Unalaska, AK – Last night, city council amended the budget for this fiscal year and discussed the comprehensive plan.

The meeting opened with an update on the powerhouse project. Currently, only one of the two new Wartsila generators is being used, because of warranty issues. The other one is expected to come online once demand for power increases. Council then received a fisheries update from resource analyst Frank Kelty. An extended discussion of the comprehensive plan had been scheduled for last night's meeting. However, the discussion was abbreviated because an ordinance that would move to adopt the plan was removed from consideration during the new business portion of the meeting and tabled until the next meeting.

The comprehensive plan is meant to guide the city of Unalaska's growth by establishing a strategy for developing housing and maintaining infrastructure. The city has been contracting with the consulting group HyettPalma on the plan, and has spent 17 months drafting the document under consideration. While there was consensus on need for the plan, some council members had some qualms with the document. Council member Roger Rowland suggested slowing down the timeline for adopting the plan, and Dennis Robinson expressed concerns about the way the community vision was being tied to the plan and about zoning discrepancies in the document. He also criticized the way that some local organizations, including the Ounalashka Corporation, had reacted to the plan, and said that he was disappointed that the city is still working to address issues that were seen as problematic 20 years ago.

"We're still working on the same things: sewer, landfill, and water," says Robinson. "It just amazes me."

Wendy Svarny-Hawthorne is the CEO of the Ounalashka Corporation, and she was present at the meeting. She responded to Robinson's criticism.

"OC chose to participate, and it's put forward as a very collaborative document, but the truth is that the Ounalashka Corporation's board met with HyettPalma in a brainstorming session just like everybody else," says Svarny-Hawthorne. "The next thing we knew, we were told that the board would be hosting with the planning commission the presentation of the plan, and we weren't allowed to see it. We were expected to support it and present it, and we weren't even allowed to look at it. And when we did look at it, I guess we figured out why they didn't let us see it, because it really does bash OC."

Following discussion of the comprehensive plan, council also discussed the community support guidelines and the scoring matrix for Fiscal Year 2012. Roughly $800,000 will be available from the city for non-profits for the next fiscal year, a decline from the current year.

Four items were unanimously approved on the consent agenda. The first resolution set a property tax collection date for was set for Fiscal Year 2012. The second authorized the formation of the Fiscal Year 2012 community support committee. The third approved the appointment of Mandy Anderson to the Library Advisory Committee. The final resolution on the consent agenda authorized the city to sell its surplus personal property.

One piece of unfinished business was addressed during the meeting. An ordinance that creates a second amendment to the Fiscal Year 2011 budget in order to transfer funds from the sales tax fund to the general fund and increase funding for capital improvements and maintenance was passed unanimously.

Three items of new business were considered. A resolution that would make electric utility funding assistance available to Catherine and Marcelo Fernandez was approved unanimously. The second resolution updated guidelines for the community support program and was adopted by a unanimous vote. The final resolution rejected the renewal of the liquor license previously held by Peking restaurant.

All six council members were present. Mayor Shirley Marquardt was absent, and council member Katherine McGlashan served as mayor pro tempore.