Casey Kelly

Sponsors of a citizens’ initiative to re-establish the Alaska Coastal Management Program are frustrated by the Parnell Administration’s apparent foot dragging.

The state still hasn’t given initiative backers the pamphlets they need to begin collecting signatures. The Division of Elections is awaiting cost estimates from the Lieutenant Governor’s Office and the Office of Management and Budget.

Initiative co-sponsor, Kodiak Island Borough Mayor Jerome Selby says it shouldn’t take this long to figure out how much it will cost to run a program that just closed down in July.

“Seems like every opportunity to delay that they take that opportunity,” Selby says. “And it reduces our amount of time to be able to collect the signatures, and give the people in the state of Alaska the chance to have a voice in an important program.”

Selby says sponsors were initially led to believe the booklets would be available last week. The latest delay comes after Lieutenant Governor Mead Treadwell took the full 60 days to review the initiative application.

Treadwell’s Deputy Chief of Staff Barbara Propes says the cost estimate has taken longer than expected due to the Office of Management and Budget preparing the Governor’s 2013 spending plans, released today (Thursday). She also says the coastal management program outlined in the initiative is more complex than the one that shut down earlier this year.

“We’re looking at the changes and that’s what the department heads were told to do and need to do by law,” says Propes. “To see where and if there were any changes, and to make sure that we have dollars assigned. And that’s basically, pretty routine – I mean, we got it from Law, we sent it to OMB, they’re looking at it, we’re looking to make sure we have all the costs covered and then we’ll get it to print.”

Propes says her best guess is that the final cost report will be headed to Division of Elections “in the next two days.”

Sponsors are hoping to collect about 26-thousand signatures by the start of the legislative session on January 17th. That would guarantee the initiative a spot on the fall 2012 statewide ballot, and give lawmakers an opportunity to enact substantially similar legislation instead. Selby says the group has signature gatherers mobilized in every district in the state. But he says backers hadn’t planned on doing much gathering the week before Christmas.

The coastal management program served as a one-stop federal and state permitting agency for developers hoping to build along Alaska’s coastline. But it also gave local communities an opportunity for input on the projects. It closed after lawmakers and the Parnell Administration failed to reach a deal to keep it open.

Juneau Mayor Bruce Botelho says he’s disappointed the state’s Local Boundary Commission has denied the city’s request to consolidate competing land claims between Juneau and Petersburg.

Botelho says it would have been more efficient for the commission and the public to consider the claims at the same time.

“Now, with the Petersburg petition moving on its own, unless there is a separate public hearing in Juneau, the testimony would be gathered in Petersburg, which would require us to make sure that we had adequate voices before the commission in Petersburg,” Botelho says.

Petersburg filed a petition to form a borough in April. Seven months later, Juneau responded by filing its own petition to annex part of the same area. Juneau had previously considered annexing the land, but the Assembly didn’t make a move until hearing about Petersburg’s claim.

The disputed area stretches from Juneau’s southern boundary down to Cape Fanshaw and east to the Canadian border. Both communities claim historical and contemporary ties to the land, which is largely unpopulated and undeveloped.

Consolidation of competing claims is up to the Local Boundary Commission’s discretion. Commission staffer Brent Williams says there’s no formal way for Juneau to appeal the decision to deny consolidation, since it’s not a ruling on an actual petition. He says the city can ask for reconsideration, but the commission does not have to take it up.

The commission is scheduled to hold a public hearing on Petersburg’s petition in May 2012. Juneau’s will likely be heard seven months later.

The state’s Local Boundary Commission will not consolidate Petersburg’s borough petition with a competing annexation proposal from Juneau. Nor will it postpone action on the Petersburg proposal. The commission unanimously denied the City and Borough of Juneau’s request in a teleconferenced meeting Wednesday morning. Matt Lichtenstein reports.

Juneau submitted its annexation petition in early November, about seven months after Petersburg had filed its borough petition in early April. Juneau is trying to annex over 19-hundred square miles of the territory that Petersburg included in its proposed borough boundaries. Petersburg’s proposal is well ahead of Juneau’s in the local boundary commission review process.

