Local Government

The Juneau Assembly upzoned more than 200 acres of city land for sale earlier this year in hopes of creating more housing opportunities throughout the city and borough. 

The rezones included land north and south of Grant Creek and west of the Bonnie Brae and Blacktail Subdivisions on Douglas Island, and some land in the Auke Bay area.

The hope was that by allowing for denser housing in those areas, it would entice private developers to build units there. But so far, nobody’s biting. That might be because a lot more work needs to be done to make the land buildable, and that work could be expensive. 

Dan Bleidorn, the city’s lands and resources manager, said the rezoning is just another strategy the city is using to try and tackle Juneau’s chronic housing shortage. 

“The goals of the rezones were to initiate a process in which those properties could be disposed of by the city, and developers could acquire them, or people could acquire them to build housing on,” he said. 

That’s especially needed as a U.S. Coast Guard Icebreaker is slated to be homeported in Juneau, bringing more than 100 crewmembers and their families to town in the coming years. It also comes as annual glacial flooding of the Mendenhall River threatens homes in the Mendenhall Valley, and major development projects are being proposed on North Douglas. 

High-density, multi-family is generally cheaper to buy or rent than a traditional single-family home. According to a study by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Juneau has had the highest average sale price for a single-family home in the state for the past two years.

“I think the rezones are important because it provides opportunity that wasn’t present prior to the rezones,” he said. 

Bleidorn said the rezones are just the first step in a long process to get housing built in those areas. But, just because the land is technically now up for sale, it doesn’t necessarily guarantee developers will want — or be able to afford — to build there. Bleidorn said just preparing the land to be developable will be a significant investment.

“I think some of the barriers to development include the fact that there’s no road frontage on a lot of these properties, and utilities are far away in some cases,” he said. 

That, paired with high interest rates and the cost of materials, continues to block developers from breaking ground on new projects.

For other city housing projects like the redevelopment of the Telephone Hill neighborhood downtown, the Assembly controversially chose to front millions of dollars to fund the first phase of demolition and site preparation in order to entice developers to build housing there. The city does not yet have a developer signed on to the project. Demolition is scheduled to begin in December. 

The Juneau Assembly similarly infused millions of dollars to spur the development of the Pederson Hill subdivision in 2017 to create more housing. Since then, private developers and individuals have bought some of the 86 lots to build single-family homes. 

Both projects have been met with skepticism, with people questioning the city’s role in influencing the housing market. Deputy City Manager Robert Barr said public subsidies on projects like these are a way to tuck in affordability requirements. 

“If it’s just left up to developers to kind of front all that principle, all that cash, that investment on their own, we’re gonna end up with one type of housing, right? Housing that they can make a profit on,” he said. 

Bleidorn said it’s not clear which direction the Assembly will choose to go on the land it rezoned. It depends largely on the interest – or lack thereof — from the private sector. He said, regardless, the rezones lay the groundwork for a future Juneau where more housing could finally be on the horizon.

“I really do think that these rezones will make a difference,” he said. “Maybe they’re more mid-term to long-term projects, but I think lining them up for future development is key.”

Tuesday is municipal Election Day in Juneau, and voters will decide on three Assembly seats, three school board seats and three key local tax measures. Residents cast their ballots at vote centers and ballot drop boxes open across town. 

Election workers emptied out the ballot box outside City Hall on Tuesday morning as Jev Shelton went to cast his ballot. 

Shelton said he doesn’t think any of the propositions should pass, but took particular issue with Proposition 1. That measure seeks to cap the rate the city uses to determine how much residents pay in property taxes each year. 

“It just leads to a major step backward in this community, which is losing population, losing influence, and is needing to make itself a bit healthy and a bit more attractive than it’s doing,” he said. “That was not the way to do it.”

Another resident outside City Hall, Lawrence Siverly, said he wasn’t familiar with the candidates up for election. He came to vote on the ballot measures. He said he voted yes on Proposition 1 because his son is a homeowner here, and yes on Proposition 2, which would exempt essential food and residential utilities from local sales tax. 

“Since I’m a senior, I already have benefits for food, but I think that should be available for everybody that lives here,” he said. 

But Siverly says he voted no on Proposition 3, which would implement a new seasonal sales tax system in Juneau next year. Proponents say the change would take advantage of the 1.7 million cruise passengers that come to town each summer, while giving year-round residents a break during the winter. Opponents say the system won’t actually save residents money in the long run. Siverly says he voted against it because he doesn’t want to pay a higher rate in the summer. 

