Local Government

Juneau Assembly members have rejected a plan to create a shelter safety zone with tightened restrictions on camping in the area around the Glory Hall homeless shelter in the Mendenhall Valley.

The narrow vote came during a committee meeting on Monday night, but members may reconsider the proposal in September. 

The city outlined a loose plan for the zone after staff, patrons and neighbors of the shelter asked the Assembly to take action to protect the Teal Street area. They say it has become unsafe because of threats from some unhoused people camping in the vicinity. 

The topic generated a lot of tension at the meeting. That was between Assembly members who supported what they saw as a public safety measure and those who saw it as a stopgap solution for the larger issue of homelessness in Juneau. 

Assembly member Wade Bryson voted in favor of the plan. He argued the Assembly’s inaction is putting people’s safety at risk. 

“We haven’t protected the patrons. We haven’t protected the staff. And we’re not talking about allowing people to camp near this property. That’s not really what the issue is,” he said. “We’re talking about protecting those very vulnerable, the most vulnerable of us, from the predators of our community.”

City leaders say the shelter safety zone is intended to increase protection for staff and people using the shelter’s services. It would likely make the rules for camping or loitering in public spaces stricter in the zone than they are citywide.

The City of Bellingham, Washington, created a protection zone surrounding a shelter last year following similar safety concerns. It added harsher restrictions on camping or loitering in the zone.

Some Assembly members who voted against the zone said they worried it would unlawfully target unhoused people and could open the door for possible lawsuits. Assembly member Neil Steininger argued it wouldn’t solve any issues, but merely move them somewhere else. 

“I just can’t see how it takes us forward as a community on this issue, more than just whack-a-mole on the next piece of the problem, without actually trying to address anything beyond one symptom of a much broader, much more difficult issue,” he said. 

Assembly members asked the city to look into other potential safety measures, like hiring private security to patrol the area or establishing a city-sanctioned summer shelter.

The Juneau Police Department has placed an officer on administrative leave following a violent arrest on Wednesday that led to a man being medevaced out of town for a head injury. 

City and tribal officials have expressed concern about the incident after a witness posted a video online. But that witness said he felt protected by the officer’s actions.

Juneau’s City Manager Katie Koester released a statement on Friday responding to the incident and public outcry that has followed. She said the city acknowledges the “deep community concern” over the incident and is taking steps to review the department’s policies and procedures. 

According to Koester, the Juneau Police Department has requested an independent investigation by an external agency to review the use of force by the officer. Following the investigation, the state’s Office of Special Prosecutions will then review the case to determine if the officer was justified in his response. 

Koester said the city will also conduct an internal investigation of the case to examine the incident and whether the officer’s actions aligned with the department’s current policy. Body camera footage of the incident will be released to the public within 30 days of the incident. 

“We appreciate our community’s outreach and shared concerns, and are taking steps to review our own policies, procedures, and practices to ensure they are consistent with JPD values to preserve human life while meeting its mission to protect public safety,” the statement said. 

Police have not named the officer or the injured man – nor have they shared his current condition.  

According to the department, the incident took place after officers responded to a report of a woman fighting with a man outside of the Douglas Library. Police say the woman threw water in the man’s face and made racial comments. 

According to the department, an officer was attempting to place her under arrest and into a vehicle when a friend of hers appeared and continued to yell at the man. Police say the man then aggressively approached an officer. 

Police say the officer attempted to place the man under arrest and into handcuffs, but he resisted and was “taken to the ground.”

Ibn Bailey was the man initially harassed by the woman and who recorded the video of the incident that has circulated online. He said he was surprised by the community reaction to the video and said he felt protected by the officer’s actions.

“The officer was able to respond in the manner and the quickness in which he did, in what I can only describe as the most professional manner, given the circumstance,” he said. 

The Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, based in Juneau, has also responded to the video with a statement. In a social media post, President Chalyee Éesh Richard Peterson said the tribe is “deeply concerned” about the incident, which he said involved a tribal citizen. 

Peterson said the level of force used during the arrest raises serious questions and asked the mayor and police chief for several actions, including a meeting with tribal leadership and an independent review of the incident.

That’s after the Juneau Assembly voted in June to increase residential water and sewer rates by 5% this fiscal year. The rate will continue to increase by 5% annually for the next five years.

City officials say the increments are needed to help offset hundreds of millions of dollars in replacements and repairs for the city’s water and sewer system in the coming decade. 

Juneau’s utility rates have gone up 2% each year since 2020, but those increases haven’t kept pace with inflation or maintenance needs. The increases approved by the Assembly in June are higher than that, but still much less than what the Juneau Water Utilities Division originally proposed and what studies recommend.

The Assembly recently voted down a ballot question for this year’s election that would have asked voters to help fund the repairs using $8 million in bond debt to offset more drastic rate hikes down the line. Members decided to postpone the question, potentially for next year’s election. 

