Ketchikan Gateway Borough Planning Commission 9-29-2026

Okay, we are live. Oh, wonderful. I hereby call this meeting of the Planning Commission to order. If you can all join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

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.

The clerk, please call the roll. Arnold. Here. Dispenson. Gage.

Here. Govars. Here. Gubatao. Here.

Shaw. Here. Turner. Here. 6 Present.

6 Present. Um, next item on the agenda is correspondence. Is there an email on the desk? Nothing on the table. And that is it.

So next item would be persons to be heard.

Persons to be heard, or comments, will be limited to 3 minutes. This is also the time if you don't have— since we're addressing with regular business, this would be the time if you want to have any input in that agenda item that's on regular business. So anybody can come up. Have their 3 minutes, and we'll start with the list. I've got Gloria Burns.

Good day. Thank you so much for your service on the Planning Commission. My name is Gloria Burns. I am the president of Ketchikan Indian Community. I live in Ketchikan, an old Indian town on Woodland.

I'm here to speak regarding the censorship, proposed censorship of Commissioner, Planning Commissioner Svensson, and urge you to take such action. I don't believe personally that one thing we say should be the sum of who we are entirely, but I do believe the way in which things were said at the Planning Commission left a stain upon the Planning Commission and upon the community as a whole. We don't have to agree with each other on policy. We don't have to agree with each other on, on parking variances. One way or another.

But having had 10 full days to think about how a person could bring up their comments regarding the interests of the community they had, there is certainly enough time to talk about it in the form of policy, to choose our words wisely so that they're not inflammatory and they're not hurtful, so that they bring us together rather than being divisive, so that we can go ahead and have substantive conversations about how those things impact each other, how, how those rules and regulations can impact affordable housing in the community. And so I would just say that, um, I urge you to take care of the censorship and to really think about, uh, if this is the planning commission you'd like to sit on, uh, when your children's children hear about kind of that conversation and what that happened. And, uh, again, thank you so much for your service. I appreciate that it has not been a fun and friendly time for the planning commission, uh, in the last couple of days, but I hear often about your integrity and you're willing to work hard for the community. And I want to say from Ketchikan Indian Community, we are appreciative of the service that you're doing, which is volunteer work, and we need lots more people who are willing to sit in the hot seat and help make those decisions.

So, howa, gunashcheesh, ndoytsh and noosum. Any questions? Nope, see none. Thank you very much for joining us. Next person.

Good evening, fellow commissioners. Can you give me a minute? My name is Darlene Dahlman Svensson, and I would like to take a moment to address what has happened concerning the statements I made as a planning commissioner on September 15th. I believe it is important that we deal with the facts not edited selective portions of a conversation, or words taken out of context and presented in a way that changes their meaning, which has happened in this case.

What has been presented against me does not fairly represent what I said, why I said it, or the circumstances in which I said it. Words can be made to sound very different when they are removed from the conversation surrounding them. That is exactly why context matters. I was selected and appointed to this position to participate in the public process, ask questions, listen to community concerns, and represent public interest. As we all have.

That sometimes means raising difficult and uncomfortable issues, asking questions, or repeating a concern that has been brought forward. Challenging an issue should not automatically be interpreted as endorsing the language in which was used by someone else. If there is concern about something I said, then I believe the entire statement and the circumstances surrounding it should be considered, not an edited version designed to create a particular impression.

I also believe that every Commissioner deserves the same standard of fairness and due process. Before taking an action that could damage someone's fair reputation or remove them from public service, we should be certain that the evidence being relied upon is complete, accurate, and presented in context, which in this case it has not been. I am not asking anyone to agree with everything I have said. What I am asking you is to judge my actual words, my actual conduct, and the full circumstances, not a version of them that has been edited and/or misrepresented.

Nonetheless, it was me that said the very wrong words and I am so very sorry. There was no intention to cause anyone—. Please don't—. Type of pain. I respect this Commission, I respect the people we serve, and I respect the responsibilities that come with this position.

I intend to continue standing up for transparency, accountability, and the right to ask legitimate questions. Therefore, before any decision is made regarding my censure or my continued service as a planning commissioner, I ask that the full record be considered, including the complete, unedited statements, their context, and my actual conduct, rather than the selective excerpts or misrepresentations that have mischaracterized the meaning. Thank you all, and I appreciate your time. Good evening.

Emily Eden Shaw, you're next.

Good evening, Commissioners, everyone online. My name is Emily Eden Shaw. I have the honor to serve the CEO and Tribal Administrator of KIC.

I have some remarks that I prepared, and before I read them, I just want to openly share and just start off with— to hear words that we designed and that the remarks that were just shared, I just want to openly say that we are all here and we were here at the assembly meeting in response to words that were spoken. There was never a design or an edit. And so I just want to openly say that.

And I would agree that context matters.