Brian Fox walked outside the Mendenhall Valley Public Library after voting in person. Fox didn’t share how he voted, but said he wants to make things more livable in Juneau.

“I know that the cost of living here, and I’m acquainted with it very well, having lived here and in Fairbanks previously,” he said. “The cost of many things is sky high, some of it a little out of proportion.”

Back at City Hall, LaRae Jones is the volunteer supervisor for the election this year. Next to a stack of  “I Voted Today!” stickers featuring the Alaska state flag, she fills up a candy basket.

Jones said this is the last evening people can vote.

“People are wonderful, we love to have them come vote in person,” she said. “I just encourage everyone to vote.” 

The preliminary results of the election will be released Tuesday night after ballot boxes and vote centers close at 8 p.m. The initial results will only include ballots that were mailed in or dropped off before Election Day. Official results won’t be certified by election officials until Oct. 21.

KTOO reporters Alix Soliman, Jamie Diep and Yvonne Krumrey contributed to this report. 

Find the latest local election coverage at ktoo.org/elections. 

Juneau’s municipal Election Day is almost here — voters have until Tuesday night to cast their ballots. 

There are a handful of ways you can vote in the by-mail election. The city has ballot drop boxes in different locations all across town. Voters can also mail their ballots back or go to a vote center. 

This year’s ballot features three propositions, four candidates running for three open seats on the Assembly and four candidates running for three seats on the school board. One write-in candidate for school board is not featured on the ballot.   

Deputy City Clerk Andi Hirsh said as of Saturday, about 4,600 ballots had been returned.  

“Democracy only works when people participate,” Hirsh said. “This is your chance to really have a say in what our community looks like, and I think it’s really important for every person to be part of that.”

The ballot drop boxes are open until 8 p.m. Tuesday. They are located at City Hall, the AEL&P office in Lemon Creek, Douglas Library, the Mendenhall Valley Public Library and Statter Harbor boat launch. 

Ballots sent in by mail need to be postmarked on or before Election Day and a first-class stamp is required. Vote centers at City Hall and the Valley Library will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday for in-person voting.

Hirsh said the vote centers can get busy on Election Day and people might experience a wait time.

“We do tend to get both a lunch rush and an after work rush,” she said. “So, there tends to be a bit of a line.”

Ballots turned in on Election Day aren’t counted in the unofficial results released that night. They’ll be added to later unofficial result updates. Final results will be certified on Oct. 21.

Find the latest local election coverage at ktoo.org/elections.

Haines might soon join communities across Southeast Alaska that have tweaked their tax policies to shift the local tax burden off year-round residents and onto tourists.

Voters this week will consider a ballot measure that would increase sales tax during the summer, when visitors flock to town, and reduce the rate in winter. Sweetening the deal is a provision that would exempt groceries from sales tax entirely during the winter months.

“Over the course of a year the visitors and seasonal residents will pay more and year-round residents (depending on who they are and what they buy when) should pay less or the same as they do now,” Haines Borough Finance Director Jila Stuart said in an email on Thursday.

Local sales tax in Haines is currently set at 5.5%. If the measure passes, it would boost the rate to 7% between April and the end of September. The rate would fall to 4.5% for the rest of the year – excluding groceries, which would not be subject to sales tax at all in winter.

The goal is to raise funds for two key purposes: school funding and road improvements.

“I think it’s an agreeable enough deal, in so much as folks will get 5.5% off groceries all winter long, and they’ll get 1% off everything else,” Haines Mayor Tom Morphet said in an interview this week.

Morphet has been a major proponent of the provision, which is modeled after versions adopted in communities across Southeast. Among them are Craig, Pelican, Seldovia, Ketchikan, Sitka and Skagway – Haines’ closest neighbor.

Each seasonal sales tax looks slightly different. But the goal generally speaking is to take advantage of the busy summer season to generate local tax revenue.

Consumers in Skagway for instance, currently pay a 5% sales tax in the summer and 3% in the winter. But that could soon change. On the Skagway ballot this year is a measure that would boost summer sales tax by another 2%. In exchange, the borough would waive local utility fees.

