories and we can still gain some value from their input, why on earth would we not pursue that? And then of course I support the reasons of, of kind of modernizing how we approach this. And, and I do want to say it again, if, if this does pass, I would be open to amending it later on to allow full remote participation for the villages. If someone were to run and get elected, I think we need more village representation up here. But currently, as, as it sits, I will absolutely support it.

Larry, and then Jared. I tried to go after you, Jared, but he wouldn't switch. It's fine with me. When the voters are— Thank you. When the voters are unhappy with the performance of someone they elect, they generally unelect them.

And so they're our biggest critic, if you will, if we believe in the system.

I believe In reference to people who elected us have a right to see us here, to take away my vote because I'm not here when I could be here electronically takes away the right of my constituents to be heard. So it's just the opposite of what someone said earlier, that we're not representing our folk, to take away that right. Um, doesn't make any sense to me because that's what you're doing. I know, and I've said this before, uh, when I was on the assembly last time and we were presented with a vote to accept Termination Point in Long Island under our wing, our conservation, I had to fly back from California to be here for the vote or it probably wouldn't have passed. It was that tight.

And when votes are that tight, regardless of the issue, Then we get into the aspect of the mayor, not this mayor, but any mayor could set the agenda. So if they know someone's not going to be here, they can make sure this is on the agenda and won't be talked about. And that's not right. Okay. And I'm not pointing any fingers at anybody right now.

I'm not really. There are critical issues that we take it away, need to discuss. And, uh, I will say that the current use of technology, as Assemblymember Sherrod pointed out at the last meeting, is insufficient to do a good job at what we're doing. And I think it's unfortunate that our clerks have to operate a system that is 10 years old and not very efficient. We should give them the best tools.

I think Jared's probably seen this system when I go to the college advisory meetings. In their conference room. You have a picture of everybody on screen, and when anybody speaks, it immediately goes to an individual picture so you can see them. It's an incredible system, and it's available. It's something that we could put in here.

I think we really need to do that. I believe that also that Kodiak is a mobile community. Our young people are moving around. There's things happening. It's just not health.

I think that anybody that runs for the assembly wants to be here. Sometimes they can't, and again, I don't think we should take away their right to vote. And, uh, that's, that's about all. I'm very, very supportive of this. I, uh, the limit it to 1, 2, 3, you know, you go back to the point where, you know, if somebody's not here all the time, or they can't be here, as somebody's intimated, because of weather.

To put a limit— oh, you used one in October, so even though you got weathered out and we have the technology, you can't do it. That doesn't make any sense to me. Okay, I don't mind putting like 4. I think that it says 4. That would be fine because I can't imagine that happening.

But why make it difficult for an elected representative Why block them from voting when the technology allows us to do it efficiently? The other thing, and I'll lastly, is if somebody decides to go on vacation and they schedule it in June and it's a year from then, they don't know if they're going to be here or not. We don't know. And isn't that taking away someone's right, your constituent's right to be represented when you elect not to be? All right.

Thank you. Jared.

I have an amendment to clean up a little bit of the language on here. I think it's something simple. Line 67, I think there's discrepancy between line 67 and line 109. Line 67 says— and I think this might be some of the confusion from earlier. Says that they are permitted to participate in all Assembly meetings electronically, and then 109 has the restriction to 4.

Is it— I will ask first if it is okay with the Clerk, and then I will make the amendment to just take out number 4, take out F4, because it is not— it doesn't really fit there anyway. And just copy and paste that language into Section A, into the first sentence of Section A. So the very first sentence of Section A on line 67 would read, "The mayor and assembly members are allowed to attend a maximum of 4 regular meetings electronically each year, spanning from November 1st to October 31st. There are no limitations on the number of electronic participants participations for work sessions and special meetings.

I'm looking at NOVA, if that's okay, Mr. Mayor. Mr. Mayor and members of the assembly, the intent of this sentence is I think the mayor and assembly members are permitted to participate in all types of assembly meetings. I think we are missing the word types because that would include the work sessions, regular meetings, and special meetings. That's what I think— we took this language from the city of Kodiak, but my read on it is that it's talking about the types of meetings, not the limitations. Okay, then, then, all right, then I'll— hold on, give me just a second here.

Okay. I will make an amendment to change that first, but then I still want to go back to—. What would you like to change first? To move to amend line 67 to read: The Mayor and Assembly members are permitted to participate in all kinds or all types, all types, thank you, all types of Assembly meetings.

Is there a second? Second. It's been moved and seconded. Discussion? Jared?

