https://juneau.zoom.us/j/91515424903 or 1-253-215-8782 Webinar ID: 915 1542 4903
Submitted By:
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Katie Koester, City Manager
We would like to acknowledge that the City and Borough of Juneau is on Tlingit land and wish to honor the indigenous people of this land. For more than ten thousand years, Alaska Native people have been and continue to be integral to the well-being of our community. We are grateful to be in this place, a part of this community, and to honor the culture, traditions, and resilience of the Tlingit people. Gunalchéesh!
Public Request for Consent Agenda Changes, Other than Ordinances for Introduction
Assembly Request for Consent Agenda Changes
Assembly Action
This proposed rezone requested by CBJ (applicant) is consistent with development to the west and north. Bonnie Brae and Blacktail Subdivisions to the west are zoned D3. Lots to the north along North Douglas Highway are also zoned D3. Development will be challenging due to mapped wetlands and slopes in excess of 18 percent.
The Planning Commission heard this proposal at its regular meeting on October 22, 2024. The Planning Commission recommends the Assembly approve the rezone.
The Assembly Lands, Housing & Economic Development Committee reviewed this request at the December 2, 2024 meeting.
The City Manager recommends this ordinance be introduced and set for public hearing at the next regular Assembly meeting.
This proposed rezone requested by CBJ (applicant) is uphill from the Auke Bay community core. Staff recommends reducing the applicant’s scope to eliminate incompatible Comprehensive Plan land use designations, resulting in a total of approximately 29.5 acres for rezone. Mapped wetlands cover most of the proposed rezone, which will increase development costs.
The Planning Commission accepted Staff recommendation at its regular meeting on October 22, 2024. The Planning Commission recommends the Assembly approve the reduced scope rezone.
The Assembly Lands, Housing & Economic Development Committee reviewed this request at its December 2, 2024 meeting.
The City Manager recommends this ordinance be introduced and set for public hearing at the next regular Assembly meeting.
The applicant (CBJ) requests a rezone of approximately 33 acres uphill (north) of 15700 Glacier Highway from RR to D3 (in the Auke Bay area).
The Planning Commission considered this proposal at its regular meeting on October 22, 2024. The Planning Commission recommends the Assembly approve the rezone.
The Assembly Lands, Housing & Economic Development Committee reviewed this request at the December 2, 2024 meeting.
The City Manager recommends this ordinance be introduced and set for public hearing at the next regular Assembly meeting.
Applicant (CBJ) requests a rezone for approximately six acres at the end of Karl Reishus Boulevard from 10SF to D10 creating opportunity for multifamily housing.
The Planning Commission considered this proposal at its regular meeting on October 22, 2024. The Planning Commission recommends the Assembly approve the rezone.
The Assembly Lands, Housing & Economic Development Committee reviewed this request at the December 2, 2024 meeting.
The City Manager recommends this ordinance be introduced and set for public hearing at the next regular Assembly meeting.
At the Regular Planning Commission meeting on October 22, 2024, the Commission voted to recommend approval of a CBJ (applicant) request rezone of 39 acres of CBJ land south of Grant Creek from D3 to D18. A fraction of these 39 acres was subject to a 2022 Property Acquisition and Disposal (PAD2022 0002) that received a recommendation of approval from the Planning Commission and Assembly Lands Housing and Economic Development Committee.
The Planning Commission recommends the Assembly approve the rezone.
The Assembly Lands, Housing & Economic Development Committee reviewed this request at the December 2, 2024 meeting.
The City Manager recommends this ordinance be introduced and set for public hearing at the next regular Assembly meeting.
At the Regular Planning Commission meeting on October 22, 2024, the Commission voted to recommend approval of a CBJ (applicant) rezone of approximately 87 acres of undeveloped land north of Grant Creek from D3 to D15. Rezone is consistent with the adjacent zoning district.
The Assembly Lands, Housing & Economic Development Committee reviewed this request at the December 2, 2024 meeting.