Juneau voters, for their part, will soon weigh in on their own seasonal sales tax proposal, which would bump sales tax from 5% to 7.5% in the summer and drop it to 3% during winter.

Morphet has done a handful of public presentations about the tax. He said he has heard some concerns, including extra administrative costs for businesses, and that the tax could discourage people from shopping in Haines.

All told, the tax is expected to generate about $280 thousand dollars – which amounts to a 6% boost to local sales tax revenue, according to the borough.

Morphet acknowledged that 6% is an “incremental” figure. But he emphasized it’s still a crucial sum given that the borough is grappling with a $1 million budget deficit that he says has to be made up somewhere.

The deficit is due in part to federal funding cuts and a senior tax exemption passed by voters last year. But it also resulted from the borough needing to kick in more than half a million dollars more for the school this year compared to last, to make up for insufficient state funding.

That’s a challenge facing communities across Alaska.

“Communities are responding by adopting a seasonal sales tax,” Morphet said. “In Craig, the seasonal sales tax goes entirely to the school. And you know, until we have a new governor, our hands are going to be tied.”

If passed, the Haines borough expects that year-round residents would spend roughly the same amount in sales tax that they currently do.

Someone who spends $30,000 per year on taxable goods and services – $7,000 of which is groceries – would spend about $80 less on tax under the new structure, according to a borough fact sheet.

That could look different depending on the person. The math might not pencil out as well for someone who spends a lot on gasoline in the summer, for instance, as opposed to groceries.

Election day is around the corner for most of Alaska’s local governments, and many communities are considering whether to raise local sales taxes to pay for the escalating cost of public services, including basic infrastructure like road repairs and landfills.

Alaska’s largest city, Anchorage, holds its elections in the spring, as do Valdez and Cordova, but most of the state’s 150-plus municipal governments will have their elections in the next week.

In the state capital, Juneau, where voting has been underway by mail since late September, voters are considering three ballot measures with major implications for the City and Borough of Juneau budget.

Measure No. 1 would tighten the cap on local property taxes below current rates, effectively cutting city revenue by about $1 million and eliminating the city’s ability to raise rates.

The second measure would exempt food and residential utilities from local sales taxes. That would eliminate between $10 million and $12 million per year from the city budget.

To compensate, there’s also Measure No. 3, which would raise the city’s sales tax from 5% to 7.5% in the summer and lower it to 3% in the winter. If that measure passes, it would roughly balance the lost money if Measure No. 2 passes.

If ballot measure No. 3 doesn’t pass, Juneau city officials expect to significantly cut local services in order to balance the budget.

Juneau is one of several communities deciding whether to pass sales tax hikes this month.

In Skagway, voters are considering a seasonal sales tax increase from 5% to 7% in the summer, with some of the proceeds earmarked for water, wastewater and garbage services in order to lower local rates.

In neighboring Haines, voters are deciding whether to raise the local sales tax from 5.5% to 7% in the summer within the Haines townsite, with a smaller increase in the rest of the borough. The sales tax would fall to 4.5% in the townsite during the winter, 3% in the rest of the borough, and groceries would be exempted.

In Ketchikan, borough residents are being asked whether they want to extend part of the local sales tax through 2032. The borough has a 2.5% sales tax, but half of a percent is dedicated to construction and renovation projects at local schools. That’s what voters will consider renewing.

Slightly north, in Petersburg, voters will decide whether to reduce a senior citizen sales tax exemption so it applies only to low-income residents.

Ketchikan city voters consider seven ballot measures. While voters in the Ketchikan borough contemplate a sales tax measure, voters within the city of Ketchikan itself will also have seven other ballot propositions to consider.

First is a $15 million bond to pay for sewer mains and upgrades to the city’s water treatment facility. Those upgrades are being mandated by the state and federal governments.

Voters in the First City also will decide six different amendments to the city charter. Proposition No. 2 would eliminate a 30-day waiting period for city ordinances to take effect. No. 3 would allow the city manager to live outside city limits, but only on the road system of Revillagigedo Island, where the city is located.

Proposition No. 4 would remove the requirement that voters approve the sale of any city property worth more than $30,000. Instead, the city council would have the authority to approve those sales.

The fifth proposition would allow the city to award large contracts to someone other than the lowest bidder, and the sixth would allow the city to approve sales or contracts with city employees and elected officials as long as there are at least three cost quotes and the chosen contract is “the most advantageous to the city.”