Just what Nova explained, just to clarify, not all meetings, but all types of meetings. There's the explanation. I just repeated the amendment. Okay, Steve.

Um, for clarification, when it says all types of meetings and then it limits to 4, well, we already can participate to work sessions, so all types of meetings but only regular meetings would count towards the 4? Correct, because you're limiting the regular meetings. I'm just trying to make sure the wording is right for that and that by saying all types, it doesn't suddenly make them all 469. Thank you. Larry, and then Scott.

I know we're talking about the assembly here, but, you know, if we had something similar for our service boards, we may solve the problem of not having a quorum if we allowed them to meet electronically, set up standards for it, And it might solve the problem that we're dealing with right now if we made that happen. Scott, what about special meetings or executive sessions? Is that included in regular meetings for the 4?

Jerry? Well, the—. On line 68, there is the exception for executive sessions. But I believe that all types includes regular meetings, work sessions, and special meetings. [SPEAKING GERMAN] With the exceptions of that.

Ryan. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So, Steve, to address yours, on line number 111, it says there are no limitations on the number of electronic participations for work sessions and special meetings. So that is explicitly— Illustrated on line 111 and 112. I'm not sure about special meetings.

Okay, any further discussion or questions? Jared, you said you had another Okay, well, that's separate. Okay, I just wanted to make sure. All right, so no further discussion. Roll call vote on the amendment.

Okay, um, this amendment is on line 67. We're inserting the words 'of types of meetings' in all, in all types of assembly meetings. Okay, Mr. Ames? Yes. Mr. Griffin?

Yes. Mr. Johnson? Yes. Mr. LeDoux? Yes.

Mr. Sharrett? Yes. Mr. Smiley? No. Mr. Whiteside?

Yes. Would anyone like to change their vote? Motion passes with 6 yes, 1 no. Jared? Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

The second thing I would suggest we move, going back to line 109, Section F, number 4. Section F is about the actual procedures of participating electronically, and number 4 is not a procedure. Number 4 is, you know, explaining the different parameters of attendance. I would move to— I will move to move lines 109 through 112. To line 94, so that number— so that chunk of language right there, F4, becomes the new letter F, and then electronic participation procedures begins as letter G after that.

Does that track? [Speaker:COMMISSIONER ARKOOSH] Makes sense. [Speaker:CHAIRMAN BRYANT] Okay. [Speaker:COMMISSIONER ARKOOSH] Thank you. [Speaker:CHAIRMAN BRYANT] That's a lot to put in an amendment.

Can I just say, I move to move lines 109 through 112 as a new Section F and then create electronic participation procedures as Section G.

Second. Is there a second? Second. It's been moved and seconded. Discussion?

Go ahead, Jerry. No. I think that's it. Good enough? Yeah, I think so.

Any other questions? On it. Dave?

Disregard. Disregard. Any other discussion? Roll call vote on the amendment, please.

Mr. Griffin? Yes. Mr. Johnson? Yes. Mr. LeDoux?

Yes. Mr. Sharrett? Yes. Mr. Smiley? Yes.

Mr. Whiteside? Yes. Mr. Ames? Yes. Would anyone like to change their vote?

Motion passes with 7 yes, 0 no. Okay, now you have the motion as amended before you. Larry?

I'm very supportive of this motion, but it will only work efficiently if we have improved technology. So there seems to be a fiscal note associated with this, and I'm not suggesting that it be included in the main motion, but I think the borough assembly needs to recognize, as the manager attempts to put this in place or fund it, that they're going to have to do that. So it will cost money. Amy, since you've been discussing, I went online and looked at Owl Labs, which is that Teleconference thing that shifts to the people who's talking, it's about $4,000. So I'll advise— we go over IT budget next week, so you can plan on seeing a little bit of a bump in there to make sure that we have enough money to get one of those.

Ryan. So if you're preparing that as a presentation, would you please prepare Microsoft Teams, which the borough already utilizes in their software packages and has this capability? Yes, that shouldn't be an issue at all. I've already asked the IT director to create a Teams account just for assembly meetings, and there should be no fiscal note attached to that. That's just creating the account.

Perfect. I would just— if I may continue— I would just advocate for the functionality of Microsoft Teams has been nearly perfected over the years. That is a free or already paid-for option, so I I would just like us to consider that as well. Thanks. Further discussion?

Bo? I'll just echo that Microsoft Teams is quite user-friendly for those familiar with the MS suite, and if we don't have to pay more, that would be my preference as well. Any further discussion? Roll call vote on the motion as amended. Mr. Johnson?

Yes. Mr. LeDoux? Yes. Mr. Sharon? Yes.

