Budget, Dredging and Development

For the next few months the Assembly will be pretty obsessed with the budget. Across the country states and municipalities confront declining revenues. Some people want no service reductions and no layoffs and are open to tax increases. Others oppose any tax increases and look at this as an opportunity to “reduce the size of government.” I want to avoid layoffs or service cuts, but I also do not want to increase taxes. That limits the number of choices. Our shortfall is about 4 million a year. If the city employees union (MEBA) agrees to forego their negotiated wage increases in exchange for no layoffs, that will cut the deficit to about 2 ½ million. We will try and find 1-2 million more in cuts and then probably take the rest (1-2 million) from our Budget Reserve. We are fortunate to have that reserve and want to make sure it is available to tap into in subsequent years if revenues continue to be low. The Assembly will hold a Finance Committee meeting January 13 to discuss proposed reductions. Tell the Assembly your proposals of how to resolve the deficit. Email us at Borough_Assembly@ci.juneau.ak.us

Docks and Harbors proposes to dredge Douglas Harbor. Glacial rebound affects the Borough even at Douglas, and if dredging is not done soon, the Harbor will become unusable as it gets shallower. It has been dredged several times in the past – the last time about ten years ago. Levels of mercury in the harbor have risen somewhat. In our July COW meeting Harbors Director John Stone answered my question about that change- “Mr. Stone said the samples in 2002 showed an average of 2.0 micrograms per kilogram of mercury in the soil. The average for the Douglas Harbor just done was 2.3.” http://www.juneau.org/clerk/documents/2009-07-20_COW_Minutes.pdf

The issue is what to do with the dredged materials. Harbors proposes to dump them in the middle of the Channel. This proposal has been submitted to the permitting agencies and currently the Army Corps of Engineers (who regulate placement of dredged materials) has the issue out for public comment until January 8. You can find gobs of info on this at http://www.juneau.org/harbors/DHRP.php. The Corps request for public comments is the last link on that page. We rely on the permitting agencies to let us know when we are within safety limits.

Another issue on the horizon concerns development on Douglas. As I noted last entry, we recently met with Goldbelt to talk about a potential road extension to West Douglas to open up new land. In a related issue, on December 8 the Planning Commission approved rezoning several tracts of land along North Douglas highway from D3 to D10 and D18 –[as planned resulting from the sewer extensions now being completed]. This brings up the whole idea of development in general – and particularly on North and West Douglas. Some Juneauites oppose any new development. They argue it will change the character of Juneau in undesirable ways, and that it is not needed due to flat population growth. Others argue that we must promote development to survive and new land will stimulate the economy, and ultimately lower the cost of housing. We know that housing density must increase if we want to create affordable housing opportunities.

I have continually called for diversification of Juneau’s economy. Dependence on any one industry leaves us vulnerable. Juneau has been dependent on government, and to a lesser degree tourism, for a large percentage of our jobs. I want to promote non-government/tourism jobs. That does not mean I oppose the jobs we have, but rather I want to spread our risk. That is why I continue to support efforts to grow commercial fishing and primary production business (non-retail). I do not oppose retail, but retail is dependent on money that is already in the community. We need to find ways to bring money in from outside the Borough. Government and Tourism do that. Commercial fishing does it. Businesses like Glacier Seafoods, Taku Fisheries, Alaska Brewing and Heritage Coffee do it. We are better off than other Southeast communities, and that is why our population has not declined. But we are still at risk. That may not be a big deal for some who have secure employment or retirement, but it is critical for the rest of Juneau and particularly young people, new to the job market.

Juneau is a beautiful, desirable place to live because of our environment and our quality of life. It is important to preserve and enhance that quality. We must protect what we love; the land, the water, and the arts and social life that nourishes our minds and our souls. But that protection must be balanced with economic development that provides employment to our citizens and the means to support our community life.

This is a difficult and emotional issue. Many people want to preserve the Juneau they have now – or return to a Juneau they remember. But change is inevitable, and we need to shape it to our preferences. That is our challenge. We must work together to promote environmentally responsible development. I am neither an “all development is good” or an “all development is bad” person [which angers people on both sides]. I think our best route is through careful, planned development on North and West Douglas where land is available. I have supported the West Douglas Conceptual Plan which lays out such a process http://www.juneau.lib.ak.us/plancomm/WestDouglasConceptualPlan.php

I have told my environmentalist friends and my pro-business friends that this is an opportunity to demonstrate that they are not just knee jerk, ideologues opposed to the other. It is an opportunity for Juneau to pull together rather than continually polarize. Responsible development is something that can unite us as we cope with life's inevitable changes. I appreciate those of you who share your opinions by email, phone or commenting on this blog. Please keep it up, because it helps me see all sides of issues.

I wish a happy and peaceful holiday season to everyone.

This past week the Assembly had three meetings. The first was our “Retreat” on 11/30. We accomplished a couple things (about 1/3 of our agenda). The first was addressing whether we wanted to revise our Rules of Procedure which are like by-laws. http://www.juneau.org/clerk/Resolutions/Res2427(b)-Reestablishing_Assembly_Rules_of_Procedure,Repealing_RES2379(b).pdf
One of the issues we spent time on was public participation at committee meetings –particularly the Committee of the Whole. Many people have told me they want to have more input early in policy development and not just at the final Assembly hearing. Our Rule 5 (page 5) states “Reasonable opportunity for the public to be heard shall be allowed at committee meetings other than those designated as work sessions.” COW sessions are always announced as “Work Sessions” so there is normally no public testimony. I tried to change that and was defeated 8-1. In fact there was resistance by some to having public testimony at any committee meeting. It was argued that such testimony slowed down the process and “inhibited” frank discussions. That is total nonsense. Public testimony can be limited and if the public is present, I cannot understand how testimony “inhibits” discussions. But, obviously, my colleagues do not agree.

We also established our yearly goals—a sort of strategic planning process. That’s the alleged intent, but the reality is different. These goals were set some years ago. We add new ones whenever anybody really wants to. But their impact during the year is minimal. They are not really used to plan our work. They are just sort of “out there” for anyone to say “Look at the Assembly goals.” The revised version is not yet posted- but last years is at http://www.juneau.org/assembly/documents/2008-2009-Assembly_Goals-Post_Assembly_Review.pdf. I suppose if I want to criticize, I need to be willing to walk the talk. So in next Monday’s Lands committee- which I chair – I will open a discussion of those goals which are assigned to Lands and how we should address them in our coming year.