If the petitions were consolidated, the Commision and its staff would review, take comments, hold hearings and decide on the two conflicting proposals in the same process, rather than separately. If the commissioners chose not to go that route, then the City and Borough of Juneau Law Department’s Amy Mead encouraged them to consider holding off for a while on the Petersburg review.

“We are asking at the very least that the Petersburg petition be postponed to allow the CBJ petition to kind of catch up,” said Mead. “So the two petitions can proceed simultaneously, thereby ensuring that any decision made on one that affects the other is afforded a full and complete opportunity for public participation.”

Both Juneau and Petersburg claim historic and contemporary ties to the disputed lands, which are relatively undeveloped and unpopulated. The territory in question extends south from the Juneau Borough Boundary at Holkum bay down to Cape Fanshaw and east to the Canadian boarder. Juneau officials have considered annexing the area in the past, but the Assembly did not move forward until Petersburg had petitioned for the territory. Petersburg City Attorney Jim Brennan emphasized that point as he addressed the commission.

“The basic underlying fact here is that Juneau has filed their annexation petition in a purely reactionary mode,” Brennan said. “They waited and waited and waited until the last possible day.”

After more staff and public review, the boundary commission is tentatively planning to hold a public hearing and make a decision on the Petersburg petition in late May or early June. Brennan argued that consolidation would mean a significant delay for Petersburg, which has been working on the highly publicized Borough plan for several years.

“This process on the Petersburg end has taken a substantial effort. It has been underway for a long time,” said Brennan. “Juneau will have full opportunity for input. There is no unfairness here, there’s no conflict with the regulations, and there’s no danger of inconsistent decisions.”

The Boundary Commission staff recommended against consolidation or postponement and Commission Chair Lynn Chrystal agreed:

“We’re not going to be operating in a vacuum. We’ll have lots of information, and I feel confident that without consolidation, we can render a fair decision for both parties,” Chrystal said.

The Five commissioners voted unanimously against the Juneau requests. The Juneau petition is still under its initial technical review according to Commission staff, who are currently working on the more detailed, preliminary report for the Petersburg petition. That report considers the public comments that have come in so far and whether the plan meets state standards for borough formation. It’s expected to come out in late February, followed by another round of public review and comment.

The Juneau Assembly has named two local candidates as finalists for the city manager job.

Deputy City Manager Kim Kiefer and US Coast Guard Captain Norman “Buddy” Custard beat out 23 other applicants to make to the final stage of the search. Casey Kelly has more.

It’s no surprise that Kiefer is a finalist. She held the position on an interim basis in 2009 when City Manager Rod Swope took a six-month sabbatical. A Juneau Douglas High School graduate, Kiefer has worked for the city since 1984 – serving as deputy manager since 2005. Before that she was Parks & Recreation Director, Recreation Superintendent, and manager of the Zach Gordon Youth Center. She has a degree in Parks and Recreation Management from the University of Oregon.

Custard is currently Chief of Staff for the Coast Guard’s District 17, which encompasses all of Alaska. He’s spent four years of his nearly 31-year Coast Guard career stationed in Juneau, including his current tour. Custard has also done stints in Virginia, Washington, D.C., and as commander of four different Coast Guard cutters. He has a bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Biology from Colorado State University and a Master’s in Strategic Studies from the Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He told the assembly in his cover letter that he plans to retire soon, and is “eager to pursue new professional challenges.”

Mayor Bruce Botelho was unavailable to comment Wednesday. But in a news release he praised both candidates’ public service, saying – quote: “The two candidates we selected clearly stood out from the other applicants. The Assembly felt that both … possessed the background, experience, and commitment to the community required to be an outstanding City Manager.”

Kiefer and Custard will go through an interview process in January. It will include an opportunity for the public to meet both candidates.

The assembly hopes to offer one of them the job by the end of January, and aims to have a two week overlap period where the new manager can work with Swope before he retires on March 31st.

City Manager and City Attorney are the only positions hired by the Assembly.

A Juneau Assembly subcommittee will meet with a researcher tomorrow (Wednesday) to discuss a proposed League of Women Voters survey of residents’ city budget priorities.

With the city facing a projected 7.5-million dollar shortfall over the next two years, the Assembly is looking for some community guidance as it prepares to make difficult spending decisions.

