City Council voted unanimously at Tuesday night’s meeting to donate the 1993 Chevy ambulance to any nearby community that can make use of it. The original proposal had been to auction off the vehicle to the highest bidder, but several councilors objected, saying Public Safety should try to gift it first. Councilor Dennis Robinson introduced an amendment to that effect, which passed 6-0.
Just as the road-repaving project is wrapping up, a new road construction project is about to get underway.
Knik Construction outlined its plan for extending the airport runway at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting. According to project manager Greg Kelley, the company will start moving materials next week, with the goal of finishing up the first phase of the project by November 1. That phase will include moving Ballyhoo Road out into Iliuliuk Bay and could involve some traffic delays, although Kelley promised they would be minor.
The tiny Aleutian village of False Pass is about to become a lab for cutting-edge renewable energy. If the experiment works, False Pass will the first town in the country to be powered by ocean currents.
The impetus for the project came a few years ago, when a handful of community leaders from all across the Bering Sea met up to talk energy. The top priority – to get away from expensive diesel, once and for all.
Melanie Magnusen’s approach to serving on the school board is this: if it’s not broken, don’t fix it. The two-term veteran says Unalaska is a great school district and her main goal is making sure it stays that way.
She points out that Unalaska has two of the best schools in the state and that one of them won a Blue Ribbon award this year. She wants to make sure the schools maintain those standards - both as a school board member and the parent of two high schoolers.
When Tom Enlow was appointed to city council in April, he was brought up from the audience and right into a very contentious meeting. Council was trying to figure out if it should charge more for city-owned housing because the new 8-plex was costing more than expected. Tenants were angry that their rents could go up so soon after moving in.
With council at an impasse, Enlow made his first move as an official: Why not raise the rates, but grandfather in the current tenants through the end of their leases? The motion passed 4-1.
Enlow thinks that ability to compromise is one of his major strengths as a councilor.
Employee pay is at the top of this evening’s City Council agenda.
An ordinance granting certain city employees a cost of living increase is up for public hearing and second reading. Then, in work session, Lori Messer of the Minneapolis-based consulting group Fox Lawson and Associates, will present a roadmap for updating the city’s classification and compensation plan.
The plan hasn’t been updated since 1994, despite multiple attempts. Previous studies have either been incomplete or compared Unalaska to the lower 48. Changes to the classification plan could shift some city employees’ job descriptions or compensation.
Jury selection began Monday in the trial of two men accused of sexual assault. Diego Mayuyo, 48, and Ismael Balallo, 45, allegedly attacked a woman in her Unisea bunkhouse in March.
Both men are charged with sexual assault in the second degree, which is punishable by up to ten years in prison. Balallo is also charged with one count of sexual assault in the first degree, which is punishable by up to thirty years in prison.
Zac Schasteen measures Unalaska city council’s success in public trust.
Since Schasteen was elected to council in 2009, he’s found himself at the center of multiple debates over government transparency. He’s pointed out instances when he felt like council was cutting corners, and stepping around its bylaws.
As the closest deepwater port to the Arctic, Unalaska is set to play a major role in the region’s economic development. Now, the city is positioning itself to influence Arctic politics, too.
The State Legislature announced its appointments to the Alaska Arctic Policy Commission, and three of the 13 civilian members have lived in Unalaska at one point or another. City Manager Chris Hladick was appointed to the seat reserved for a local government representative. Previously, he served as a member of the Northern Waters Task Force. Former resident Stephanie Madsen will be representing the fishing industry on behalf of the At-Sea Processors Association. Pete Garay, who was based in Unalaska until this year, will act as a delegate for the marine pilots.