Mr. Smiley? No. Mr. Whiteside? Yes. Mr. Ames?

Yes. Mr. Griffin? Yes. Would anyone like to change their vote? Motion passes with 6 yes, 1 no.

All righty, thank you.

Next item we have is confirmation of assembly appointment to the Fire Protection Area Number 1 board. Craig Dagon. Jared.

Move to confirm the Assembly appointment of Mr. Craig Dagon to the Fire Protection Area Number 1 board for a term to expire October 2027. Second. All right, any discussion?

Roll call vote on the motion, please. Mr. LeDoux. Yes. Mr. Sharon. Yes.

Mr. Ms. Smiley? Yes. Mr. Whiteside? Yes. Mr. Ames?

Yes. Mr. Griffin? Yes. Mr. Johnson? Yes.

Would anyone like to change their vote? Motion passes 7 yes, 0 no. Next item we have is confirmation of assembly appointment to the Manasheka Bay Road Service Area Board of Mr. Andrew DeBries. Jared? Move to confirm the Assembly appointment of Andrew DeVries to the Monashka Bay Road Service Area Board for a term to expire October 2027.

Second.

Do you want to say anything, Ryan? Go ahead. So during our work session, I did disclose that Mr. DeVries is an employee of mine. I indicated that I would like a decision from the Mayor on whether or not I was conflicted conflicted in voting on this or not, and I have not received a decision, and I'd like a decision before we cast our votes. Yes, and I have thought about it.

That's why I was trying to catch you in the parking lot. But, um, I rule that you do not have a conflict on it, and, uh, so it's my intent to let you vote without any problem. So any Any further discussion or wish to overrule that? All right, okay, then I'm going to call roll call vote on the motion, please. Mr. Sharrett?

Yes. Mr. Smiley? Yes. Mr. Whiteside? Yes.

Mr. Aynes? Yes. Mr. Griffin? Yes. Mr. Johnson?

Yes. Mr. LeDoux? Yes. Would anyone like to change their vote? Motion passes unanimously.

Thank you. Thank you. Next item is citizens' comments. Um, for those in the room, please, uh, come forward to the podium and sign in, turn on the microphone, make sure the green light is on before speaking, and speak directly into the mic. State your name for the record, address all remarks to the assembly as a body and not to any member thereof.

If you're calling in, the local phone number is 907 486-3231. Toll-free number is 855-492-9202. Please turn off any listening devices to prevent feedback. Go ahead, Sandra.

Hello, assembly is a body. This is awesome.

I want to say thank you. I was very pleased and impressed when we had the DOT presentation on Otmaloise and a couple of you who will not be named, but the body spoke in favor of pedestrian sidewalks and do us a good sidewalk. I thank you for that. That's—. And I didn't realize it, but I think, you know, people living around here do that.

There's more kids going to the bus stops on Otomoloy potentially. Anyway, I just— it's a rough road, and we've been trying for, I believe, 20 years now. I also appreciated DOT apologizing that they were actually embarrassed about the progress of the project. They should be. Anyway, we go forth.

And I appreciate that. Thank you all very much.

Any phone calls? Anyone else wishing to come forward and speak? We have a phone call.

Maybe not.

Okay. You are now answering a call from McHugh. Assembly meeting, you're on the line. Please state your name for the record. Yes, my name is Carleen McChesney.

Um, I've been listening to the meeting this evening and I'm wondering, how serious are you when you're not there very often? I mean, um, are you informed on the issues and, and what's going on? That's just my concern. So, um, I, I'm kind of opposed to maybe what was just asked, but, um, in just one. Thank you.

Thank you for calling in. Appreciate it. I agree.

Um, anyone else wishing to come forward and speak under citizens' comments? Any phone calls? Seeing none. Move on to assembly member comments. Uh, Bo, I'll start with you.

Thank you. I just wanted to correct, uh, some misinformation for Confish Dates. Thank you, Madam Manager. Um, that is April 15th through 17th. Um, again, all of our state and federal legislators are going to be here presenting for 3 days in a row, and Dr. Bob Foy from the Alaska Science Center will be here as well.

Whether— well, he might be remote, but either way, there's gonna be a lot of important topics relative to our local fisheries which drive our community. So I encourage folks to participate and ask as many questions as you like. Thank you. Jared. Thank you.

