Unalaska, AK – The city is deciding the future of the trailer park. They recently won a grant to build a new eight-plex housing unit at the site of the current city trailers on Ptarmigan Road. Though city staff initially thought they could build the new complex and only have to remove six of the 12 trailers, additional site development suggests that it would be better to remove them all. During a presentation to the city council last week Public Works Director Nancy Peterson explained that removing all of the trailers would allow the contractors to change the placement of the building on the city's lot. That would make building parking spaces and future buildings much easier. It would also be safer for construction workers and residents to not have homes so close to the construction site and make the construction process more efficient and cost effective.

But the problem becomes what should the city do about housing for the tenants who currently live in five of the trailers and what do they do with the trailers themselves.

City staff recommended that the city helps the residents find new homes and subsidies their new lodging so that they are not paying more than they would in the trailers. The tenants would also get first dibs on the new city housing that opens up when the complex is complete. Council agreed to this.

The future of the trailers was significantly more contested. Council member Zac Schasteen thought they should be destroyed. "I guess what it boils down to is I'm not really excited about seeing another trailer park anywhere in our community. One of the issues that came up in the HyettPalma study that we're working through in the comprehensive plan was community beautification in one form or another. I don't think that a trailer park is necessarily consistent with the premise behind community beautification."

But another goal in the community vision is more affordable housing. OSI wants to buy the 12 trailers, including the two which are deemed uninhabitable, and fix them up for employee housing on a native allotment on Captain's Bay Road. Council member Dave Gregory fully supports this idea.

"I like recycling," he said. "I think that people should be able to bid on them and buy them. I think that they still have some serviceable life and if there's somebody who wants to spend the time into fixing them up and making them livable, they should be able to do that."

But Council member Dennis Robinson, who said he was on the council when the trailers were purchased in the 1980s, thinks this would be dangerous.

"These trailer houses were bottom of the barrel; they were the cheapest. They were the most inexpensively and cheapest built units. If I remember right we paid like $12,500 apiece brand spankin' new for em. And I think by selling them and allowing them to be relocated is putting other people in this community in danger."

Ultimately the council decided to allow the contractor who will build the eight-plex to figure out what to do with them. They could use them while constructing the building, destroy them, or sell them on or off island. The council will only allow the trailers to be moved to a native allotment that's more than three miles from the Russian Orthodox Church, such as the site proposed by OSI. City Manager Chris Hladick said he will check on the legality of this decision.

In other council business, the Ports Department will be applying for a $3.3 million grant from the state to do major maintenance work on the Bobby Storrs Boat Harbor, such as improving the floats. The council also passed an ordinance to second reading to increase the ports tariff again by 4.8 percent as was suggested by the Northern Economics study. They increased the tariffs for just one year last fall by the same amount after long, contentious debates. The study suggested the council increase the tariffs by 4.8 percent each year for three years.

Council will meet again on Tuesday, June 8 in the city council chambers in city hall.