Local Government

CBJ Assembly Meeting
August 22, 2011
Agenda
KTOO News Report 1
KTOO News Report 2

The AJ Mine Capital Project Fund now holds $250,000 for a water system study and other issues to be resolved before city officials decide if they’ll promote the city-owned gold mine. The Assembly Monday night appropriated the money from the sales tax budget reserve.

The ordinance says nothing about what the funds would be used for, and that caught the attention of most of the public who testified.

“I’m opposed to allocating any money for anything without first knowing what exactly the money would be used for and what results CBJ would expect to receive,” said Juneau resident Tina Brown.

City Engineering Director Rorie Watt told the Assembly several weeks ago that a fund would be needed to explore AJ issues, particularly Juneau’s water supply.

The city and borough owns two-thirds of the AJ property and Alaska Electric Light and Power owns the rest. Juneau’s main water source is Last Chance Basin, which sits atop, adjacent to and beneath the ore body.

Protecting Last Chance Basin was the AJ Mine Advisory Committee’s top priority. The Assembly formed the task force to determine circumstances under which the city might promote the AJ. The group worked for three months last spring, presenting its report in May.

Assembly member Ruth Danner tried to amend the ordinance to specifically state a water study would be done.

“I believe this ordinance should be redirected to say an ordinance appropriating to the (city) manager $250,000 for a safe drinking water supply study, and staff and legal time necessary to provide for research into the costs and benefits of reopening the AJ Mine,” she said.

Danner lost her argument as well as one to add intent language calling for a public vote on the AJ before the Assembly would solicit or select a junior mining company to advance the mine.

“When we have public testimony we hear from people on both extremes,” she said. “We don’t hear from people in the middle,” which she believes a survey would reach.

Assembly member Merrill Sanford said it’s too early to call for a public vote.

“There’s no reason to do this right now,” Sanford said. “We’re just trying to deal with whether or not it is feasible, whether or not it is safe for our water system, to even begin to look at the AJ Mine.”

Both of Danner’s amendments failed. Then seven of the nine-member Assembly voted to seed the AJ Mine Capital Project account with the $250,000 appropriation. David Stone and Malcolm Menzies recused themselves from the discussion and vote, due to a financial interest with A-E-L & P.

Engineering Director Watt will direct the studies. He said he plans a public process.

“Starting out with advising the public of a draft outline of what issues ought to be studied and look for comment and input on whether we’re missing topics,” Watt said.

He said the public also would be asked to comment on the final report.

The AJ study would include legal issues, Watt said. Juneau is one of the few municipalities in the country that regulates mining.

Watt said the study also would look for municipal land that could be used as a mine portal.

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.

Marine Park is one of Juneau’s busiest public spaces. During the summer, cruise ship passengers mingle with state workers on their lunch break, dotting benches throughout the park’s 1.3 acres. Unfortunately, it’s also widely seen as a haven for public drunkenness and other illicit behavior.

But a new plan being crafted by the city’s Parks and Recreation Department envisions Marine Park as a town square or village green. The planning process kicked off yesterday (Wednesday) with a meeting at the park to gather public input. Casey Kelly was there and has this report.

The CBJ Parks and Recreation Advisory Board says the Alaska Commercial Fishermen’s Memorial should stay where it is, while a city Assembly member says it’s not the memorial that should move, but the proposed cruise ship docks.

The PRAC was asked by the Docks and Harbors Board to weigh in on a possible location for the memorial, now that the city plans to build two new floating berths near it.

Memorial Board members say the granite wall with names of deceased fishermen should remain in its current location, but not if a dock will be in front of it. They suggest moving it to Marine Park.

Parks and Recreation Director Brent Fisher told the advisory board last night (Tuesday) he does not support the idea. He quoted from the CBJ waterfront plan, which calls Marine Park the front porch, village green, or town square for Juneau. The plan recommends redesigning the park to draw people to its core.

Fisher says the Fishermen’s Memorial was designed for its present location — a working waterfront near a fish processing company and away from downtown.

