Recent News

Juneau voters will be asked to approve two bond issues this fall to pay for school projects.

The CBJ Assembly Monday night agreed to use bonds for a ground source heat system at Auke Bay Elementary School and new artificial turf at Adair Kennedy Park. The questions will be on the October 4th municipal election ballot.

Auke Bay School is being renovated. While a ground source heat pump would initially cost more than the proposed heating oil system, it would save the school district money in the long run, as well as reduce carbon emissions.

To minimize the cost of the $1.4 million general obligation bond to taxpayers, the district plans to apply interest earned on completed elementary school renovation projects to the debt service. That means a small property tax reduction for 2012, according to city manager Rod Swope.

As for the impact on taxpayers over the life of the bond:

“Assuming an interest rate of 3.5 percent, the amount of debt service for this proposal would require an annual property tax levy of $1.21 per $100,000 of property tax value for a 10-year period,” Swope said.

The second ballot question is for a $1.9 million general obligation bond for new turf at Adair Kennedy Park. The school district also plans to put interest earnings toward the debt service.

Swope says it would cost property taxpayers $1.04 per $100,000 of assessed value for the 10-year life of the bond.

The Adair Kennedy field was the first artificial turf installed in Juneau. Swope says the city was told it would last about 20 years, but it’s reached the end of its useful life at 10. In addition, vandals burned the field in several spots earlier this summer.

Both school projects qualify for 70 percent reimbursement by the state’s School Construction Bond Debt Reimbursement Program.

No decision from Bartlett Regional Hospital’s Board of Directors on a new management contract.

The board met yesterday (Monday) for more than eight hours – the last three in executive session – without reaching consensus. It’ll take the issue up for further discussion tonight (Tuesday) at its regular monthly meeting.

The first five hours of last night’s special meeting were dedicated to presentations from the three finalists for the hospital’s management contract – current manager Quorum Health Resources, along with Alliant Management Services and PeaceHealth.

It’s the first time in several years that the board has solicited bids for the contract. Quorum’s current deal expires at the end of the year.

Board Chair Kristen Bomengen declined to say whether a decision is close. Tonight’s meeting starts at 5:15 p.m. in the hospital boardroom.

Click here to read our story from yesterday.

The U.S. Postal Service says 25 rural Alaska post offices will remain open after all.

Douglas is not on that list, according to Senator Mark Begich’s office.

USPS Alaska District Manager Diane Horbuchuk says 25 post offices off the road system are in the clear. The agency last month targeted 3,700 post offices nationwide for possible closure, as a way to reduce costs and expenses. Thirty-six were in Alaska.

Begich arranged a meeting Monday so rural health care providers and other community groups could give postal service officials more information on the impact to rural communities. Horbuchuk announced the agency had already made the decision to spare Alaska’s most remote post offices.

Horbuchuk said those communities will receive letters to that effect this week.

She said the review of the remaining 11 sites, including Douglas, should be completed by the end of the week.

(JUNEAU, ALASKA) The fast ferry Fairweather will be out of service until early September.

The ship has been tied up in Juneau since a small oil leak was discovered Thursday evening in one of its four water jets, which power the ship.

Officials hoped to weld a temporary patch and return to service by Thursday. Further repairs would have taken place during a scheduled October overhaul.

But Captain Mike Neussl, who runs the ferry system, says that won’t work.

“Now the plan is to do the ultimate plan, which is to take the vessel to Ketchikan, drydock it, remove the water jet and repair it outside the vessel with a factory-approved permanent repair. That does involve welding and grinding back to original specifications, not just welding a plate over the pinhole that is in there,” he says.

Neussl says the Juneau-based Fairweather will be out until September 3rd. Ferry staff are

looking at alternatives for Sitka, which gets five sailings a week. One option would add staff to the ferry LeConte, so it could run a longer schedule.

They’re also considering options for its two weekly Petersburg sailings, which have attracted less traffic.

The Fairweather will sail to Ketchikan’s Alaska Ship and Drydock under its own power. Neussl says it can operate on three engines.