Monday was the first chance for residents to testify to the Juneau Assembly about whether to implement a ranked choice voting system for local elections. 

A spokesperson for the Alaska Division of Elections says it is not aware of any cities in Alaska that have adopted ranked choice voting for municipal elections. If approved, Juneau could become the first.

Alaska uses a ranked choice voting system for statewide elections. Voters approved it in 2020 and used it for the first time in 2022. The system allows voters to rank candidates by preference in open primaries, rather than partisan primaries. 

Supporters of the system say it helps reduce political polarization and fosters bipartisanship. Opposition predominantly comes from Alaska conservatives, who argue it makes voting unnecessarily complicated. Alaska is one of only two states that use ranked choice voting. Ten Republican-led states have banned it.

Assembly member Ella Adkison proposed an ordinance to adopt the system locally earlier this summer. She said the change will help build community consensus. 

But some testifiers at the meeting disagreed, like Angela Rodell. She unsuccessfully ran for mayor last election and questioned why the change is necessary.

“At a time when public trust in our local election process is being tested, this ordinance does not move us towards greater transparency, confidence or affordability,” she said. “Instead, it is the opposite. It proposes a fundamental change to our voting process without first answering a critical question, ‘What is the problem we’re trying to solve with this?’”

According to data from the state’s Division of Elections, Juneau voters appear to support ranked choice voting. The capital city overwhelmingly voted against an effort to repeal the statewide system last election, which only very narrowly failed statewide. Advocates are already attempting to repeal it in the 2026 state election.

Downtown resident Catherine Reardon said she thinks it makes sense for Juneau. 

“I think that it’s very appropriate, given the nonpartisan nature of our municipal government system,” she said. “I think it encourages candidates to work constructively together, although they are opponents, which is essential for a smooth operation of our local government.”

It’s too late for the system to be used in this October’s municipal election, but it could be implemented in time for next year. Residents will have another chance to testify on the proposed ordinance before the Assembly votes at its next regular meeting on Aug. 18. 

The Juneau Assembly narrowly voted against putting two bond questions on this fall’s municipal ballot at a meeting on Monday. 

The bonds would have helped fund critical repairs and upgrades to Juneau’s schools and the city’s water and sewer systems. Officials say the updates are sorely needed. 

Assembly member Christine Woll said she wanted to wait to ask the question until a later election because of how crowded the ballot is already. She said she’s also worried about adding to the city’s debt at a time of potential budget uncertainty.

“We will need to fund these at some point in the near future, I would ask that we hold off until next year, given what we have on the ballot,” she said. 

Two citizen initiatives on the ballot seek to remove local sales tax on food and utilities and limit the city’s property tax rate. If passed by voters, both are projected to leave multimillion-dollar holes in the city’s budget. 

In preparation, the city recently notified local organizations that receive city grants – including KTOO – that it would be withholding a portion of their funding until the election due to “the potential of significant revenue loss” if the citizen initiatives pass.

Assembly member Maureen Hall said she wanted to put the school bond question on the ballot because of the potential for state assistance to pay down the debt. 

“We should take advantage of this opportunity,” she said. “I don’t think this is confusing to the voters. We all know what’s been happening to school funding lately.”

Despite voting down the school bond ordinance, the Assembly did move forward with a plan to fund the fencing and site preparation for a playground at Juneau’s Dzantik’i Heeni campus through general funds. It was originally intended to be funded through the bond measure. Members will still need to vote to approve that funding before that work can begin. 

Juneau Animal Rescue may have a location for a new, updated shelter.

At Monday’s Assembly meeting, members gave the OK for the city manager to negotiate leasing a parcel of city property to the rescue for less than fair market value.

JAR Board Member Kevin Ritchie said the next step is to raise enough funds to design and build the new shelter once the lease is approved. Building costs are expected to be between $15 and 20 million. 

“To make a project go forward, to start raising money, you need to have a place to put the project,” he said. “You need to describe what it’s going to look like and how much it’s going to cost.”

JAR leadership has been fundraising for a new building for the last few years. They say the current shelter isn’t meeting the needs for sheltering animals in Juneau. 

The roof leaks and the floors have started to sink. A 2021 inspection showed the facility doesn’t meet national standards. Ritchie said the shelter often finds itself at or near capacity, especially in summer. 

“The big thing is that the current shelter was built back in 1984 and that was before there were national standards for the treatment of animals,” he said. “And frankly, it just wasn’t built to be a very good housing for animals.”

JAR says the new facility would ideally have a better ventilation system to help prevent the spread of diseases, and more space for cats, dogs, and smaller animals like rodents and reptiles.

The city land JAR may lease is in the Mendenhall Valley, and the shelter would share it with the Southeast Alaska Food Bank. Ritchie said the construction timeline depends on how quickly the organization can raise funds.