But although it matters, it's not an excuse for what was said and the harm that was caused to my community. We all have a responsibility, you all especially, and thank you for your service to our community. We need to take accountability You know, words have consequences. And I would expect if we were to say that or if that were to happen on the other foot or on the other hand, that we would be held accountable. And that's what I'm looking to you all to do is to do your job and to hold those accountable.

We fully support the censure. I want you all to know that, and I shared this this morning, I was at Carlisle Indian Boarding School last week. I left to come here and to look you all in the faces and to look you in the eye and to share.

We fully support this.

This is not okay. Trust has been broken.

Can you expect my team to come up and ask for your vote when, you know, we're working part in partnership with the city? And so many different projects. Can you— if this does not happen, how can I trust that my team will be treated fairly and equitably? We are members of this community too. And so as I started, when I, when I first started speaking, that context does matter.

We've been here for thousands and thousands of years. Let's talk about that context.

People making these statements that we're a burden.

No, we're not. We're contributors to our community. And I felt it was so important for me to be here. I left my uncle to come here.

It's that important. And I want you to know that. It's not okay. And so I didn't read anything that I wrote, so I apologize, but I just really want to end with, you know, in response to what was just shared, she is not a victim. The victims are the people who listen to those words.

And we need to start rebuilding the trust with the Planning Commission, and that starts by you holding her accountable. And I do want to make mention of one thing if I have time, and please stop me if I've gone over. Okay, I just want to end with this one. You know, since the remarks that were made, I just want to bring attention to the Planning Commission that not once has the commissioner reached out to the tribe and apologized. She's had time for news interviews, multiple interviews.

And that's her right, but not once has she reached out to me or President Burns. And while thank you for coming to the podium and, and apologizing, I don't know where you are, but I just want to say thank you. I wish no ill will on anyone, but I want you to know that that accountability starts now so the healing can start. I've had so many people that have reached out to me on Facebook, stopping me at Safeway, Words matter and consequences need to happen. And so just know that I lift you all up in the work that you're doing, and I appreciate the opportunity to look you all in the face and say thank you for doing the jobs that you're doing.

And I just ask, not only as one of the leaders of KIC, but as a resident of Ketchikan, please do your job, censure her, and let's make sure that this never happens again. Thank you. Thank you. That's the end of my list. Is there anybody else who wishes to come up and speak to the Planning Commission?

Now's your time.

It doesn't look like there's anyone else, so we will, um, move on to the next item on the agenda. Thank you.

Planning Commission, uh, requires affirmative votes for the majority of members present is required to pass a motion. Excuse me. Uh, decisions of the Planning Commission, Planning Board may be appealed within 15 days the day decision. Contact the borough clerk's office for assistance filing an appeal. This Planning Commission will proceed Uh, with an item— with this item as follows: the chair is going to read the title.

Chair will invite remarks from the subject of the censure. The chair will call for conflicts of interest and disclosure. Chair rules on the conflict of interest disclosures. Chair asks for any objections to ruling. If there's no objection, the ruling stands.

Chair invites a motion from the body. Discussion. Vote. The chair announces the outcome of the Planning Commission's decision, and the clerk will provide the notice of decision to the subject. The Planning Commission special meeting packet published on September 24th, 2026, is hereby entered into the record.

Resolution 4581, censuring and calling for resignation of a planning commissioner.

Uh, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Shaw, I move to adopt Resolution 4581 censuring Planning Commissioner Darlene Dolamont-Svenson and calling for her to resign from her appointed position as Planning Commissioner. Second. Moved and seconded by Gage. Mr. Chairman, Mr.

Shaw, I would just like to note for the public record that the subject of the censure is not here for the purposes of making a conflict of interest disclosure or for you to rule on such a disclosure. And Mr. Chairman, if I may continue. Please. Um, I am dismayed that we have to be here tonight And let me start by just offering first my unequivocal, unqualified apology to Ketchikan Indian Community, all Alaska Native residents of our borough, our community at large, the institutions and the public that we serve. It's not okay that we're here, but we have to be here and there's action that we have to take.

Um, I wrote this resolution of censure. Uh, it was difficult to write and have to put into words like all of the things and the hurt and the consequences that got us to where we are tonight. But, um, if anything that we've seen over the last now 2 weeks. It's how unified and resolved our community is as a whole to do what is right. And, um, I'm a big believer in record over rhetoric, and so I just want to make something very clear about what was said at the September 15th meeting.

Commissioner Dispenson's comments started with first making a comment about how hard the last 10 days were before proceeding into the Planning Commission meeting. And then, and I quote, "Tonight I stood in my beliefs." So I do not accept for a single moment that the words then said by Commissioner Dysfenson were not her own, and choosing to, if they were someone else's as well, to amplify such abhorrent approach to what is supposed to be absolutely impartial, completely unprejudiced, and totally fair is just— and to suggest anything to the contrary or to try to blame it on someone else is just appalling. And so I also apologize for that. And so let me make this clear now, um, We will adopt this censure, I have no doubt, and I appreciate the Borough Assembly for moving quickly to put a process in place to remedy this situation. Um, I've been in a lot of public meetings for my entire adult life, and my heart is beating in my jugular right now.