I just want to put one, one more plug for the Recharging Our Community's Economy workshops. I've been to many of these kinds of workshops over the years, and they're almost— they've almost just been, you know, put giant Post-its on the walls, and then let's just complain and then talk about vague solutions. This is actually a more guided, structured workshop that really puts you in conversation with business owners, business leaders in our community. And we're actually like moving somewhere where the very very particular goals in mind. So I encourage, if you can, it's like right in the middle of the workday, but I teach college, so I can do what I want.

So I'll attend as much as I can. But I really strongly urge you, even if you can just come for an hour and just drop in and see what they're up to. There was some really good stuff at the last one. So we're looking forward to part 2. Thank you.

Thank you. Dave wanted to wish our softball team good luck this weekend in their friendly. And other than that, if you want to— yeah, I also agree that everybody should try to make it out to Comfish. And if you're especially interested, there's going to be, I hear, an outstanding presentation at 9:45 on Wednesday the 16th. So that would be— if you're, if you're gonna make any one, that's the one you probably want to catch.

So thanks, appreciate that input. Steve? Well, I appreciate the staff's time they've put into writing all this up and getting it before us. And for Comfish, I'm glad the organizers of Comfish have actually saved it. Due to the internet, much of the marketing that Comfish did in the '80s and '90s is gone, but by turning it into having a lot of meetings and forums, I think it has really brought it into this century and it's become an important part of this community again.

That's it. Larry. I want to thank you for attending and for the resolution tonight. You reminded, I think, probably all of us how important it is the borough's contribution to support nonprofits. And we'll probably see you again when we get to the many, many discussions we have on that topic.

I really— I believe the Lands Committee has recommended a number of borough-owned property lots for sale. And I was wondering what the process is to actually move through our own bureaucracy to actually bring them up for sale. So they don't get lost somewhere, because I've been on the assembly over 2 years and we haven't sold any property yet in spite of owning a lot of land. And so I'd really like maybe it— if the manager— if I get consensus, if they could brief us or have the resource manager brief us on that process and timeline so that we can get moving on it. I don't know if we're supposed to approve what the Lands Committee did before it goes to resources, but I'm just wondering what the process is so we can get it on the agenda.

And does that make sense? No.

Assemblymember comments no. So what I probably will do as a result of that is fill up a yellow slate sheet to bring it up on the agenda so that the assembly can take control of this process. Finally, I just want to thank Irene And Irene, I would like to give you a nice big cake that I can't eat and my wife can't eat, although she would if I brought it home. But in any case, I would like you to take that home with you if you— that would make me feel really good.

Thank you. And thank you for all that you do. Every time I walk in the office, you just have a big smile on your face and you're there to help. Thank you.

Scott. This cake bribery has to stop.

Ryan.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So I will echo the comments of Mr. LeDoux, Irene, Ms. Ella May. You guys, thank you very much for all the hard work that you guys do. I also like to congratulate Cody for getting through the application process for his Project Management Professional, and he is one exam away from being a PMP. The real issue I'd like to talk about this evening is mental health.

So in 1996, I joined the Army National Guard, and it was kind kind of the beginning of a larger enlistment of Kodiak personnel. When I joined the National Guard, there were 9 National Guard members, and during my tenure, we grew it to 57 National Guardsmen here standing on the Kodiak Drill Hall floor. Throughout that duration in the National Guard, National Guardsmen were called to active duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and multiple deployments ensued for many of the Guardsmen here and across the state. The reason that I bring this up is because the importance of mental health has never been more prevalent than last week when we lost one of our own soldiers. This particularly hits home for Kodiak because this is not a common occurrence, and it particularly hurts and hits home for the nearly 60 National Guardsmen in a small community that once stood here.

I would challenge my fellow assembly members and anyone everyone listening to make yourself available for anyone needing mental health help, counseling, someone to talk to, someone to lean on. And don't judge. Um, be there for someone in need. Despite all of the things that we've discussed this evening, these are pale in comparison to the value of human life. So I would challenge us all to take time and check on those that we care about, check on those that we are appreciative of, and those that have earned the respect of those that are going to participate.

This will be on the 12th. This will be a, uh, one of the very first homegrown service losses that this community has had with a National Guardsman. So if I could just have a few moments of silence in recognition of that, uh, in my time here, I would appreciate that.

Thank you very much. Thank you, Ryan. Um, we have the next assembly work session is scheduled on Thursday, April 10th, 2025 at 6:30 PM. The next assembly regular meeting is scheduled on Thursday, April 17th, 2025 at 6:30 PM in the assembly chambers. Entertain a motion to adjourn.

Jared, move to adjourn. Second. There's been moved and seconded. All those in favor say aye. Aye.

Opposed, same sign. Motion carries unanimously. Good night, and we are adjourned at 7:40.