COSMIC CARNIVAL – Kasey Davis performs under black lights at Sitka Cirque studio Wednesday night as she rehearses for the weekend’s Cosmic Carnival shows. The shows are a production of Friends of the Circus Arts in collaboration with the Sitka Cirque studio. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
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By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
The Assembly at a special meeting Thursday improved t [ ... ]
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Sentinel Staff Writer
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Sentinel Staff Writer
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April 18
At 1:22 p.m. a dog w [ ... ]
Family Fun Fest
Slated Saturday;
Everyone is Invited
Sitka Tribe of Alaska will host a free Family Fun [ ... ]
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Sentinel Staff Writer
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Sentinel Staff Writer
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Mr. Whitekeys
In Sitka to Tell
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Sitka Historical Society and Museum will present ‘‘Th [ ... ]
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
April 17
At 9:08 a.m. a transformer was r [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
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By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
With the first vote on the city budget for fiscal yea [ ... ]
By Sentinel Staff
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Sentinel Sports Editor
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Alaska’s Kobuk River, which flows out of the Brooks Range above [ ... ]
Police Blotter
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
April 16
At 8:07 a.m. a woman [ ... ]
Presentation On
Medicare, SS
SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium and Cynthia Gibson, CFP®, an [ ... ]
Daily Sitka Sentinel
Budget Moves Ahead At Assembly Table
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
The Assembly Thursday directed city staff to continue preparing the fiscal year 2021 budget with increases in utility fees, needed to maintain infrastructure and keep services at current levels.
The special meeting included a review of enterprise funds, needed capital projects, working capital levels and rate increases.
A number of “decision points” arose as well. Finance staff said today they received most of the information they need to prepare the budget
“Part of our goal was to get as much direction as possible,” said city controller Melissa Haley. “There will still be some items for which decisions will need to be made.”
Enterprise funds are intended to be run like businesses, supported by ratepayers. Most proposed increases were in line with inflation, and budgets were presented as “keeping services status quo.”
The approved rate increases include:
– 2 percent increase in electricity (estimated $3.04 to $3.20 monthly increase).
– 2 percent increase in water (estimated $1.04 monthly increase).
– 2 percent increase in wastewater ($1.32 monthly increase).
– 5.5 percent increase in solid waste ($3.40 monthly increase).
– 5 percent increase in harbor rates. The original proposal was for a 3 percent increase, with greater increases expected in future years. At the recommendation of the Port and Harbors Commission, it was changed to 5 percent for each of the next three years.
The finance department calculated the average annual utility bill to increase by $106.56.
Average moorage increases were expected to increase $13.93 per quarter, for a 40-foot boat.
Also at the meeting, the Assembly agreed to hold off on repairing the high dock and net shed at Crescent Harbor until this fall. The decision will require the city to make a section of the dock off limits to the public.
During the budget discussion, the Assembly weighed in on key decision points.
Most notable was a vote to hire a relay control technician for two years to ensure a critical transition, and apply for a $3 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development office for Phase I repairs on the Green Lake hydro plant.
The Assembly was mixed on whether or not to subsidize the loan payments from the general fund.
Marine Services Center
Under persons to be heard, fisherman Jeff Farvour asked the Assembly not to go forward with a request for proposals to sell or lease the Marine Services Center on Katlian Street.
(There is a tentative plan to review the RFP at the March 10 Assembly meeting, the city clerk said.)
The Assembly voted at last week’s meeting to seek offers to buy or lease the facility from the city. Assembly members have raised concerns about the more than $8 million in repairs needed for the seawall, and the lack of funds to make those repairs.
Farvour told the Assembly that the facility is needed for the community, and public meetings have drawn overwhelming support from the fishing community for keeping it in public hands. He asked the Assembly to rescind its action to send out an RFP, start a process to make repairs, and seek help from the public to come up with solutions.
He sent an email to the Sentinel clarifying his comments: “We know there is an established historical need and a long record of the importance of that infrastructure to remain in Sitka’s possession for the public’s interest. That is indisputable and the process should be responsive to that.”
Farvour further commented in his email that the fishing community is working with congressional and legislative delegations on projects related to a working waterfront, and “any sign that the city is doing something counter to that jeopardizes our collective efforts because it shows that we are not aligned and thus not pulling together.”
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20 YEARS AGO
April 2004
The 7th Annual Honoring Women dinner will feature Roberta Sue Kitka, ANS Camp 4; Rose MacIntyre, U.S. Coast Guard Spouses and Women’s Association; Christine McLeod Pate, SAFV; Marta Ryman, Soroptimists; and Mary Sarvela (in memoriam), Sitka Woman’s Club.
50 YEARS AGO
April 1974
Eighth-graders Joanna Hearn and Gwen Marshall and sixth-graders Annabelle Korthals, Jennifer Lewis and Marianne Mulder have straight A’s (4.00) for the third quarter at Blatchley Junior High.