Unalaska’s mayor and city councilors say they don’t want to see marijuana legalized in Alaska. That's ballot measure two in next week's general election.

At their meeting Tuesday, the council made that opposition official. They passed a resolution urging Unalaskans to vote against legalization -- over one councilor’s objections.

Councilor Tom Enlow says he's personally against legal marijuana. But he didn’t think it was council’s place to tell voters what to think. And he said the information council heard to back up the resolution was “inflammatory” and “one-sided."

"I’m an elected official that’s supposed to make informed decisions," he said. "And the decision we’re about to make here tonight … it’s based on a bunch of conjecture; it’s based on a bunch of speculation; it’s based on predictions that we don’t even know who they’re coming from or what they’re based on."

The details he was worried about came from Unalaska Police Sgt. Bill Simms. In his presentation to council, he offered statistics saying Colorado’s crime rates had spiked after marijuana legalization, and said marijuana use led to more accidents and absenteeism in the workplace. He credited that information to the American Council for Drug Education, and said Alaska -- and Unalaska -- could expect to see similar problems.

That was reason enough for most of the council to declare their opposition. Councilor Roger Rowland was concerned legalization would cause accidents on boats and city worksites that insurance wouldn’t cover. And newly sworn-in councilor Yudelka Leclere said legalization would be a slippery slope -- especially since Alaska already struggles with abuse of legal substances.

"And another thing to remember -- if this is a step to legalize another substance, what comes after that?" she said. "If we take that step, then what are we considering two, three years down the road for the state of Alaska, simply because we can turn around and look at tax revenue?"

Supporters of ballot question two say taxing the drug will boost state revenues. And they say legalization will lower incarceration rates for minor drug crimes. Sgt. Simms, though, said most people jailed in Unalaska for marijuana-related offenses have committed more serious crimes, too.

In the end, council voted 5-1 in favor of the resolution saying they oppose legalization. Councilor Enlow was the dissenting vote.

Council spent part of Tuesday’s meeting mulling a new approach to hauling scrap metal away from Unalaska. Ron Moore has been doing that job for the city since 2012. But now, public utilities director Dan Winters says steel prices are down in the Lower 48. And Moore’s shipping costs are about to go up.

Until now, he’s had a deal with Samson Tug & Barge to send the junk away. Mayor Shirley Marquardt is a Samson employee. She said their deal with Moore is no longer feasible:

"The reason that he’s been moving steel off the island ... is because, quite bluntly, I begged Samson Tug & Barge to do it, at a rate that was so low it would barely cover our costs," Marquart said. "But there was no other way that steel was ever going to get off the island. … Quite frankly, I don’t think they [Samson] ever knew we would be doing it for two years."

So now, the city wants to pay Moore’s shipping costs itself, so he can keep working in Unalaska. There’s about 4,000 tons of junk metal left at the landfill. City staff estimated that a separate contract to have it barged out would cost anywhere from $160,000 to $400,000.

Councilor Enlow was skeptical, saying that even with higher shipping costs, Moore would still make money off the city’s steel. But other councilors said shipping wasn’t Moore’s only expense -- and they didn’t want to see him pull out over shrinking profits.

City staff said they’d get details about potential costs before asking council to vote on amending Moore’s contract.

Council also voted Tuesday to spend about $11,000 on a full-page advertisement in the Coast Guard’s 225th anniversary book. It’ll be sent to shipping and oil companies around the state and the country. Mayor Marquardt said it would be good exposure for Unalaska. Councilors Enlow and Dave Gregory suggested spending less for a smaller ad, but were voted down.

And finally, council passed three ordinances updating the city’s zoning code. The changes add new language governing construction camps and subdivisions. They’ve been in the works for almost a year.

Council’s next meeting will be on Monday, Nov. 10, since their regular meeting time falls on Veterans' Day.