Unalaska, AK – Mayor Shirley Marquardt spent three days in Juneau earlier this month to attend the Alaska Municipal League meeting and to lobby the state government for more money to come to Unalaska. Marquardt said the purpose of the meeting was to determine the league's statewide priorities, such as providing consistent revenue sharing funds to small communities and forward funding schools for two years so they can more easily retain teachers and plan into the future.

While in Juneau the mayor also visited legislators to push for more funding for large projects in Unalaska. "It's difficult. Unalaska really has to work hard for every penny we get from the state because we are one of those few communities that has a revenue source. The problem is - and I guess it's a good problem to have - that our industry that supports us, and supports the state so strongly, is an incredibly costly industry in terms of providing infrastructure."

The city is asking the legislature for $5 million to install the third powerhouse generator, $5 million for paving Ballyhoo Road from the airport to the new cold storage facility, and $2 million for the new, mandated water treatment plant.

The mayor argues that the city's expensive infrastructure is providing for the fishing industry, whose tax money supports the entire state not just Unalaska. Therefore, the state should help pay for the costly powerhouse, roads, and other facilities.

While in Juneau the mayor also visited the Coast Guard office to discuss a federal law that requires all vessels to have emergency plans on board. "If they're going to stop in any U.S. port, they have to have a plan on board saying how they are going to handle any sort of oil spill or any sort of accident in that local geographical region," she said.

The city is part of a committee that's developing alternative criteria for those plans because the law cannot currently be enforced in the Aleutians due to a lack of emergency response resources in the vast geographic area. The Coast Guard is working with the industry and the city to make sure that all transiting vessels have a workable plan in place that will protect the environment but acknowledges the practical limitations on the area.

Marquardt also re-visited the issue of opening a full-time TWIC office in Unalaska. Though she is working on a plan to open a part-time office run by volunteers, Marquardt said that process is getting bogged down, and the office may not open soon. However, Coast Guard officials agreed to include Unalaska in a study to determine the best locations for the state's four permanent, government-run TWIC offices.

The mayor will return to Juneau in March along with three council members to continue lobbying for money and raising awareness of issues in Unalaska, such as the importance of pollock.

"It's really good to help educate them on fishery because when you ask most Alaskans about fish they say, Salmon.' And you know, it's a nice, it's a beautiful fish, it's a gorgeous, delicious, beautiful fish. And pollock basically is pretty ugly. But it's the workhorse of the fishing economy for the state."

The past and future trips are paid for out of the city council travel budget. You can see trip reports for all council travel on the city's website.