It's a combination of sadness and honestly anger, and so My, my mama taught me, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. So we'll let the resolution speak for itself. We will do what's right. We'll start the healing. And this community is owed a resignation, and I again demand it now, tonight.

I know it's not going to happen, and so just encourage the assembly to continue moving to put a process in place to remedy this, this horrible situation that we find ourselves in. And so, Mr. Chairman, those, those are my comments. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Shaw. Comments?

Ms. Gubatao. If I may, I prepared a statement. Please.

The night of Member Svenson's comment, my brain was frozen in disbelief, but tonight I have found my words. For me, it is personal. I have Native children and Native grandchildren. When I first wanted to marry Tom Gibbetay, I encountered prejudice from both families. Being in an interracial marriage, I've been called squaw.

I've been refused service in restaurants.

But despite the pain, I've always told my children, and I say this now, 100%. They are so blessed to be descended from Alaska Natives and Filipinos, two amazing cultures.

So, so for the racist comment Member Smenton made, it's purely unacceptable in any way, but especially as a public official. And for the record, and Chair Guevarra can back me up on this, I approached him months ago and said We need to have a discussion at the table as a full commission on our code of conduct and on what's appropriate and inappropriate, because there have been other comments. We all know this in the past. And so we did plan to do that and we went to our planning director. But what ended up is I think we had a big discussion on bylaws and everything, and it kind of got lost.

But I say tonight We need that discussion going forward. We need to talk about our code of conduct. We need to talk about what's acceptable and unacceptable as comments. So that still needs to happen. To the issue of commission decisions, Member Shaw stated it well that night.

Due to the excellent professionalism and competence of our planning department, we commissioners receive a thorough an unbiased analysis of each case we address. So I trust our department implicitly. And for the parking space waiver for the Navigation Center, for example, I studied the analysis and all the factors, and that's how I made my decision. And truthfully, no matter what group asked for that waiver, I would have supported it. Which leads me to my closing comments.

As someone who cares deeply about our community, I commend KIC. They have committed resources to addressing two of the biggest critical issues in our community: homelessness and addiction. And I stated the night that Member Stinson made her comment, I, I made a comment addressing, and I said, you know, We have 3 governments, actually 4 if you include Saxman. And who has stepped up and built a housing unit? And who is planning to build a healing center that will benefit all of Ketchikan?

So I want to say thank you for helping our community. That's it. Wonderful. Any other commissioners' discussion? Yes, Your Honor.

Ms. Gage. Thanks. Um, I'd like to, um, echo both commissioners, and, and so I'm not repeating what they said. Um, however, I will not soften my words to make anyone more comfortable I am also in a position where my heart is beating out of my chest. I am angry just at the idea that somehow we manipulated the footage.

I watched the footage. I apologize for not being in the room that night. Um, I did submit that I would be absent, having no clue that would ever happen. The statement meant what it meant. And I will not give it more life by repeating it.

It was meant to give more life to an untruth about KIC and our Native brothers and sisters. This kind of racial framing is divisive and has no constructive place in our community discussion. Concerns about a variance or other request to any government entity should be raised without singling out anyone. Ms. Disfenson's Um, statement reflects poorly on this body and sets a tone that individuals in any minority group may not be heard fairly in the future. I believe this statement warrants formal censor because the members of the community should be able to participate without being subjected to racial hostility, stereotyping, or language that contributes to division.

That said, Censor does not prevent someone from expressing a legitimate policy concern. It addresses how that concern is expressed and the harm caused by targeting and implying one group is superior to another. Instead of owning and apologizing for disparaging remarks, she doubled down. Let me be clear, for those who continue to spin and justify her statement, Dee Svensson's statement is both offensive and inaccurate. It applies— it implies that minorities are a burden on taxpayers and perpetuates harmful stereotypes and unfairly targets select community members.

We all pay taxes regardless of our race, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, or disability. Our taxes are equal. As commissioners, and this applies to all elected officials, When subjected to ignorant statements like these, it is our responsibility to educate and remind anyone speaking about our community members that this rhetoric is unacceptable regardless of who is in the room. Silence is acceptance. Ask yourself why someone feels comfortable making racist slurs in your presence and then make them uncomfortable.

I have been brooding on this quite a bit. I also asked the community reflect on their behavior regarding this issue, and I'm not talking about those that were subjected to what she said at the last meeting. I am talking about those who have doubled down and, and continue to make— gaslight the issue and say that's not what she meant. I'm talking about that. No one is asking you to apologize for being white.