In the past, the League of Women Voters survey was done telephonically. But this year – citing the inability to reach people on cell phones – the organization is proposing a mail-out survey to roughly 17-thousand addresses in the Capital City. The League is asking the city to cover the cost of the mailer – about 10-thousand dollars.

At last night’s Committee of the Whole meeting, Assemblyman Jesse Kiehl questioned Deputy City Manager Kim Kiefer on the survey’s methodology. Kiefer said from her discussions with the League, they would not be able to prevent people from filling out more than one.

“We won’t be able to keep people from stuffing the ballot box with their comments,” Kiefer admitted.

Kiehl said, “That’s one of my great concerns. The other would be that mail-out surveys tend to have a significant selection bias in who returns them.”

But the League’s Marianne Mills says a mail-out survey might make it easier to get a more accurate picture of residents’ priorities.

“We’ll have a much larger sample. And perhaps more representative,” said Mills. “Because the phone has gotten so skewed over the years in terms of we used to do it by prefix. Like, we knew every 364 was in Douglas. Well that’s changed, because when people move now they can take their phone prefix with them to the valley.”

Mills invited assembly members to meet with Steve Hamilton – a retired University of Alaska Southeast professor who’s volunteered to help the League with the survey. A subcommittee made up of Kiehl, Karen Crane, and Carlton Smith will meet with Hamilton tomorrow (Wednesday) at 11 a.m. at the Juneau Airport’s Juneau Room.

The Committee of the Whole voted to recommend the full Assembly approve the survey at its regular meeting next Monday. Assemblyman Randy Wanamaker was the only no vote. He cited concerns that the League’s survey results wouldn’t be available until April. He also wanted staff to give the assembly an estimate of what it would cost to have the research firm McDowell Group do the survey.

In 2009, when the city was facing a similar budget shortfall, the Assembly opted not to do the League of Women Voters survey.

The City and Borough of Juneau Assembly has decided on the finalists for the city manager job, but the public will have to wait to find out who’s on the list.

After deliberating in closed door executive session for more than an hour and a half last night (Monday), the Assembly Committee of the Whole pared down the 25 applicants for the position to a shortlist.

Deputy Mayor David Stone says the assembly will announce who is on the list once all the applicants have been notified.

“We’ve got to talk to the candidates that we have basically decided are not on the shortlist. Then we’ve got to talk to the ones on the shortlist and see if they’re still interested, and then we’ll know and we will then make an announcement,” Stone said. “So, we’re being a little bit vague at this point, because if we say something publicly, then it turns out, well, somebody has withdrawn, it makes it more difficult.”

Stone did say there was some mild disappointment amongst assembly members at the lack of in-state candidates. In fact, Stone said there were two qualities that set the short list finalists apart from the rest.

“Very capable and Alaskan experience,” he said.

Current City Manager Rod Swope is retiring at the end of March. The assembly hopes to hire his replacement by the end of January.

Members did discuss in open session the interview process for the city manager finalists.

Mayor Bruce Botelho said it should include visits with department heads, interviews with the assembly, and meetings with the public.

“I think we need to create the opportunity for the candidates to meet the public, for the public to be able to ask questions in a specific setting, and a chance for the public to be able to give us feedback,” Botelho said.

The candidates will also be asked to perform in a hypothetical situation or assignment they might face as manager. However, the process is likely to be less intense than the last city manager search three years ago, when Swope first tried to resign.

During those interviews, the finalists went through what’s called a full “assessment center,” which lasted two-and-a-half days.

“So, I think three or four exercises, an interview, and I think that gave them a lot of information,” said CBJ Human Resources Director Mila Cosgrove

For this search a three-member committee made up of assembly members Carlton Smith, Randy Wanamaker and Mary Becker will design one assignment for each candidate to perform.

Wanamaker says he’s less interested in how the finalists do in hypothetical situations, and more interested how they relate to the assembly, staff and public.

“When we used it the last time, I found it to be more time consuming than helpful. And that the better read from things came from the assembly itself speaking with the candidates, interviewing them, and then the public forum, where the public talked with them – all you had to do was listen,” Wanamaker said.

The interviews will likely take place in mid-January. The finalists will be announced via press release.

City Manager and City Attorney are the only two positions hired by the Assembly.