The City Manager recommends this ordinance be introduced and set for public hearing at the next regular Assembly meeting.
On April 23, 2024, the Planning Commission, at its special public meeting, adopted the analysis and findings listed in the attached memorandum dated April 16, 2024, and recommended that the City and Borough Assembly adopt staff's recommendation for a text amendment to adopt the Blueprint Downtown Area Plan as an addendum to the CBJ Comprehensive Plan with revisions noted in the staff report. The Commission added a recommendation to encourage a stronger focus on housing with preference language for projects involving housing downtown.
The Assembly discussed the adoption of the recommended text amendment at the June 3, 2024 Lands, Housing, and Economic Development Committee and the September 9, 2024 Committee of the Whole meeting. After discussion about adoption options, resolution vs. ordinance, the COW passed a motion to direct staff to draft an ordinance to adopt the Blueprint Downtown Area Plan as part of the CBJ Comprehensive Plan, 7-1.
It is noted that grammatical and formatting errors will be resolved prior to the final printing of the Plan. A handful of corrections recommended for approval are noted in Attachment A.
The draft Blueprint Downtown Area Plan may be found online: https://juneau.org/community-development/blueprint-downtown.
The City Manager recommends this ordinance be introduced and set for public hearing at the next regular Assembly meeting.
This ordinance would transfer $288,836 from the Juneau Police Department Roof Replacement CIP to the Deferred Building Maintenance CIP. This transfer would return unspent funds previously appropriated through 2023-04(b)(G). This project is complete and ready to be closed and does not require the remaining funds.
This transfer of project funding is consistent with the intent of the 2022 1% Sales Tax initiative approved by voters in the October 4, 2022 municipal election.
The Public Works and Facilities Committee reviewed this request at the December 2, 2024 meeting.
The City Manager recommends this ordinance be introduced and set for public hearing at the next Assembly meeting.
CBJ has entered a Participating Agreement with the United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Tongass National Forest. Through this agreement, CBJ has been awarded $1,000,000 in funding that would provide for continued technical and financial support for near-term studies to provide base line data for the United States Army Corps of Engineers General Investigation study to find a long-term solution to future Mendenhall Lake outburst flooding. The local match requirement of $326,707 will be met by in-kind Engineering and Public Works personnel service costs which must be met by the end of the agreement.
The City Manager recommends this ordinance be introduced and set for public hearing at the next regular Assembly meeting.
The City and Borough of Juneau International Airport Board approved changes to its bylaws at its August 8, 2024, regular Board Meeting. Changes to the bylaws require Assembly approval and were last updated in 2004.
The Human Resources Committee reviewed this resolution at its November 18, 2024, meeting, amended the bylaws document, and forwarded a recommendation for the Assembly to adopt the bylaws as amended.
The City Manager recommends the Assembly adopt this resolution.
The Eaglecrest Ski Area Board approved changes to its bylaws at its November 7, 2024, regular Eaglecrest Board Meeting. Changes to the bylaws require Assembly approval through resolution and were last adopted February 1, 2007.
The Human Resources Committee reviewed this resolution at its November 18, 2024, meeting and forwarded its recommendation for adoption to the Assembly.
The City Manager recommends the Assembly adopt this resolution.
This resolution recommends increasing the maximum grant award eligibility under the State of Alaska Department of Transportation’s Harbor Facility Grant Program from $5M to $7.5M. This would not affect CBJ's current applications but may impact grant strategies in the future, should the Legislature take action to amend AS 29.60.800.
The proposed resolution was drafted and adopted by the Alaska Association of Harbormasters and Port Administrators (AAHPA) at its annual conference on October 24th. AAHPA encourages its member municipalities to also provide local support for this change.
The Docks & Harbors Board reviewed this resolution at its regular Board meeting on November 21st and recommended forwarding it to the full Assembly for approval.
The City Manager recommends the Assembly adopt this resolution.