The second meeting was one a joint meeting with the Goldbelt Board on opening discussions for an extension to the North Douglas highway out into West Douglas. This is an interesting issue. In our Comprehensive Plan we discuss West Douglas as a potential “New Growth Area.” We also have a West Douglas Conceptual Plan that envisions how such development would responsibly proceed. http://www.juneau.lib.ak.us/plancomm/WestDouglasConceptualPlan.php In fact, it would be the first part of CBJ that would be “planned” as opposed to developed ad hoc. We had an MOA with Goldbelt about 10 years ago on a road extension, but nothing ever happened. The stimulus this time is that there is 3 million that has been sitting in the state budget for several years that can be applied to this project. The issue of contention is road alignment. Where would such a road go? Goldbelt owns the waterfront and city lands are mostly upland. The Resolution on our agenda has some attached maps of the area. http://www.juneau.org/assembly/agendas/2009/2009-12-01/2009-12-01-Special_Assembly_Index.php And as some of you know – Totem Creek Properties has been trying to promote a golf course out there—and has been unsuccessful in attracting developers. Stay tuned on this one. It could be contentious.

Third meeting was Finance. It was widely publicized how the city budget is projected to be 8-9 million in the red over the next two years. The city is asking the employees union to eliminate the annual COLA. If they do not, the city anticipates needing to make layoffs. Savings from this would be around 3 million, so even if this is accepted, there is still another 5+ million that will have to be found – probably through some combination of budget cuts and use of the city’s budget reserve. There will be a push by some to use that budget reserve and not cut anything. That would exhaust the reserve in two years and is unlikely to be accepted by the Assembly. The Mayor is cautioning that we may see hard times ahead even if the economy picks up because of our dependence on state dollars, and because those dollars may dry up with the decline of state oil dollars. As we try to balance the budget, potential budgetary victims will be new program proposals like area wide recycling or expanded mass transit.

And this past week Community Development held public hearings around town on a proposed downtown parking management plan. Very few people showed up, but when policies are put in force somewhere down the road people will complain about not having input. This is always a problem. Early on we advertise long term planning on some subject, but since it is not imminent, it doesn’t have the impact on people – and the media doesn’t talk much about it, so few people hear of it or are motivated to participate. But when the plan is fully developed and then implemented – many people will say they were not consulted. Others have said they don’t attend because they don’t believe they have any impact on the process. This is a dilemma all the time for most every issue out there. All I can say is that I will try to keep people a little more informed about what is going on (that is if they read this). Anyhow – check out the CDD site at http://www.juneau.org/cddftp/ParkingManagement111809.php and email Ben Lyman if you have comments.

New Projects

A couple of new projects are making headway that you might be interested in. First, the US Forest Service plans to build a 7,500 square foot, 2-3 story laboratory, plus parking lot, warehouse, and shop on Auke Lake on 7.5 acres of Forest land between the University campus and Back Loop Road. Planned construction is 2011-2012. Because it is Federal property and a Federal project, it requires no local permitting. The contact person is Becky Gravenmier at the PNW Research Station in Portland Oregon. http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/

Second, last Tuesday the Planning Commission approved a permit for a new 80 unit Aspen Hotel on Airport Road. http://www.juneau.org/plancomm/documents/STF_USE09-41_000.pdf

Finally, on Monday 10/26 at 6pm the Assembly Committee of the Whole will review recommendations from Docks and Harbors to move forward on cruise ship docks. This is a politically complex issue with multiple motivations by different groups. The driving force behind this is to not have a ship anchored in the channel, but allow it to dock. Right now, the city dock opposite Marine Park cannot accommodate the larger vessels that the industry is changing to (known as panamax). There were three main proposals—one is to stay with the present docks, but build them out 100 ft to allow the longer size (and also free up the seawalk from Coast Guard/TSA security restrictions). The second one was perpendicular to Merchants Wharf and the third a site at Gold Creek that would probably be privately developed. The Merchants Wharf site was rejected by most everyone for a variety of reasons.

The Cruise Industry prefers Gold Creek because it spreads out their passengers and enables them to transport them more easily. There is an interesting coalition of Downtown Business Owners, Downtown residents, and Docks and Harbors opposing Gold Creek - but for different reasons. DBA opposes it because they feel it will divert customers away from downtown. Many downtown residents don't want the cruise ships spreading out (and have voted against Gold Creek in the past). CBJ Docks and Harbors wants the current dock option because it is under their control and would keep them receiving the dock revenue. Fascinating dynamics. You can see maps and other info at http://www.juneau.org/clerk/ASC/COTW/2009/documents/2009-10-26_Harbors_Dock_Proposal_and_Request_for_State_Funding.pdf

2009 Election

This year’s election is over and the incumbents won (both Assembly and School Board)- plus election of the centrist Ruth Danner to the seat vacated by Sara Chambers.

It is reported that 28% of Juneau voted last week, but maybe not. We show almost 25,000 registered voters, and there are not 25,000 adults in Juneau. We add people who newly register, but there is no mechanism for dropping people who leave. Juneau’s population is around 30,000 and according to the census we have about 22% under 18. That leaves 23,400 18 and over. The Census bureau says that in 2000 about 70% of eligible voters were registered to vote. If that were true for Juneau we would have about 16,380 registered voters actually living here. Maybe it is a higher rate for Juneau than for the U.S. as a whole, so let’s bump it up to 17,000. There were 7,091 ballots cast in Juneau which would make turnout around 42% of registered voters and about 30% of the voting age population. [Still not great] Aren’t you glad you know all this? See the precinct by precinct votes at http://www.juneau.org/clerk/elections/documents/2009-10-06-Friday-Results_CBJ_Election_Unofficial.pdf

I was quite pleased to see Ruth Danner win her election, and I am disappointed to hear that some folks (even on the radio) are claiming improprieties in the vote by “the Democratic machine.” Ruth won 54% of the vote. Look at last year. Bob Doll – an active Democrat running against Wade Bryson, a dedicated pro road Republican, won by 55%. Of course there were other races – but many of them swung on issues of personality. Think of Randy Wanamaker vs. Dixie Hood or Johan Dybdahl against Marshall Kendziorek. And maybe this race swung on personality as well. You be the judge.