“Marine Park has been and will continue to be a venue for a wide variety of programs, many of which are not compatible with a memorial,” he says. “Examples of this include festivals, heavy metal concerts, flash mobs and parades.”

Fisher recommends a proposed CBJ park near the Douglas Bridge be designed around the Fishermen’s Memorial, but board member Melissa Museth says Gastineau Channel currents under the bridge are often too strong to safely conduct the annual Blessing of the Fleet.

Even with the proposed floating berth there’s enough room for fishing vessels to pass in front of the memorial at its present location, says CBJ Port Engineer Gary Gillette. Museth believes it could be too congested. She says the board has dismissed all other locations except Marine Park, mainly based on the needs of the ceremony held each May.

“We need to find a place where it is safe for our commercial fishermen to come in and participate with the Blessing of the Fleet like they have been doing all these years,” Museth says.

Linda Mancuso works on the waterfront as a CBJ Harbor Technician. One of her jobs is to pick up trash between Marine Park and the end of the seawalk, past the memorial. She says the two sites couldn’t be more different.

“When I walk through the memorial, people don’t throw trash there for some reason,” Mancuso told the PRAC. “There’s flowers down there right now, there’s always flowers there. There was a letter last week from a mom to her son. There’s a baby picture right now of somebody who lost their life. There’s all kinds of mementoes in there, people leave that stuff alone.”

She contrasts that with Marine Park:

“Marine Park doesn’t really belong to us anymore. It’s a drunk magnet,” Mancuso says. “I want you folks to be aware that if you move it (the memorial) down there what you’re going to have is drunks, you’re going to have people urinating, you’re going to have defecation, you’re going to have all kinds of stuff. I’m going to be picking up more empty 40s and Northern Light Canadian Blended Whiskey empty bottles than ever before.”

The Juneau Assembly will ultimately decide whether the Fishermen’s Memorial stays where it is near Taku Smokeries, or moves to another location.

Two Assembly members attended last night’s meeting. Peter Freer told the PRAC that wherever the memorial is located, the Assembly believes it must have both visibility and accessibility during the Blessing of the Fleet.

The plan for the city’s floating berth system, dubbed 16-B, states the memorial must be accommodated, though that is not defined. Assembly member Ruth Danner would shift everything up the channel toward Gold Creek.

“Can we move all of 16-B up, as far as possible, to make room for the Blessing of the Fleet to still happen there?” Danner asked.

The Docks and Harbors Board will hold another public hearing on locations for the memorial next week then make a recommendation to the Assembly.

Port Engineer Gillette says construction would begin on the first floating dock in 2013, and the second in 2014. He says the entire system would be in place at least a year before the memorial could be moved.

Juneau’s weather may resemble October this week, but that doesn’t mean you can’t imagine a nice sunny stroll on the downtown waterfront.

City officials want to hear from the public about future development at Marine Park. CBJ Parks and Landscape Superintendent George Schaaf says there’s no specific plan right now, but several ideas were outlined in the 2004 Long Range Waterfront Plan.

“How it describes Marine Park is as a village green or a town square, basically a cultural gateway to Juneau,” says Schaaf. “So, we’re looking at pretty much everything. What types of landscape do we want? What kind of hardscape? What types of programs do we see the area being used for in the future, and what construction or what kind of planning do we need to do to best accommodate that?”

The city’s Parks and Recreation and Engineering Departments will host a meeting tomorrow (Wednesday) at Marine Park to get public input.

Schaaf says some improvements, including an extension of the downtown seawalk to the park, could take place in the next few years. Others will be longer term projects. All ideas are welcome.

“We really want to try to get a feel for what’s important to the community, what they value about the place, and what they think we could do better,” Schaaf says.

Wednesday’s meeting will be held under the covered area at Marine Park from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Schaaf says it’s separate from, but dovetails with tonight’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee meeting to consider a possible move of the Alaska Commercial Fishermen’s Memorial to Marine Park. That meeting starts at 6 p.m. in City Hall Assembly Chambers.