This resolution recommends full funding for the State of Alaska Department of Transportation’s Harbor Facility Grant Program. CBJ has been a beneficiary of approximately $20 million in harbor grant funding since the program’s inception, including a $5M grant for Phase IV rebuild of Aurora Harbor which is planned for completion in late 2025.
For the current legislative session, Docks & Harbors has applied for a $500K matching grant for zinc anodes for Statter Harbor and $1,394,250 for half of the local match required for the federal MARAD PIDP grant to construct an Aurora Harbor Drive Down Float. Statewide, three communities – Sitka, Unalaska and Juneau, have committed to contribute 50% in local match funding for FY2026 towards projects of significant importance.
The Docks & Harbors Board reviewed this resolution at its regular Docks & Harbors Board meeting on November 21st and recommended forwarding it to the full Assembly for approval.
The City Manager recommends the Assembly adopt this resolution.
This resolution would facilitate the CBJ’s participation in the State’s FY2025 Shared Fisheries Business Tax Program by certifying to the State that the CBJ suffered significant effects during calendar year 2023 from fisheries business activities within the CBJ’s qualifying area.
Pursuant to this program, the State distributes a share of State fishery revenues to each participating community in the Northern Southeast area.
It is anticipated that the CBJ’s share will be approximately $1,431.58.
The City Manager recommends the Assembly adopt this resolution.
Bids were opened on the subject project on December 3, 2024. The bid protest period expired at 4:30 p.m. on December 4, 2024. Results of the bid opening are as follows:
Responsive Bidders Total Amount
Carver Construction, LLC $4,619,675.00
Dawson Construction, LLC $5,450,800.00
Engineer’s Estimate $5,357,800.00
Project Description: The Work covered in the Contract documents generally includes demolition of the existing grit system, construction of new piping, concrete channels and slabs, new grating, installation of a temporary bypass system for incoming sewage, construction of new vaults, channels, grating and railing, installation of new grit washing and dewatering equipment, lighting upgrades and sprinkler system replacement, partial wall and roof replacement of the headworks building, and upgrades to the non-potable water system.
The City Manager recommends award of this project to Carver Construction, LLC for the total bid amount of $4,619,675.00.
These liquor and marijuana license actions are before the Assembly to either protest or waive its right to protest the license actions.
Liquor License - Renewal
Licensee: Mac Ventures LLC d/b/a McGivney’s Sports Bar & Grill, Type: Beverage Dispensary License: #5430 Location: 51 Egan Dr.
Licensee: RNDC Alaska Inc. d/b/a RNDC Alaska, Type: Wholesale Malt Beverage & Wine License: #5495 Location: 8420 Airport Blvd. Suite 201
Licensee: Alaska Sustainable Seafoods LLC d/b/a Deckhand Dave’s, Type: Beverage Dispensary License: #4349 Location: 109-117/127/139 S. Franklin St.
Licensee: Alaska Sustainable Seafoods LLC d/b/a Deckhand Dave’s, Type: Restaurant/Eating Place License: #5231 Location: 127-139 S. Franklin St.
Licensee: Genuine Ventures LLC d/b/a Tracy’s King Crab Shack, Type: Restaurant/Eating Place License: #2812 Location: 432 S. Franklin St.
Liquor License – Transfer of Location
Licensee: Thibodeau’s Market, Inc., d/b/a Thibodeau’s Type: Package Store License: #4742 Location From: No Premises Location To: 8717 Mallard St.
Marijuana License - Renewal
Licensee: Borealis Mountain Inc. d/b/a Thunder Cloud 9, Type: Retail Marijuana Store License #:15246 Location: 5310 Commercial Blvd. Suite 2B
Licensee: Taku Horticulture Company LLC d/b/a Taku Horticulture Company LLC, Type: Standard Marijuana Cultivation Facility License #:12176 Location: 1758 Anka St. Bldg. B Suite A1
Staff from Police, Finance, Fire, Public Works (Utilities) and Community Development Departments reviewed the above licenses and recommended the Assembly waive its right to protest these applications. Copies of the documents associated with these licenses are available in hardcopy upon request to the Clerk’s Office.