Also interesting is the letter to the editor by Karen Lawfer in Sunday’s Empire claiming that money doesn’t make a difference in elections. Hmmmmm. http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/101109/let_503563563.shtml
I guarantee you that a newcomer better be ready to raise and spend some money if they want to overcome the name recognition of an incumbent. The fact is that name recognition is still one of the greatest determinants of voting and incumbents have the advantage there. She poo-pooed flyers, mailers and signs – but they put your name out there. As do radio and newspaper ads. The candidate forums reach a few hundred people – maybe more with the broadcast KTOO forum. But you need 3,500 – 4,000 votes to win. Each of us knows a few hundred people, maybe more. You have to convince at about 3,000 people who never heard of you to vote for you. That’s the job of the campaign. [FYI – Incumbents do lose in Juneau. In 2004 Jeff Bush beat incumbent Jeannie Johnson, 2003 Dan Peterson beat incumbent Dale Anderson, 2002 Merrill Sanford beat incumbent Frankie Pillifant]

Next year, Randy Wanamaker in the valley is termed out - so no incumbent. Start thinking about it and talking to people. Contact me if you’d like to chat.

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As far as Monday night’s (10/12) Assembly meeting – I don’t see anything too controversial. We will (probably) pass the Animal Control Ordinance, returning to past ordinance language on competent voice control. We will probably pass an ordinance relaxing zoning for Single Room Occupancy buildings and accessory apartments—hoping to facilitate affordable housing. And we will probably adopt regulations for Downtown Historic District Design Standards Guidelines. Background on all this is found on the agenda page – (follow the Assembly Agenda and Minutes link at right

A reminder to make sure you vote. The election is next Tuesday, but you can vote early at the Mendenhall Mall or City Hall. http://www.juneau.org/clerk/elections/Absentee_Voting.php

A few weeks after the election the Assembly will vote on who will be Deputy Mayor for the year, the Mayor will make committee and liaison assignments and the Assembly will set its goals for the year. That's a good time to contact your Assembly reps on your preferences.

Yesterday the Juneau Economic Development Council released their 2009 Juneau Economic Indicators. This is worth your time to read. Highlights are that in the past year Juneau actually GREW in population by 1%. Total jobs and average wages also grew. Rents went up and housing prices went down. Also, there is no evidence that young people are streaming out of Juneau. Our demographic makeup reflects the rest of the country. Check it out at http://www.jedc.org/forms/Juneau%20and%20SE%20Indicators%202009%20FINAL.pdf

Do you have police related questions? JPD has instituted an Ask a Dispatcher online site at http://www.juneaupolice.com/askdispatch.php JPD also Tweets! http://twitter.com/JuneauPD

Remember the deadline for STIP comments (noted in my last post) is October 16. Tell DOT what you want. http://www.dot.state.ak.us/stwdplng/cip_stip/index.shtml

A number of the projects in the STIP affect the Brotherhood Bridge/Auke Bay corridor. There is a proposal for a bike path from the Bridge to UAS. There are also plans for a boat launch at the Auke Lake Wayside. Another is for realigning the road between Fritz Cove and DeHarts (interfering with a UAS project) and another to redesign the Back Loop/DeHarts intersection. State plans intersect with CBJ and university plans – but I felt stakeholders were not communicating. At Southeast Conference I facilitated a meeting between elected officials Chancellor Pugh and DOT – and DOT has now asked me to arrange another gathering of City, DOT and University reps. Hopefully we can iron out the complexities of these interrelated projects.

I have also been involved in promoting negotiations between the city and Goldbelt on the planned road extension around North Douglas and other discussions with the Mental Health Trust on their land and development issues downtown.

Lots to keep track of.

(and let’s not even go to the definition of “Competent Voice Control” in our Animal Control ordinance!)

This period before the City Elections is always a bit slow as people wait to see what the new make-up of the Assembly will look like. City elections, particularly in an off year from state and national elections, usually have quite low turnout. Beginning this Monday September 21 you can vote in person at either City Hall or the Mendenhall Mall. Hours and location details are at http://www.juneau.org/clerk/elections/Absentee_Voting.php

Here is a sample ballot http://www.juneau.org/clerk/elections/documents/2009-10-06_Sample_Ballot.pdf There are three Assembly races, the school board race and two propositions (Tobacco tax and School bond issue). Please vote and encourage your friends to vote. Because of the expected small turnout your vote is truly significant.

The Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) is created by DOT every few years to guide their construction programs. There is always a lot of debate on this because DOT is populated by engineers who have very clear ideas of the “right” or “optimum” answers to things. They ask for citizen and local government input, but many people are pessimistic about the influence of that input. The City has sent their priorities to DOT for years, but the actual STIP often bears little relation to local preferences. For instance – the most massive project Juneau has had for years (Sunny Point) was not built because of any great demand from Juneau residents, but was based on DOT priorities.

Be that as it may – the current proposed STIP is now posted online and DOT requests public comments by October 16. http://www.dot.state.ak.us/stwdplng/cip_stip/index.shtml The Juneau proposed projects are summarized on page 44 (49 of the pdf) with page references to the individual projects. While I might have wished for funding for other bigger projects (like the North Douglas Crossing) I support all the projects listed. Comments can be emailed to dot.stip@alaska.gov

Monday 9/21 is a regular Assembly Meeting at 7pm. We will again take up the Animal Control ordinance which has gotten a lot of feedback because people love their pets. There has been some confusion about the proposed ordinance which basically puts current parks and recreation regulations into an enforceable ordinance. First of all – this applies only to city parks and recreation land. It does NOT apply to federally owned National Forests or Dredge Lakes. There have been a lot of comments about the Airport Dike Trail (always a hot topic). The regulations on dogs for that trail come from Airport Policy written by the Airport Board. There are still issues of concern, but those two areas are under different jurisdictions.

Additionally there is an ordinance up for adoption revising the Building Code (see particularly a list of changes at http://www.juneau.org/assembly/agendas/2009/2009-08-24/documents/2-2009-07-31_Signif_Chng_Summary_2006_Codes_2008_NEC.pdf) and regulations and fee changes for Docks and Harbors and the Airport. If these relate to you please look at the information in the Assembly Agenda and Minutes for 9/21 (see link at right).

