Daily Sitka Sentinel

Insurance, Loan Fund Items on City Agenda

By Sentinel Staff
    The City and Borough Assembly will face a busy agenda Tuesday following a one-hour work session on updated regulations of the National Floodplain Insurance Program.
    At the regular meeting, which will start at 6 p.m. at Centennial Hall, the Assembly will vote on final approval of Sitka’s participation in the nationwide program that enables property owners in flood plains to obtain federally subsidized flood insurance.
    In other business the Assembly will discuss and provide direction on the unanimous recommendation by the city’s investment committee to roll over the $2.25 million remaining in the Southeast Alaska Economic Development fund into the city’s Permanent Fund.
    While the economic development fund is available for grants, the city charter does not permit withdrawals from the principal of the permanent fund, whose earnings are dedicated to the city general fund.
    On July 16 the investment committee chairman Mike Reif wrote a memo advising the Assembly that after discussion with city chief finance and administrative officer Jay Sweeney he is recommending that the Assembly consider the May 23 committee recommendation “in the light of new developments.”
    He said those developments are the possible need of economic development fund grants for three critical projects: a marine haulout facility at Gary Paxton Industrial Park; repair of the seawall at the Marine Service Center in order to allow sale of the facility to the private sector; and to provide the several hundred thousand dollars that may be needed to match an FAA grant to relocate the city’s seaplane float to Japonski Island.
    Also Tuesday night the Assembly will consider resolutions supporting three applications to the state for Historic Preservation Grants. The projects, which were approved by the Sitka Historic Preservation Commission, are for a National Register of Historic Places nomination for the Sitka Woman’s Club building at the corner of Harbor Drive and Maksoutoff Street; repairs to St. Peter’s See House on Lincoln Street; and for the next phase of renovation to the Sitka Maritime Heritage Society’s boathouse on Japonski Island.
    The Assembly also will consider the transfer of Lot 18 at the Gary Paxton Industrial Park into city ownership, to be used with the adjacent lot, already owned by the city, for the secondary water supply filtration plant.
    The GPIP board has already approved the transfer of the lot, without charge, for the planned multi-million dollar water treatment facility.
    A couple of marijuana license renewals are on the agenda, and approval of city grant applications for state grants of $1.5 million for the Eliason Harbor electrical replacement project, and $219,125 for the Thomsen Harbor corrosion protection project.
    The Tuesday work session and Assembly meeting will be held at Centennial Hall, and are open to the public.
    The Assembly will also review options for a contract to sell the Gary Paxton Industrial Park utility dock to Hanson Maritime.
    The proposals will protect the city from liability for the risks involved in repair of the dock.

Correction
    The front page story in Monday’s Sentinel on the agenda for Tuesday’s Assembly meeting incorrectly stated the purpose of the historic preservation grant application for St. Peter’s See House. The grant is to fund a historical property condition assessment. The Sentinel regrets the error.