The City Manager recommends the Assembly waive its right to protest the above-listed liquor and marijuana license actions.
In response to the recent Mendenhall River flooding, and in coordination with the US Army Corps of Engineers, the CBJ is pursuing advance flood fighting measures in the form of HESCO barriers to safeguard homes in the Mendenhall Valley. This Ordinance creates a local improvement district which contains all benefited homes in the Phase 1 installation of the HESCO barriers along the Mendenhall River. Using the 16 ft inundation maps, CBJ has identified 466 properties which would be specially benefited from Phase 1. The project costs are estimated at $7,830,000. The project costs will be equally shared between property owners and the CBJ.
The Assembly discussed this project on October 21, 2024, and directed that an ordinance be presented. This Ordinance was introduced on November 18, 2024. Included with the Ordinance is a map of included homes and an assessment roll.
The City Manager recommends the Assembly take public testimony at this and one additional regular Assembly meeting (scheduled for February 3, 2025).
This ordinance would appropriate a $2,500,000 grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the Municipal Compost Facility CIP. This Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) grant was secured through the Consolidated Appropriations Act in federal fiscal year 2023. This funding would contribute toward the planning, design, site preparation, and construction of basic infrastructure for organics diversion recovery. Future composting activities will increase local organics diversion efforts without the need for long-haul overseas transportation to the lower 48 states No local match is required for this funding.
The City Manager recommends the Assembly take public testimony and adopt this ordinance.
This ordinance would appropriate $125,000 to the Parks and Playground Major Maintenance CIP. This funding would contribute toward work at Sigoowu Ye Park. The project work includes the demolition and removal of existing playground equipment and furnishings, installation of new playground equipment; and site improvements such as lighting, sidewalks and landscaping. The local match requirement will be provided by previously appropriated funds in the Parks and Playground Major Maintenance CIP.
The City Manager recommends the Assembly take public testimony and adopt this ordinance.
CBJ has been awarded a $653,520 Reconnecting Communities Pilot (RCP) grant from the Federal Highway Administration. This grant would support for the planning, design, and community engagement for the installation of a non-motorized pathway in the Lemon Creek community. This project would provide safe, convenient, community centric non-motorized access within the community. A local match requirement of $163,380 will be provided by previously appropriated funds in the Lemon Creek Multi Modal CIP.
The Public Works and Facilities Committee reviewed this request at the July 15, 2024 meeting.
The City Manager recommends the Assembly take public testimony and adopt this ordinance.
In July 2024 the CBJ Assembly made $4,000,000 available for use by for-profit and non-profit organizations, public and regional housing authorities, and tribal governments interested in the creation of affordable and workforce housing in the City and Borough of Juneau. On November 4, 2024, The LHED Committee reviewed funding recommendations and forwarded this project to the full Assembly for approval.
This ordinance appropriates $3,000,000 to the Creekside Apartments project.
The City Manager recommends the Assembly take public testimony and adopt this ordinance.
In July 2024 the CBJ Assembly made $4,000,000 available for use by for-profit and non-profit organizations, public and regional housing authorities, and tribal governments interested in the creation of affordable and workforce housing in the City and Borough of Juneau. On November 4, 2024, The LHED Committee reviewed funding recommendations and forwarded this project to the full Assembly for approval.
This ordinance appropriates $1,000,000 to the Front Street project.
The City Manager recommends the Assembly take public testimony and adopt this ordinance.
Ordinance 2024-36 implements housekeeping amendments to the Alaska Remote Sellers Sales Tax Commission (ARSSTC) uniform code recently passed by the ARSSTC board. These amendments were developed through a workgroup of member jurisdictions, including representation by CBJ staff from both the Finance and Law departments. In FY 2024, CBJ collected $4.5M in sales tax revenue through ARSSTC from sales where the seller is located outside of our jurisdiction.