Monday night’s (8/24) Assembly meeting will have two hearings of note—whether to put an increase in the tobacco tax on the October ballot and whether to put the Gastineau School bond issue on the ballot. The school one will pass unanimously. The smoking one will pass, but there may be some disagreement. Mr. Dybdahl is opposed on principle. Mr. Sanford expressed reluctance to impose any kind of new tax, but would support it if the money only went to fund substance abuse programs. We had to decide on what language we will put on the ballot for the voters explaining the issue. The proposed language is:
“It is the intent of the Assembly to continue to spend the proceeds of this tax on health and social service needs related to substance abuse and tobacco use, prevention and cessation. Some of the increased revenue may replace existing sales or property taxes currently used for those purposes.”

Now the problem is that Alaska’s Constitution states we cannot have “dedicated funds.” That means we cannot say the tobacco tax (or any other tax) will DEFINITELY go to this or that project, program or department. So we walk a legal tightrope by saying “It is the intent of the Assembly to spend it this way.” In fact the Assembly is not bound by any “intent” language (or it would violate the state Constitution). But several members are concerned that we say we intend this tax to refund the city for the cost of substance abuse programs and the increased costs of health care attributed to tobacco use. They will support such a logic – but not anything phrased as a general tax increase.

Another issue that has been bubbling up behind the scenes this week is the impact of swine flu on the homeless population. While the flu itself is not a risk to most people – and the recommendation is to just stay in bed for a few days and drink fluids – “staying in bed” is a problem for the homeless. The shelters (Glory Hole and St. Vincent) do not have the facilities and resources to quarantine sick people or to provide medical attention. They generally do not accept those with infectious diseases and they do not allow people to stay in bed all day. Couple this with the fact that the homeless tend to be a high risk population for illness, and you run the risk of having someone, quite literally, die in the streets (so far, some 477 persons have died of Swine Flu in the US). So I made a pitch to the Manager and she has been meeting with our health care providers, the Homeless Coalition and the non-profit community to come up with a proposal of what we should do – how much it will cost and who will pay what.

Finally, the filing period to run for the Assembly ended last Monday. I was surprised that there was only one challenger for the Mayor’s seat. I mentioned previously that there was speculation that a current Assembly member might run – but that did not happen.

A Welcome Change

On Friday August 7 Governor Parnell invited the Juneau Assembly to meet with him at the Governor’s House. The meeting included of the Governor, his Chief of Staff, Legislative Liaison, Constituent Affairs coordinator and the Commissioner of Fish and Game. It was a fresh, open and extremely gratifying exchange. The governor asked about our concerns and issues and reiterated his support of Juneau as Alaska’s capital city. Yes, the proof is always in the pudding, but a governor reaching out to the Juneau Assembly is certainly a first in my tenure on the Assembly. I was impressed.

Last week members of the Assembly and the legislative delegation toured the new AEL&P Lake Dorothy project which should come on line soon. It was impressive. I think we forget how unique we are in having our electricity almost 100% renewably generated. Not only that, but unlike most dams down south, our lake-sourced hydro power does not interfere with fish migration. We are very fortunate.

Monday 8/10 is our regular Assembly meeting and there will be a public hearing and final vote on the revised animal control code, so if anyone has any comments, that is the time to make them. We’ll be introducing ordinances to put a school bond issue and raise the tobacco tax on the October ballot. The hearing on those will be August 24.

The final FY 2010 budget has been posted and I created a link on the right.

Filing for the October city election began Friday. So far no one has filed against Mayor Botelho although Mark Farmer previously announced that he would. There has been speculation that a current Assembly member (not me!) would run for the Mayoral seat. If a sitting Assembly member wants to run for Mayor, they have to resign from the Assembly. We’ll see what happens.

The filing period goes through Monday the 17th. Stephanie Madsen, who failed in her Republican primary campaign against Cathy Munoz, has filed for the District 2 (Valley) Assembly seat. I expect there will be others. No one has filed for the District 1 seat although incumbent David Stone is expected to run for re-election. Once again, if anyone you know is interested, please let them know I would be happy to talk with them.

Running for an Assembly Seat

On October 6 we will hold our annual Borough elections. Three Assembly seats are up including those held by Mayor Botelho, David Stone and Sara Chambers. Ms. Chambers (Valley seat) has said she will not run for another term. The filing dates for petitions to run are from August 7-17th. http://www.juneau.org/clerk/elections/2009/2009_Regular_Election_Candidate_Page.php

Many people have thanked me for putting in the time on the Assembly, but I have received much more than I have given. First of all I love policy issues, and I enjoy spending time learning about them. That is no burden. Second, I have grown in my understanding and appreciation of our democratic process that truly gives power to the people. Third, and most importantly, I have made countless new connections and relationships with people and organizations throughout Juneau – far more than I would have on my own. I have been pushed to understand all sides of issues and to appreciate the positions of those who feel different than I do. I know some wish I was more single minded, more sure of the “right” answer to policy issues, but as with most things, the more I learn, the less I feel there is “one best way,” the more I feel it is so important to hear and understand all sides.

As I have interacted with so many people from so many backgrounds, I have also come to love Juneau, far more than I did previously. It is truly a wonderful place, filled with dedicated, public spirited people.

I am saying this because I want to encourage others to consider running for Assembly (or School Board). Yes, it is time consuming, but the rewards are great. [Just not like the New Jersey “rewards.”]

If any of you are interested in finding out more about the Assembly and what it takes to run a campaign, please give me a call and we can talk.

Well, I am back after a long road trip down south. Enjoyable, but I am also glad to get back.

Today’s (7/13) paper had an article on the Assembly partially forgiving a loan made to the Fishermen’s Memorial – chaired by Bruce Weyhrauch. If you read it you see that I opposed the loan forgiveness. I did not feel the organization had honored the contract in good faith since they had not made any loan payments since 1998 – even though they have 50K in their bank account. I was also concerned that we are anticipating budget shortfalls, and we rejected the whale sculpture funding— so why fund this one? Ah well.

I was also on the short end of an 8-1 vote a couple weeks back to fund a new position with the Juneau Economic Development Council for an Affordable Housing Coordinator. Although I support the general concept, this request was for 100K for what United Way had previously done for about 30K. I was uncomfortable with that switch and the amount of dollars. I am not exactly sure what we will be gaining.

