Council Gears Up for Arctic Meetings in Unalaska
Wednesday, August 14 2013
City council made quick work of their agenda at last night’s meeting, and focused on planning for big visits from Arctic policy groups.
Council voted unanimously to accept a $3 million legislative grant from the state of Alaska for building the new wastewater treatment plant. That money will be put directly in the construction fund. They also advanced a proposal to accept a $14,000 state grant for emergency planning at public safety.
A plan to digitize public records and move city services like bill payment and job applications online was also up for consideration. The finance department is asking for $151,000 to buy new software from Tyler Technologies, a Dallas-based company that has worked with Unalaska in the past.
The councilors voted unanimously to advance the request for new programs to a second reading and public hearing. But that won’t be for another month.
Council decided to postpone their August 27 meeting because it falls during a busy week for Unalaska. Scientists, lawmakers, and oil industry representatives from the United States Arctic Research Commission and the Alaska Arctic Policy Commission are coming in for back-to-back summits.
Doanh Tran, an aide to Representative Bob Herron, told council about ways the community can participate in these meetings. Tran said public testimony will be welcome at several hearings, and there will also be community receptions.
Council will meet again on September 10.
All oceanographers, climatologists, geologists are Idiots!?! on Thursday, August 15 2013:
The Arctic Circle is the southernmost latitude in the Northern Hemisphere at which the sun can remain continuously above or below the horizon for 24 hours. 66 degrees 33' N. latitude which makes it closer to 800 miles north of us. Cant help it if the ARPA people who hired Nuna Technologies to draw their map were wrong according to every other oceanographer, climatologist, geologist, and cartographer in the world.
@We is 560 miles south of the Arctic on Thursday, August 15 2013:
Don' be an idiot. This is about something you obviously are not edumacated on. How about you do some researching before you spill your "just sayin" phrases. Check it out: http://arctic.gov/maps/ARPA_Alaska_only.pdf
a small comment on Thursday, August 15 2013:
federally speaking, the bering sea is included as "arctic".
We is 560 miles south of the Arctic on Thursday, August 15 2013:
Just sayin. No explanation why the Arctic Policy Commission would be important to Unalaska? We are quite a ways from the Arctic circle. The Pollock trawlers do not fish in Arctic waters - no crab, halibut, or p-cod caught in Arctic waters - Is this all about the Shell oil rigs anchoring in Unalaska Bay before they are deployed? Kind of thin there - we don't even get oil from the Alaska pipeline - it all goes south.