The Assembly Finance Committee reviewed this ordinance on November 6, 2024.
The City Manager recommends the Assembly take public testimony and adopt this ordinance.
Ordinance 2024-37 clarifies and supports the sales tax code as a result of common questions and compliance concerns that have arisen over the years. The definitions that are added or amended are intended to provide clarity to the merchants, and in some instances, to put CBJ in better alignment with the Alaska Remote Sellers Sales Tax Commission (ARSSTC) uniform code. In addition, a section is added to create an “itinerate” sales tax registration which will ease the burden on small businesses based outside of Juneau that may come to town for short periods of time.
The Assembly Finance Committee reviewed this ordinance on November 6, 2024.
The City Manager recommends the Assembly take public testimony and adopt this ordinance.
This rezone request would facilitate the addition of eleven (11) units to this lot. The neighboring Alaska Department of Corrections is concerned that increased density would result in development closer to the common lot line, for which mitigation would be challenging due to terrain. While rezone conditions are limited to health and safety, the development will require a new or updated Conditional Use Permit. The lot had been rezoned D15 but was downzoned due to intersection concerns at Davis Avenue and Glacier Highway. Since then the intersection has been signalized.
The Planning Commission heard this proposed rezone at its regular meeting on October 22, 2024; and recommends the Assembly approve the proposed rezone.
The City Manager recommends the Assembly take public testimony and adopt this ordinance.
This ordinance would authorize the issuance of up to $13.5 million in bonds to refund (refinance) the 2014A Port, 2015 Harbor, and 2021 Port bonds. The original bonds were sold through the Alaska Municipal Bond Bank and financed harbor improvements, seawalk construction, and cruise ship berth enhancements. As a result of lower market interest rates, this refunding is estimated to result in a total savings of approximately $700,000 over the remaining life of the bonds.
The Assembly Finance Committee reviewed this request at the November 6, 2024 meeting.
The City Manager recommends the Assembly take public testimony and adopt this ordinance.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This is a draft FAQ reflective of the proposed Ordinance 2024-04. It will be updated to reflect amendments made by the Assembly on December 16th and be posted on the website and sent with the certified mailing to the preliminary assessment roll.
Mayor's Report
Committee and Liaison Reports
Presiding Officer Reports
Suggested Motion: For the Assembly to recess into Executive Session to discuss pending CBJ litigation, specifically a candid discussion of the facts and litigation strategies with the municipal attorney.
Suggested motion: For the Assembly to enter into Executive Session to discuss subjects that could tend to prejudice the reputation or character of any person, specifically to discuss the City Manager evaluation and compensation.
Ordinance 2024-40 Amendment #1 by Paul Kelly (Withdrawn)
Ordinance 2024-40 Amendment #2 by Mayor Weldon (Passed)
Ordinance 2024-40 Amendment #3 by Mayor Weldon (Passed)
Ordinance 2024-40 Amendment #4 by Paul Kelly (Withdrawn)
Ordinance 2024-40 Amendment #5 by Neil Steininger (Passed)
The public may participate in person or via Zoom webinar. Testimony time will be limited by the Mayor based on the number of participants. Members of the public that want to provide oral testimony via remote participation must notify the Municipal Clerk prior to 4pm the day of the meeting by calling 907-586-5278 and indicating the topic(s) upon which they wish to testify. For in-person participation at the meeting, a sign-up sheet will be made available at the back of the Chambers and advance sign-up is not required. Members of the public are encouraged to send their comments in advance of the meeting to BoroughAssembly@juneau.gov.
ADA accommodations available upon request: Please contact the Clerk's office 36 hours prior to any meeting so arrangements can be made for closed captioning or sign language interpreter services depending on the meeting format. The Clerk's office telephone number is 586-5278, TDD 586-5351, e-mail: city.clerk@juneau.gov.