I did support us going forward with hiring a solid waste coordinator. Juneau citizens have made it clear that waste management is a high priority. This passed with Mr. Wanamaker opposing.

On June 23 the Planning Commission approved a variance for the Mental Health Trust to waive the height restrictions for the proposed office building located between Egan and the Coast Guard Building. The full minutes aren’t out yet, but the staff report is at http://www.juneau.org/plancomm/documents/STF_VAR09-16_000.pdf

You may have noted last week that the Assembly accepted putting one of the School District’s three requested projects on the ballot this fall for bond issue funding (Gastineau Elementary). The other two projects (Auke Bay and Marie Drake) were postponed. Every bond issue approval increases our debt service and your property tax. The schools definitely need work, but I believe we need to spread this out over a number of years.

At tonight’s (7/13) Regular Assembly Meeting an ordinance amending the animal control regs will be introduced and then heard at our 8/10 meeting. Juneau loves its dogs, and I found it interesting to wade through the verbiage. New language is in italics. There’s some interesting stuff.
http://www.juneau.org/assembly/agendas/2009/2009-07-13/documents/2009-12.pdf

Hope we continue our wonderful weather.

Jonathan

Last Monday the Assembly passed the 2009-2010 budget. This link does not include the final tweaks, but it is pretty close. http://www.juneau.org/financeftp/FY10RevisedBudget.php
We have been feeling nervous about the situation next year, but I guess we cross that bridge when we come to it. We are sitting fairly well with a healthy budget reserve, so if our worst fears come true, we will have that to fall back on.

The Assembly passed the budget 8-1 with only Mr. Wanamaker opposing. He made it clear he favors less government and lower taxes. While that is a popular slogan to some, the realities of fewer city services, less responsive government, less infrastructure is not what most citizens of Juneau want. The budget surveys that the League of Women Voters conduct for us every other year are always helpful and indicate citizens are basically satisfied with the current level of government. http://www.juneau.org/assembly/Budget_Surveys/index.php

Over the summer Assembly work slows down while tourism and construction heat up. I will be out of state for about the next 6 weeks, and although I will be available through email, I probably will take a break from this blog unless something big comes up.

For those of you interested in getting a bit more involved in dealing with Juneau’s many issues we have Board openings on a number of our Enterprise Boards, including the Airport, Hospital, Eaglecrest and Docks and Harbors Boards. Applications for those Boards are due June 1. For more details see- http://www.juneau.org/clerk/boards/Board_Mainpage.php

And then, of course, in October three Assembly seats will be up for election. The incumbents of the three seats Mayor Botelho, David Stone and Sara Chambers have not said whether they will run again. If anyone is interested in running and wants to chat, give me a shout.

On April 25th several hundred people gathered at Centennial Hall to brainstorm ideas about how to improve our capital city. We generated over 300 suggestions, some frivolous, but most of them serious and worth considering. Then we broke into small groups representing 12 different categories and selected what each group believed were the five most important to address. It was an exciting three hours because citizens across the political spectrum were sharing their ideas with a common goal-- to make Juneau the best capital city we can. A new Capital City Forum web site lists the 300 ideas and the results of the small group sessions. http://www.juneau.org/assembly/ccf/index.php If you have other ideas, please send them through the email link provided. Many people focus on the issues that divide us. What is great about this process is the effort to join together on the things that unite us.

Last week the Finance Committee approved an unchanged property tax rate of 10.6 mills
(tax per thousand dollars of assessed value). Individuals’ actual tax depends on the assessed rate of property on January 1 of each year. The budget should be voted on at our May 18 Regular Assembly Meeting.

The issue of the landfill and solid waste disposal continues to be a concern with many complexities. Over the past year there have been complaints about odor and they have been addressed by Waste Management with pipes and flaming off methane.

Our recycling plan has been put on hold by the fact of low prices for recycled materials. We shipped materials south in March at about a $12,000 loss. We will continue to collect and ship (for the time being) in the hopes that prices will rebound.

The Assembly just received a consultants report on the feasibility of various waste incinerators. http://www.juneau.org/clerk/ASC/COTW/2009/documents/2009-05-06_SCS_Engineers_Opinion_Letter_to_Joe_Buck_re_Plasma-Arc_Gasification_and_Waste-to-.pdf
And here is the recommendation from the Public Works Director stressing that the city needs to secure the trash collection license so we can control the waste stream. http://www.juneau.org/clerk/ASC/COTW/2009/documents/2009-05-06_Joe_Buck_Memo_re_Plasma-Arc_Gasification_and_Waste-to-Energy_Incineration.pdf

There is a Junk vehicle disposal day May 22 http://www.juneau.org/pubworks/JunkCarEvent_000.php
And a Hazardous Waste Disposal day May 31 http://www.juneau.org/pubworks/hazardwaste.php Please take your hazardous material to that drop off site rather than dumping it in the landfill.

Management of our waste is not something quick and easy to resolve, but I feel like we are continuing to address the issue.

Results of the recent McDowell Group Tourism Survey were presented to the Assembly Committee of the Whole on May 11. It emphasizes how much the tourism industry benefits the Juneau economy. http://www.juneau.org/clerk/ASC/COTW/2009/documents/2009-05-11_Tourism_Survey_Juneau_Visitor_Impacts_4_20.pdf

I think I’ll give the budget debate a rest- other than to note that Wednesday at our Finance Committee meeting the Assembly is to decide on our “pending” requests for financial help.

You may find it interesting to see the groups the CBJ Social Service Advisory Board has funded http://www.juneau.org/clerk/documents/SSAB_FY10_Block_Grant_Awards.pdf
And also what the Youth Activities Board has funded (see page 6 of our 4/15 agenda)
http://www.juneau.org/clerk/documents/2009-04-15_AFC_agenda-web3.pdf

It seems there will be lots of construction work this summer. DOT is putting up a light at Whittier and Egan and will close off cross traffic turns at Willoughby. A good move, I think. I have heard DOT is also planning a traffic roundabout at the Mendenhall Loop and Backloop intersection on the way to the Glacier. I get that confused with planned construction at the DeHarts intersection, but I think they are still trying to figure out the best way to design that one. I think Thane road is to get resurfaced (finally). We have City projects continuing in the Flats (around 12th St) and Radcliffe road out near the Airport. We’ll continue on the Public Works shop at 7 mile, and sewers from Industrial Blvd to Engineers Cutoff (as well as continuing work on N. Douglas. The Valley pool should get started. The Downtown Transit Center should start structural work. I think the DZ covered playground should get built, and there is ongoing remodeling work at the Airport. Eaglecrest’s mid mountain and beginners’ lifts should be completed this summer. It’s hard to keep track of all the projects going on. There are certainly more than the ones I mentioned. Information on city projects can be found on the Engineering site http://www.juneau.org/engineering/