The last proposition, the seventh, would allow the city’s annual fiscal audit to take more than four months.

In addition to those ballot measures, three candidates are running for two seats on the Ketchikan City Council. There’s also a two-way race for borough mayor, two contested borough assembly races and two contested school board races.

Voters in Sitka will consider two ballot measures. The first would allow the city to use proceeds from the local tobacco tax and the sale of the local hospital for parks and recreation.

The second, if adopted, would require all ballot measures to include a comprehensive economic impact study report before reaching the signature-gathering phase.

Six people are running for two seats on the Borough Assembly in Sitka, and there are three candidates for two seats on the local school board.

In Petersburg, two candidates are running for mayor and five candidates are running for two seats on the borough assembly. There is one candidate and two open seats for the school board.

In Skagway, the one candidate for mayor is running uncontested, after the previous mayor resigned earlier this year. There are four candidates for two assembly seats, and one candidate for two open school board seats. In Haines, there are four candidates for two assembly seats, and two candidates for two school board seats.

North Slope voters contemplate big borrowing planIn the North Slope Borough, two of four assembly races are contested, and only one of four school board races is contested. Borough voters also will consider eight different bond proposals. That’s more ballot propositions than any other municipal election taking place this month in Alaska.

The borough is proposing to borrow a combined $204 million for public facilities, including light, power, water, sewage, public safety, education and flood control.

At Utqiagvik, the borough’s largest town and the northernmost town in the United States, voters will choose between two candidates for mayor. There’s also two city council races, only one of which is contested.

Voters also are being asked to choose whether or not to extend Utqiagvik’s 20% wholesale tobacco tax to cover “alternative nicotine products and equipment,” such as vape and e-cigarette products.

Within the Northwest Arctic Borough, there are four borough assembly seats on this year’s ballot. Only one race is contested, and one seat — covering Ambler, Kobuk and Shungnak — has no candidates at all.

Similarly, among three races for school board, none are contested and one of the three seats has no candidates.

In the Kotzebue city election, two seats on the city council are on the ballot, and each race has two candidates. Another seat was vacated by the resignation of Ruth Moto in September, and someone will be appointed to fill that seat after the election, with the replacement being up for election in October 2026.

The Nome Nugget noted “meager interest to run for public office” in Nome this year, with two city council seats and two school board seats unopposed, but voters there will also be asked whether to raise the city’s sales tax from 5% to 6%.

This week, the Nugget reported that if the tax increase doesn’t pass, city officials will cut services.

In the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Houston considers sales tax hikeThe Matanuska-Susitna Borough holds its elections in November (as does Metlakatla in Southeast), but the cities within the Mat-Su borough vote in October.

Wasilla has no ballot measures; its city election includes three city council races, only one of which is contested.

In Palmer, five people are competing to become the city mayor, the most competitive single municipal race this fall. Three people are competing for two three-year seats on the city council. There also is a one-year seat on the council, and two people are vying for it.

Palmer voters are also being asked if they want to change the city charter so the city manager is no longer required to live within the city. The change would allow the manager to live within five miles of city limits.

Within Houston, six people are running for three spots on the city council. Houston also has four ballot measures. One asks whether voters support a city-owned airport. A second asks voters to approve a 2% sales tax increase (from 2% to 4%) in order to pay for road repairs. The third and fourth measures ask voters to approve the “Matanuska Thunder Festival” and “Founder’s Day” as city holidays.

Many ballot measures in the Kenai Peninsula BoroughWithin the Kenai Peninsula Borough, voters will decide five different ballot propositions. The first would require elections officials to hand-count ballots and ban electronic tabulators. The Matanuska-Susitna Borough has already taken a similar move.

Proposition No. 2 would create a special taxing district in Ninilchik to fund a new local swimming pool there. No. 3, if approved, would increase the property tax exemption in the borough so the first $75,000 of a homeowner’s residence would be exempted from local property taxes. The current exemption applies to the first $50,000.

The fourth proposition would raise the borough’s sales tax cap every five years. Currently, sales taxes only apply to the first $500 of a purchase.

Proposition No. 5 would shift borough elections to November, aligning them with state and federal elections, much as the Mat-Su borough has done.

Five seats on the Kenai borough assembly are up for election, and three of the races are contested. Three school board seats are on the ballot as well, with two races contested.