“Obviously, we can’t be leaking oil all the way down there. If there’s oil in the system and it’s pressurized it’s going to leak. So basically we’ve got to vacate all the oil out of the system and not operate that No. 4 engine on the way down to Ketchikan to get it to the drydock,” he says.

He says about five quarts of oil leaked last week before the hole was discovered. It was cleaned up.

Neussl says the leak is not connected to ongoing engine problems that threaten to sideline the Fairweather and its sister ship, the Chenega.

Those problems are the subject of a lawsuit against the engine manufacturer and ship builder.

The fast ferries each carry up to 250 passengers and 36 vehicles.

The Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears left another football team scoreless this weekend.

In the first Railbelt Conference game of the season, the Crimson Bears varsity toppled the North Pole Patriots by a score of 57-0. The Juneau-Douglas junior varsity also beat the North Pole JV by 38-6.

The games were played in North Pole and heard in Juneau on KJNO radio and the KATH-TV website.

Quarterback Phillip Fenumiai says the varsity offensive and defensive lines really did “their thing” and the entire team was “clicking on all cylinders.”

Fenumiai had 290 yards passing, most of that in the first half. He threw three touchdown passes. The 6-foot 2-inch junior explains the plays:

“Two touchdown passes were to Sean Niumataevalu. One was on a post route. That’s where you just go up seven yards and just aim for a spot 45 degrees down field,” Fenumiai says. “The second one was on a drag. He just came across the middle of the field from slot and he made a play after he caught the ball and ran 70 yards.”

Fenumiai’s third touchdown pass was to first-year player Alec Calloway, in what he calls a go route.

“Straight down the field,” Fenumiai explains. “I threw it up to him and led him in strides so he didn’t have to stop for the ball, and he scored a touchdown.”

Senior Fullback Lah Fifita also scored a touchdown on a 1-yard run in the second quarter. Kohl Jaeger and Gary Speck each had 6-yard touchdown runs in the fourth quarter.

The Patriots were missing several key players, due to illness, injury and violating a team rule.

Fenumiai says the Bears knew that going into the game, but they still expected more because they had scrimmaged the Patriots in football camp this summer.

“I didn’t think we were going to go by them with such ease this game, but defense did their thing, actually got us the ball back when we wanted it,” he says. “Offense, we were just clicking on all cylinders. I don’t think North Pole knew what hit them.”

The Crimson Bears sacked the Patriots’ quarterback Moo Rogers twice and limited him to 97 yards passing and rushing.

The varsity Bears amassed 125 points in their first two games of the season. Last week they beat the Thunder Mountain Falcons 68-0.

Photos by Gail Fenumiai

Mendenhall Lake and Mendenhall River are now at minor flood stage.

The National Weather Service has issued a flood advisory for both areas.

Mendenhall Lake was nearly at 9.7 feet last hour. The river was over 11.8 feet.

Hydrometeorological technician Geri Swanson says they expect water levels to continue rising a bit.

“Right now with the continued rainfall, we’re looking for the crest hopefully within the next six to twelve hours,” said Swanson. “And then (we’ll be) seeing a gradual decrease though the night and tomorrow.”

Swanson says water has come up to the lower part of the Mendenhall Lake Campground and a yard of a house on View Drive. Part of the road to Skater’s Cabin is closed.

But the Swanson doesn’t expect water levels to get as high as this summer’s glacial outburst. Rainfall has already started tapering off.

Official observations at the Juneau Airport recorded 2.17 inches for the weekend’s rainfall. Swanson says it’s almost 2.75 inches including today’s rainfall.

Other areas in Juneau may have more or less. For instance, a rain gauge in the downtown Juneau area recorded a total of 4.18 inches from Friday until Monday morning.

The Taku River crested at just over 39 feet over the weekend, four feet short of flood stage.

Montana Creek also briefly flooded Saturday, but water levels have already trended down. Swanson says that stream is more susceptible to sudden heavy downpours instead of steady constant rainfall.