Another issue I have been working at is to find an appropriate recreational spot for off road vehicles. The challenge is to find a place where environmental damage is controlled and where recreational noise will not interfere with others. Last year we thought we had a solution at the old North Douglas/Fish Creek gravel pit. But after very contentious hearings, the Planning Commission turned down the permit. There was another option at Echo Cove on Goldbelt land, but their Board of Directors rejected it. We recently examined land up Lemon Creek at what is called Hidden Valley (past Costco), but the combination of concerns from Secon (who owns land and stores explosives there) and objections from state Corrections (Lemon Creek facility) make that option unworkable. I talked last week with the Forest Service and they have opened a tract of land at 25 mile for use. That seems to be the only place at this point, but discussions continue.

Finally, we are all interested in hearing when the Supreme Court will rule on the Kensington tailings disposal issue. It could be any week now.

Budget Angst

The budget is taking most of our attention these days. I thought I would talk a bit about some of the issues we are dealing with. The Assembly must pass a balanced budget each year, and shortfalls in property and sales taxes present a fiscal challenge. The lag in revenue collections means the shortfalls will hit us hardest in FY 10 - beginning in another year. At that time our Finance people predict at least a 5 million dollar deficit, and higher in future years. We will have to balance the budget either by cutting services or raising taxes, and in hard economic times, raising taxes really isn’t an option.

Against this backdrop the Assembly is being asked to fund a number of very worthy projects from United Way, the Affordable Housing Commission, the Juneau Economic Development Council, the Juneau Arts and Culture Center, the Juneau School District, Care a Van, funding for rebuilding McPhetres Hall and preserving the Russian Orthodox Church. At some point this year the school district will ask us to put several school bond issues on the ballot for next October to renovate schools. If the Assembly and voters approve the debt service mill levy - which means your property taxes – will increase.

The city does have budget reserve funds. We are much better off than many cities down south. We have something like 4 million in emergency reserves and something like 10 million in the sales tax budget reserve. Those reserves, by the way, impact the city’s bond rating. Drain the reserves and the bond rating goes down and borrowing costs go up. I believe the manager will propose funding part of the deficit through cost cutting and part through the budget reserve. We could do that for several years if things did not get worse.

There are other complexities. Large amounts of our budget go to capital projects: schools, the pool, a new computer system, the parking garage, the new public works shop and many others. You can view this year’s Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) proposals which were presented at our last Public Works Meeting. http://www.juneau.org/clerk/PWFCAGENDA/documents/CIP_Recom.pdf. This file is useful because it includes funding sources – sales taxes, water funds, harbor, port and cruise ship fees and state grants.

When we go to the voters to ask to continue various sales taxes, we tell them that what they are approving is “intended” to fund this or that project, but there is not any legal obligation. In Alaska most dedicated taxes are unconstitutional. We can only say we “intend” to spend the money on project X or Y. Legally, we could take money that we told you we were going to use to fund project X and do something else. We could fund operational shortfalls by canceling building projects that voters thought they “approved.” If we do that – I wonder what the likelihood is that the sales tax will be approved the next time around.

This recital is oversimplified, but you get the idea. The bottom line is less money means jobs and/or services have to be cut. To the extent we hold the line or reduce funding this year, we won’t have to cut as much next year.

As I said, the good news is that the city is in a lot better shape than many. If the economy turns around quickly, all this angst goes away. If it stays down or declines further, our deficits will increase. If oil prices stay low, revenue sharing from the state will decline, increasing our deficits even more.

So just like each of us individually, CBJ needs to live as frugally as possible for the moment and hope things turn around so we won’t have to sell part of the farm next year and all of it the year after that. We’re OK for the moment. We’ve got some money in the bank to help us through a few hard years. Hopefully, that will be enough.

Juneau continues to await the resolution of our state senate seat. I’m sure we all have opinions there. Mostly I am trying to focus on the city and leave that battle to others—but it certainly can be distracting. As more and more names are discussed, inevitably Assembly members’ names get tossed out. Jeff Bush’s is prominent in that mix. I assume the Mayor’s name is there, too, maybe Bob Doll’s. Somebody might have even said “What about Anderson?” At which point everyone looks at each other and says “Nah.”

More importantly we are awaiting the final budget decisions of the state. Those seem to change daily so it is hard to make firm plans until the final bills are both passed and signed. Wednesday the 15th at 5:30 the Assembly Finance Committee will meet and continue its hearing of funding requests for the coming year. Currently, Johnson Youth Services and the Youth Activities Board will present their requests. When the agenda is posted it will be at http://www.juneau.org/clerk/FC.php

Tuesday the 14th at 7pm the Planning Commission meets and there is a hearing on another proposed WiMax tower—this one downtown on Capital Street. There are some interesting applications in the consent agenda on development in Lemon Creek and at the Rock Dump. It’s worth a glance at http://www.juneau.org/plancomm/Agenda041409.php

We received the proposed city budget last week. As I mentioned previously, this coming year seems to be OK—but next year (FY 11) we have a projected 5+ million dollar deficit. Of course this depends on the economy. Much of the shortfall is projected to be because of a decline in sales tax revenues. Princess Cruise lines just announced they would be cutting a ship from their Alaska routes this year. Royal Caribbean had previously announced they would cut one of their ships as well. These cuts will affect our economy and our sales tax revenue.

What this means is that the city is unlikely to fund anything new, including added costs for area wide recycling. In fact there has already been pressure by some on the Assembly to use this situation to “cut government.” I will oppose that effort and suggest that if we need to cut the budget more, we should look first toward cutting capital projects. The budget info is worth reviewing—at least the summary page at
http://www.juneau.org/financeftp/FY10RevisedBudget.php

Assembly Member Chambers is sponsoring a Resolution to be heard April 6 which opposes a Congressional proposal to strengthen the Clean Water Act by reinstating rules that were in force prior to 2002 which prohibited dumping mine waste into waters of the US. This legislation is primarily directed at mountaintop mining in West Virginia, but it also impacts the Kensington Mine proposal to dump waste rock in Slate Lake. The legislation can be found at http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1310

I support the Kensington Mine, but do not support policies which harm the environment. I think this is a key issue. The mine can go forward in an environmentally responsible manner – which will cost more money – or in a manner that disregards environmental damage. We need to stand up for responsible development.