You're being asked to stop being racist. It is up to all of us in our community to acknowledge and learn from our past and reject rhetoric that singles out or disparages groups based on race, religion, color, sex, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression. And I also want to remind all of us that when we vilify a group of individuals into monsters, we become the monster. Every individual, regardless of background, finances, deserves respect and dignity. Our history is a dark past, but Ketchikan is also ground zero for heroes like Nettie and Irene, Irene Jones and Elizabeth Peradovich.

Who spearheaded movements and stood up to segregation and discrimination in our community. Because of them, Alaska passed the first anti-discrimination law in 1945, 20 years before the federal government passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, something we should be celebrating right now instead of this.

And we should be striving to live up to their vision for our community. Tonight, I, I offer my deepest apologies to our community, and I commend the assembly's quick action to amend the current ordinances or clauses. I am sorry that it takes a little bit longer for those kinds of things to be added in. I'm deeply appalled that it wasn't part of that system. And I also, um, will, will vote to censure G. Simpson.

Thank you. Thank you, Miss Gage. Any other discussion?

Does not appear to be. I'm also sorry for any part that I may have been complicit in. I apologize to all the aunties and uncles in the room.

With that said, there's no more discussion.

Would the clerk like to call the roll? The motion on the table is to adopt Resolution 4581, censuring Planning Commissioner Darlene Dolamont-Svenson and calling for her to resign from her appointed position as Planning Commissioner Arnold. I have one question. Point of order. Is there a point of order?

Point of order. Uh, before we get into that, you were going to ask about any conflict of interest.

Uh, did you have a conflict of interest? Well, my wife and my daughter are both KIC members, and Darlene attends the same church I go to, so I just wanted to bring that out. Okay, I, I don't think that you have a conflict of interest, a financial Conflict of interest, which specific? So with that, I'll rule that you can vote.

Arnold? Yes. Gubatao? Yes. Turner?

Yes. Gage? Yes. Shaw? Emphatically yes.

Govars? Yes. 6 Yes, motion passes. 6 Yes, motion passes. And we will be passing that forward to the assembly.

Next item on the agenda, just the director's report. But first, decisions of the Planning and Commission— Planning Board may be appealed within 15 days of the date of decision. Contact the borough clerk for office for assistance filing an appeal. Sorry. Uh, directors, anybody have, uh, director's remarks?

Doesn't appear to be any. Commissioner's comments. Ms. Gubatao. I, I too want to make a heartfelt sorry. That night, honestly, I was in such disbelief that I couldn't believe what was said, and my brain really froze.

But I am deeply sorry for the harm it has caused, and That's it.

Mr. Arnold, um, I wasn't at the meeting. My daughter had a— it's a senior night and the parents had to be at the auditorium, so I would have been here, um, and I would have said something because that's— it's just wrong. It's, it's really arcane language. Um, it's like we've come so far and it's like I just— to hear that just grates on your nerves. It's not even— shouldn't even be in our vocabulary anymore.

I agree with Martin Luther King, you know, judge not, you know, the color of one's skin, but judge the character of a person. And I believe that deeply. It's just irritating that we're here. I'm just really ticked off that we had to— like, it seems like we just went back in the to the past, and it's like, we don't need to go there. I think our town is good and that people here work together to get things done.

KIC brings so much. It's like one of the leading employers in town, so there's a lot of money that comes through town. I mean, I— they may be bigger than Walmart. I heard Walmart was number one, but I think KIC— there's lots of jobs available at KIC, so If you need a job, there's a job there. So I just want to thank you guys for the value that you bring to the community, and I don't think people understand that.

You know, we're talking about economics, not just that, but the traditions and the culture that it brings. So it just makes me sad, this whole thing. So I'm glad that I can say something, and I'm just sorry that this happened. It's just so embarrassing. It's like it just demeans our job.

It makes us look like just idiots, and I don't think it's right.

Any other commissioner comments? Just one last thing. I'm sorry, you're okay. One last thing. Speaking of economic contributions, it has occurred to me Think of this.

KIC could invest the funds that they've invested in these projects in a lot of things that just benefit the tribe, but they have chosen to use those funds to benefit all of us. Mm-hmm. And we need to be respectful of that and thankful for that.

Wonderful. If there are no more commissioners' comments— Mr. Chairman. Mr. Shaw. One final loop to close on some comments that were made, um, by the censured commissioner about continuing service. One last thing I feel like we need to be very clear on is, uh, you are not welcome back at this dais, and I hope you make one good wise decision to not come back to your seat Again, this community is owed a resignation.

I'm not expecting one. And so— but so until the time comes when the assembly removes this person from office, you are not welcome back here. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I agree wholeheartedly, Mr. Shaw. I believe all of us on the Planning Commission agree.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Shaw, I move to adjourn. Thank you, Mr. Shaw. Word journey.