Juneau

Demolishing a downtown Juneau eyesore may also be an opportunity to demolish another problematic property, Gunakadeít Park.

“The park itself, I think, it’s no secret, is not a particularly successful park,” said city Engineering Director Rorie Watt, addressing the Juneau Assembly on Monday.

That was an understatement. Litter, fistfights, intoxicated loiterers, open container violations and sundry calls for emergency services are common at the pocket park in the shadow of the Gastineau Apartments.

Watt was circumspect when describing the park’s “long-term disposition.”

“The more we’ve looked at it, we wonder how much of the park to preserve. So, quite frankly, if a contractor has to dance around the park and preserve it, the demolition will go slower and be more expensive,” he said. “And I think there’s a persuasive argument that appears to be lining up that demolition of the park effectively might be the best path forward.”

Gunakadeít Park opened at the corner of South Franklin and Front streets in 1984. It’s been a sore spot for downtown businesses for decades. In 1998, the Juneau Assembly officially banned alcohol from it after police had been issuing drinking citations in or near the park for years.

None of the members of the assembly spoke up in defense of the park.

“I will say that Parks and Rec staff is not particularly attached to preserving the park as it exists today,” Watt said. “It may be property that can end up some time in the future on the tax rolls as a better utilized parcel.”

Watt said the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee is discussing the future of the park at its next meeting, Sept. 8.

Meanwhile, Watt said the city’s contract for the demolition of the Gastineau Apartments will be ready to go out for bid Sept. 9. A contract for $116,000 was awarded last month to Northwind Architects to write the demolition plans.

The city hopes to recoup some of the demolition costs, budgeted at $1.8 million, from the property owners. Watt said the city’s aiming for demolition to be complete by Dec. 31.

A 16-year-old driver had minor injuries after running into an Alaska Marine Lines truck this morning on Egan Drive.

“A Dodge Neon was heading inbound, and the vehicle reportedly hydroplaned on some water and ended up striking the vehicle next to it,” said Juneau police Lt. David Campbell. “The vehicle next to it happened to be an AML truck.”

The accident occurred at about 7:30 a.m. and shutdown one lane of inbound traffic near Wal-Mart for about an hour, Campbell said.

Police did not name the driver because she’s a minor. She was cited for careless driving.

The Juneau Public Library system is collecting Alaska Native stories on educational experiences as part of an oral history project.

In this edited interview, Leonora Florendo speaks with her mother 88-year-old Nora Marks Dauenhauer, who left school in sixth grade but went on to become a prominent Tlingit scholar, poet and writer. She’s published many books with her late husband Richard Dauenhauer as well as her own.

Leonora Florendo: Did you go to school in Douglas?

Nora Marks Dauenhauer: Yes, I went to Douglas school after I was in fourth grade, I think. We got bused over from Juneau. I got picked up at the end of the bridge and we were taken over to Douglas.

Leonora Florendo: And the school is where the Montessori School is now. That was the government school.

Nora Marks Dauenhauer: These teachers were paranoid. They’re afraid that my hair might have bugs, so they sprayed every one of our hair and clothes with kerosene. At sixth grade I dropped out. That was no good for me. It does something for your self-esteem being a kid and having somebody spray you because you might be full of bugs, although I didn’t have any.

Leonora Florendo: I know you worked as a fish slimer, as a shrimp picker, a crab shaker, ‘cause I’ve done those things, too.

Nora Marks Dauenhauer: Chamber maid…

Leonora Florendo: At the Baranof. Oh, and you did housekeeping for people in the community

Nora Marks Dauenhauer: Oh yeah. I went from house to house.

Leonora Florendo: You taught at Juneau High School for a while. You were teaching Tlingit.

Nora Marks Dauenhauer: Yes, there was 14 in my class. Two of them were non-Tlingit. They still come and say hello and we talk.

Leonora Florendo: And they let you go because you weren’t certified.

Nora Marks Dauenhauer: I got halfway through the school teaching and then I got called by the principal and she told me that I am no longer going to teach and that was it.

Leonora Florendo: You got your GED.

Nora Marks Dauenhauer: I went to GED because working with the high school kids I discovered that I needed help.

Leonora Florendo: And then you went to college.

Nora Marks Dauenhauer: I majored in anthropology and some students asked me, “What are you going to do with anthropology? You’re going to study yourself?” And that’s exactly what I did. I worked on my language. People thought of Tlingit as being simple and your stepdad Dauenhauer discovered it’s one of the hardest languages he’s ever encountered. Dick and I have numerous books. I haven’t counted lately.

Leonora Florendo interviewed Nora Marks Dauenhauer at the Juneau Public Library downtown in July. Their conversation was recorded as part of the national oral history project StoryCorps.

Master gardener Ed Buyarski says it’s a good idea to stake up vulnerable or young trees with undeveloped root systems in advance of gusty winds that usually blow through Southeast Alaska in the late summer and early fall.

Listen to Buyarski discuss staking tips and preview Saturday’s Food Festival on this week’s edition of Gardentalk.

Highlights

“I got to inspect a very nice dolgo crabapple tree that got snapped off at the base, unfortunately,” Buyarksi says. “It was weird winds, swirling all over the place.”

He also has some tips for storing bulbs before they’re planted later this fall.

“We can get them now, bring them home, and put them in a cool place,” Buyarski says. “Make sure they’re not in plastic bags that don’t breathe.”

Also, this Saturday’s Food Festival features local produce vendors and workshops. It starts at 9 a.m. at the JACC.

A subcommittee of three Juneau Assembly members is leading the search for the next city manager. Mayor Merrill Sanford appointed Mary Becker, Karen Crane and Jerry Nankervis to whittle down the candidate pool to about 10 applicants.

“This is the most important thing that we do right here, hiring the city manager,” said Mayor Sanford. “And you are all invited to be a part of this subcommittee at any of their meetings.”

The mayor said subcommittee meetings would be public unless personnel issues were discussed.

“There’s no reason this hiring process isn’t 98 percent transparent and in the open,” he said.

It hasn’t been decided whether outside HR headhunters should be brought in to help. The assembly remarked on the success of Juneau staff facilitating a previous city attorney search.

Geographic preference is also up in the air. Assembly member Karen Crane said she’d like to look broadly.

“At least statewide but not discount anybody Outside that sees the application and applies,” she said. “That doesn’t mean we don’t end up hiring locally if someone is there but what it does mean is it shortens the process.”

Some assembly members said they’d like to see a candidate selected before the holiday season is in full swing.

Current City Manager Kim Kiefer is retiring at the end of the year.