There are a number of new and semi-new land use planning reports – including proposed updates of Title 49 on developments. See them on the CDD site http://www.juneau.org/cddftp/

We just released a new Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory. We have asked the Sustainability Commission to review this and make recommendations. See the report at
http://www.juneau.org/clerk/ASC/COTW/2009/2009-03-23/documents/Juneau_GHG_Inventory_for_2007_FINAL.pdf

I hope many can attend our Capital City Forum April 25 from 9-Noon. Many of us are concerned about capital creep and what we can do to keep the capital in Juneau. Join us to share your views and listen to others. http://juneau.org/clerk/misc/news_items/2009-03-13-Mayor_re_Capital_City_Forum-Revised_Contact_Info.pdf

The political duel over the appointment of a replacement for Senator Elton goes on. It is a situation which I am happy to stay FAR away from. But I confess to being entertained.

This past week we began our yearly budget process. Tuesday the School Board presented their budget situation. They said they would be taking a hard look-- but they will still be asking for bond issues to be on the October ballot for several schools, particularly Gastineau Elementary, Auke Bay Elementary and Marie Drake. I have mixed feelings. But I guess if we put them on the ballot - citizens can vote on what they are willing to pay for. The School Board meets Tuesday 3/17

Wednesday we had a Finance Committee meeting. The Manager said he could work out funding an increase in rush hour bus runs and we approved that. But there are many other requests for increases, and we just don’t have the money. The budget looks OK for the coming year due to past revenue-- but the year following we are looking at a 6 million deficit unless economic conditions change. So there will be great pressure to limit any new commitments.

At Monday’s Assembly (see agenda link at right) we will put in our WISH LIST to DOT for their Statewide Transportation Initiatives Planning. We’ll approve bid awards for the DZ Covered Play area and for the Airport/Pool Heat Pump contract. Up for hearing, among other things is a new lease for the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council.

Finally- the Assembly is planning an April 25th Public Planning session on bringing the Community together to promote Juneau’s status as Alaska’s Capital. I hope all of you will be able to attend http://juneau.org/clerk/misc/news_items/2009-03-13-Mayor_re_Capital_City_Forum-Revised_Contact_Info.pdf.

Monday through Wednesday of last week were taken up with the search for a new City Manager (Rod Swope leaves at the end of April). We had advertised nationwide and received 30 some applications (a pretty low number). We selected eleven applicants who seemed to have possibilities and held telephone interviews at the end of January. As a result of those interviews we selected five candidates that we thought sounded good. Two of them eventually withdrew and we invited three to Juneau. Last week we held what is called an Assessment Center. Over three days we had the candidates run a mock staff meeting where they had to discuss how to make a 10% budget cut. The candidates then had to draft a written memo about the cuts (they had two hours) and present it to the Assembly who questioned them about their recommendations. Later the candidates made a public presentation and responded to questions (some of them planted). Finally, each candidate had a 90 minute interview alone with the full Assembly.

This was an intense process for both candidates and the Assembly and is the first time such an exhaustive process has been carried out for a City Manager in Juneau. After the exercises we felt only one of the candidates had the knowledge and abilities to be city manager in Juneau, and, unfortunately, that candidate did not show the interest or motivation we hoped for.

So, disappointingly, we are starting over. Rod Swope is willing to stay on for some period of time, as long as he can take a couple months off at the end of April. During that time, Deputy Manager Kim Kiefer will be in charge. Meanwhile the Assembly will discuss how to proceed.
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There are no Assembly meetings this coming week - March 2-7.

Last week there were two issues reported in the media that I just want to touch on. First the Assembly decided to continue to accept all recycling items. We will subsidize this for the next year or so and see if commodity prices rise. We will also re-evaluate how much an incinerator might cost in terms of higher garbage rates.

Secondly, the Mental Health Trust announced it was entering an agreement with the state to construct a new building on the land in front of the Coast Guard building (across from KTOO). The Departments of Labor, Fish and Game and Corrections will have offices there. The ground floor may have retail. Their plan is to apply for a height variance to add a fourth floor.

The annual request for grant proposals from the Youth Activities Board is out. Applications are due March 2nd. http://www.juneau.org/parkrec/grants/

I received notice of a review of the National Forest Service Admiralty National Monument and Juneau Ranger District Access and Travel Management (ATM), specifically for evaluating motorized use on US forest lands. There will be a hearing March 4th in Juneau 5-7:30 at the Juneau Ranger District office. Let me know if you are interested and I will send the document to you.

DOT is again asking for feedback on its State Transportation Improvement Plan or STIP. Comments are due by March 13. I have doubts about how much DOT actually uses the comments. They are great on asking for comments, but it always seems they just go ahead and do what they want. Still it is important to keep giving them feedback. I certainly will. http://www.dot.state.ak.us/stwdplng/cip_stip/index.shtml

Three Candidates for City Manager will come to Juneau February 23-25 for an Assessment Center and interviews. The public is especially invited to two gatherings. On Tuesday the 24th in the City Hall Chambers, each candidate will give thirty minute presentations and then be open to Q&A. The presentations will be at 11:30 am at 12:15pm and at 1:00pm. Then Tuesday evening from 5-7 there will be a public reception. PLEASE COME! This hire is extremely important.

Finally, we hired a new Harbormaster - Phil Benner http://www.juneau.org/clerk/misc/news_items/2009-02-03-John_Stone_re_New_Harbormaster.pdf

I had noted previously about the Planning Commission permitting some communication towers. An appeal to the Assembly has now been filed, so eventually we will “hear” that. FYI- In the Assembly’s quasi-judicial role, I can’t talk about the issues outside of the hearing. However, if you want to learn more- the Planning Commission minutes on that decision are now posted. This decision begins at the bottom of page 15 http://www.juneau.org/plancomm/documents/011309.pdf

I have a My Turn in today’s Empire on the issue of the Kensington Mine. Basically I criticize several of my Assembly colleagues who have turned into Kensington Mine spokespersons and the publicity campaign which asserts Kensington is some kind of public interest organization rather than a private corporation. I’d be interested in hearing from anybody on their reactions.

