All seven Assembly members zipped through a full agenda during a regular meeting Tuesday night that touched on tourism topics, city code regarding on-site marijuana consumption, the Holland America Line donation of a scoreboard for the city's Moller Park ball field, and the purchase of an electric van for the city Parks and Recreation Division.
Acting on the only item of unfinished business, the Assembly voted 7-0 to authorize the lease for a half-acre of city-owned land on Jarvis Street to the Sitka Community Gardens Association for development of 48 horticulture plots.
The lease is the result of a nearly year-long negotiation between the city and the Community Gardens group, which is a joint project by the local nonprofits Transition Sitka and the Sitka Local Food Networks.
Commenting at the meeting, community garden project manager Joel Hanson said the public is invited to the ground-breaking for the garden at Jarvis Street at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
On-site marijuana consumption
As an item of new business, the Assembly voted 6-1 to approve amendments to Title 10 and Title 22 of the Sitka General Code to allow for on-site marijuana consumption in authorized facilities.
Restrictions to regulate these facilities include banning all tobacco products, limiting marijuana use to products purchased from the on-site retailer and maintaining daily serving limits.
The facility itself also must be clearly delineated, with all smoking restricted to a well-ventilated space indoors and only edible marijuana products allowed for use outdoors. Staff must be provided with a working area where they are not exposed to smoke, according to the code amendments.
Before this amendment, the City of Sitka prohibited all marijuana consumption in public spaces, overriding a 2019 Alaska state law that legalized such facilities.
Elizabeth and Marty Martin, who plan on constructing an on-site marijuana consumption facility, applied for the code change.
The change was initially approved by the Planning Commission at its April 16 meeting, which cited decreasing illegal marijuana usage in public areas — especially by tourists during the summer season — as the main reason for approval.
Tim Pike cast the dissenting vote, but did not say why.
Holland America donates scoreboard
The Assembly voted unanimously in favor of a motion to accept the Holland America Line donation of a new scoreboard for the city's Moller Park. The donation is valued at $30,000, which qualifies it as a major asset requiring Assembly approval for acceptance.
City maintenance superintendent Connor Dunlap spoke to the Assembly on the donation. He said city staff heard from Holland America last year about the opportunity for a donation to the city, and “kind of directed that request towards the scoreboard, saying that would be a great place to put that effort." The current scoreboard has needed replacement for several years.
The new scoreboard has already arrived in town, and the original April installation date was changed due to some community concerns and communication issues with the project, and the need for the Assembly to formally accept the donation.
Dunlap said that with the Assembly's approval of the donation, the city electric department will remove the old scoreboard, and install the new one with a boom truck.
City Administrator John Leach spoke during the meeting to "thank the donors and staff for working on" the donation, which is “useful to the city" and "supportive of our youth."
Chamber of Commerce director Rachel Roy also spoke, expressing appreciation for the "really great contributions that come from our industry folks and business folks" to the Sitka community.
Other business
The Assembly voted 7-0 to approve a supplemental budget appropriation for the purchase of an electric transit van for the city Parks and Recreation Division.
The Sitka Recreation Foundation has agreed to donate at least $45,000 for the 12-passenger, 2022/2023 Ford van, which dropped in price this past year due to EV market changes.
The $67,000 cost of the vehicle will drop to $32,000 after the foundation’s contribution.
Speaking on the item, parks and rec coordinator Kevin Knox said that “we believe that this is a step that strengthens our community accessibility, our community partnerships, and the commitment to moving forward with an electrified vehicle fleet.”
Knox said that city surveys and needs assessments have identified transportation as a major barrier to people’s engagement with Parks and Rec programs.
“Acquiring a passenger van would provide P&R with a much more reliable and permanent solution to the transportation-related barriers affecting program access and growth,” states a city memo on the agenda item.
Assembly members agreed that the EV passenger van purchase would be a “wonderful thing” for the community. Members raised some questions about charging station infrastructure, and insurance requirements for a city passenger van used to shuttle citizens.
As its final item of new business, the Assembly voted 7-0 to approve an extension of its lease of the Japonski Island Boathouse to the Sitka Maritime Heritage Society, whose volunteer members have been renovating the historic property since the lease began in 2005.
The Assembly also unanimously approved the only item on its consent agenda: to appropriate funds for disaster response training, and to purchase mobile and portable radios for the Sitka Fire Department. The funds will come out of an $80,000 state homeland security and emergency management grant awarded to the city in 2024.