Among city elections on the Kenai Peninsula, only Soldotna has a ballot measure. That proposition asks voters to approve or reject the annexation of 2.63 square miles of nearby land into the city limits.

In the Interior, none of Fairbanks’ three local governments have ballot measures this year, but this year’s ballot will decide three seats on the borough assembly and two on the borough school board. There’s a two-person race to become Mayor of Fairbanks, and two seats on the city council are up for election.

Southeast of Fairbanks, in North Pole, four seats on the city council are up for election. There are only four candidates, but the order of the candidates will determine who gets a three-year term, a two-year term or a one-year term.

Kodiak will pick a new mayorIn Kodiak, voters will pick between two candidates for borough mayor, five candidates for two seats on the borough assembly, and they will vote on a variety of service area boards.

Within city limits on Kodiak, four people are running to replace longtime Mayor Pat Branson, and four candidates are running for two seats on the city council.

In southwest Alaska, Bethel has four open city council seats but only three registered candidates and one write-in candidate.

In Unalaska, Mayor Vince Tutiakoff Sr. is running unopposed for re-election, and three people are running for one of the two city council seats on the ballot. The other incumbent for city council is unopposed. On the local school board, three people are running for one of two school board seats; the other seat is held by the incumbent school board president, who is unopposed in his re-election bid.

Within the Aleutians East Borough, which includes Sand Point, King Cove and Cold Bay, two of three borough assembly seats have unopposed races, and the third has two candidates. All three school board seats on the ballot have candidates running unopposed.

Further north in Dillingham, two city council seats have two candidates apiece, and three people are running unopposed for three school board seats.

Within the Bristol Bay Borough, based in Naknek, three people are running for two seats on the borough assembly, and there are five candidates for the two school board seats on the ballot.

In the Lake and Peninsula Borough, two borough assembly members and two school board members are running unopposed. Those elections, like those in Juneau, are conducted by mail, and ballots must be postmarked by Oct. 7 and received by the borough clerk before Nov. 7.

The Juneau Assembly is considering offering a portion of the future Telephone Hill redevelopment to house U.S. Coast Guard families moving to Juneau. The city expects more than 100 families to join the community when a U.S. Coast Guard Icebreaker homeports in the coming years. 

At a committee meeting Monday night, City Manager Katie Koester said both the city-owned Telephone Hill and Pederson Hill subdivisions could meet the Coast Guard’s housing needs.

“We have been meeting with Coast Guard leadership and Coast Guard staff here on what their needs are for homeporting the Storis, knowing that housing is a major obstacle and that there’s a high priority for the community to bring that ship home,” she said. 

The Coast Guard announced last summer that Juneau would be the homeport for the new polar icebreaker Storis. The 360-foot ship is built to operate in the Arctic and is meant to increase U.S. presence in the region. 

Coast Guard officials say it will likely be a few more years before the ship is officially homeported in Juneau. But it will bring at least 110 personnel and their families to town.

Koester says Juneau’s housing stock is not enough to take care of its current housing needs. The crisis will only be exacerbated once Coast Guard families begin to arrive.

She suggested the Assembly look to sign an agreement with the Coast Guard that a portion of the housing at the Telephone Hill and Pederson Hill subdivisions would go to its personnel. She says that would make the land more attractive to developers.

The historic Telephone Hill neighborhood downtown is slated to be demolished beginning in December. Renters are still living there, and have until Nov. 1 to move out. The plans open up the area for newer, denser housing in response to the city’s housing crunch. The city does not yet have a developer signed on to the project. 

“Telephone Hill has an opportunity to provide a lot of multi-unit housing that’s really conveniently located across from the subport,” she said. “So, for those service members that maybe don’t have a car, maybe they’re single — close to public transportation, close to work — it could provide a really attractive option.”

Pederson Hill is about 26 acres of city-owned land, a half mile past Brotherhood Bridge on Glacier Highway. In 2017, the Juneau Assembly approved developing the 86-lot subdivision to create more housing. Since then, private developers and individuals have bought some of the lots to build single-family homes. Tlingit Haida Regional Housing Authority is also working on developing housing on a portion of the land. 

The Assembly voted to direct Koester to work on creating a memorandum of understanding to potentially offer land at Pederson Hill and Telephone Hill for private developers to build Coast Guard housing.