Monday’s Assembly meeting was not overly eventful (I’m sure some feel differently). You can check out the agenda through the link at the right.

The high profile news out now is the issue of recycling and dropping commodity prices and the fact that the processors are not even accepting paper anymore. If we continue to accept paper and ship it south, we will have to raise the community’s garbage collection rates. On the other hand, we already know that the proposed community wide curbside recycling will also raise rates. The consultant’s report on all this can be found at http://www.juneau.org/pubworks/projects/SWMS/

Applications for CBJ Social Service grants are due February 15. http://www.juneau.org/SSAB/pdfs/FY09-10BlockGrantPacket.pdf

Reminder: comments on the Passenger Fee Proceeds are taken until February 15.
http://www.juneau.org/manager/passenger_fees.php

And the live streaming web cam on the downtown transit center is still running through Sealaska at http://www.sealaska.com/object/webcamtest

In my last post I noted the Finance committee would be considering a food sales tax exemption. The Assembly was pretty much unanimous that this was a good idea, but concerned about eliminating 5 million in revenue when our revenue is already declining across the board. No one supported my suggestion of a revenue neutral approach of cutting sales tax combined with an equivalent increase in the property tax.

Saturday I attended the dedication of the 1% for Arts projects at Thunder Mountain High School. I was really impressed by it all and encourage everyone to visit sometime to see the totem pole with its amazing base, the river floor mosaic and the other art. You can see a few pictures at the TMHS site http://www.jsd.k12.ak.us/tmhs/index.php

Our search continues for a city manager to replace Rod Swope, who retires May 1. We hope to invite finalists to Juneau next month for on site interviews including presentations to the public.

Each year we collect passenger fees from the cruise lines. Next year we have forecast collecting 4.5 million. The money must be spent on things that contribute to the health and safety (broadly defined) of cruise lines passengers. The Manager has proposed projects for the coming year. Comments will be accepted on his recommendations until February 15 and then they will go to the Assembly. The following web page lists the project proposals, the manager’s recommendations, the law, and the email address for your comments. http://www.juneau.org/manager/passenger_fees.php

Monday 1/26 we have a number of meetings. At noon the Public Works Committee meets http://www.juneau.org/clerk/PWFCAGENDA/AGENDA012609.php
At 5pm Lands Committee meets http://www.juneau.org/clerk/2009_01_26_Lands_Index.htm
Just after Lands we have a short special Assembly meeting with a few items including a discussion of Legislative priorities http://www.juneau.org/assembly/agendas/2009/2009-01-26-Assembly_Index.php
Then we have a Committee of the Whole which will hear results from the Lessons Learned Commission appointed by the Mayor after last year’s power emergency. http://www.juneau.org/clerk/ASC/COTW/2009/2008-01-26-COW_Index.php

The Planning Commission meets at 7pm Tuesday 1/27, and one item should be the continuation of a proposed 180 foot WiFi tower on Montana Creek http://www.juneau.org/plancomm/documents/STF_USE08-27_full_000.pdf

Did you know the Juneau Police Department provides a “Vacation Watch” service for residents when they are out of town for an extended period. Register with them when you head out of town for vacation. http://www.juneau.org/police/VacationWatch.php

There are a bunch of miscellaneous things going on.
As mentioned in my last post, Tuesday (1/13) there are meetings on landfill odor problem (Centennial Hall) and also Planning Commission consideration of the ATT towers in the Valley.

Monday night (1/12) is our regular Assembly meeting. There are a lot of ordinances being introduced, but not many for hearing. One of interest is an ordinance to cover cost overruns at the Jensen Olson Arboretum. You can see background on all this in the Agenda (click the link at the right).

The Urban Avalanche advisory website is now active. It is updated daily and you can see what the avalanche risk is given the current weather. http://www.juneau.org/avalanche/

The downtown transportation center and parking garage website http://www.juneau.org/engineering/DTC/DTC.php now includes a live video feed from atop the Sealaska building mms://live.upstreamnetworks.com/20080-49247 (requires a media player since it is a video and not just still pictures)

The Wetlands Review Board 2008 Annual Report to the Assembly is available at http://www.juneau.org/clerk/ASC/HRC/2009/documents/2008_WRB_Annual_Report.pdf

I think most of you know City Manager Rod Swope announced he will resign at the end of April. Thirty one applications have been received and the Assembly is currently in a screening process. Finalists will probably be interviewed at the end of February. The process will include a public meeting.

Finally, this Wednesday (1/14) at 5pm the Assembly Finance Committee will meet. A main agenda items will be the proposal to exempt grocery store food from sales tax. This is an issue that has caused me considerable angst. Sales taxes are the most regressive form of taxation, particularly when they include the basics of life-- food, shelter, utilities. But the exemption is predicted to cost about 4.5 million dollars and that money will either have to be replaced every year with other taxation, or have city services cut by that amount. Personally, I would support replacing the grocery sales tax with a one mill increase in property tax. But I think I am probably in a very small minority. Much more likely are proposals to cut city services to compensate and I do not think that is the path Juneau wants to take-- It is a path to decline. Additionally, this proposal comes at a time when the city budgets are already strained because sales and property tax revenues are down due to the economic recession.

It will be an interesting discussion.

Happy New Year to all. The bad news is that capital creep continues unabated and the Governor no longer seems embarrassed about it. She is pretty straight forward about where she thinks the government should be. The best thing we can do is to keep being a good host to the legislature where we have some influence.

Several things are upcoming in the next couple weeks. On Tuesday, January 13, from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. in the Hickel Room at Centennial Hall the Alaska Dept. of Environmental Conservation will hold a Public Information Workshop on Juneau landfill odor issues,

Also on Tuesday the 13th beginning at 7pm is the next Planning Commission meeting at City Hall. ATT is applying for a permit to put up a 150 ft "wireless communications facility" at 3921 Loop Road. There is another application for a 180 ft. antenna tower on Montana Creek Road. Be there if you want to testify.

The approved Comprehensive Plan has been finalized and is available for download at http://www.juneau.org/cddftp/documents/2008CompPlan_Adopted_Final_000.pdf

The next Assembly Meeting is Monday the 12th.