City council will meet early tonight to tackle a packed agenda, including a project to stabilize the cliff behind the wastewater treatment plant. 

For three consecutive meetings, council's discussed ways to stop rock slides at the site of the new plant. Those slides are threatening to delay construction. An engineering consultant has designed a plan that would stabilize the cliff face and let construction move forward.

The city had considered processing that work as a change order on Advanced Blasting's existing contract, which was to prepare the site for construction of a new plant. But the extra work would have cost $2.1 million -- more than the original $1.4 million contract.

A contract to stabilize the rock face behind the wastewater treatment plant will go out to bid. City council held a special meeting Thursday afternoon to consider a $2.1 million change order to Advanced Blasting’s existing contract, but the resolution failed, 5-0. Councilor Roger Rowland was absent.

City manager Chris Hladick said staff will try to collect and evaluate the bids within three weeks.

Council filled a vacant seat at Tuesday night’s meeting, although not with either of the two original candidates.

Earl “Skip” Southworth was not present at the meeting, and Doanh Tran withdrew her name from consideration for the seat after Southworth raised concerns over her residency.

According to a memo from city attorney Brooks Chandler, Tran did not qualify as a candidate because she wouldn’t have been registered to vote in Unalaska for one year by the time of her appointment or election.

At Tuesday night’s meeting, city council discussed a plan that would triple the project budget for preparatory work at the site of the new wastewater treatment plant.

Advanced Blasting had a contract to remove the cliff behind the existing plant to make room for the new one. They finished most of that work by February, but now significant rock slides are threatening construction of the new building. Crews can’t move in until the slope is stable.

Advanced Blasting has offered to stabilize the cliff using mesh and customized anchors, to pin the loose rock in place. But their quote is $2.1 million.

Doanh Tran has withdrawn her name from consideration for a vacant city council seat after questions arose about whether she met the residency requirements for the post.

Tran declined to comment. In a letter to the city, Tran wrote that her withdrawal is in response to a legal opinion from the city’s attorney regarding residency.

What makes someone a resident of Unalaska? That question isn’t answered clearly in city code, and a disagreement over the definition could derail City Council’s attempt to fill a vacant council seat.

Earlier this week, Earl “Skip” Southworth and Doanh Tran both submitted applications asking to be appointed to city council seat “F,” which was vacated by Zac Schasteen last month.

Now, Southworth is questioning whether Tran is eligible to fill the seat. At issue is whether Tran fulfills the requirement in city code that reads “No person shall hold the elective office of City Council or be eligible to seek election thereto unless at the time of declaration of candidacy they are a voter in the city who has resided within the city for a period of no less than one (1) year.  A member of the City Council who ceases to be a voter in the city immediately forfeits office.”

Two people have applied to fill an empty seat on Unalaska’s city council. Skip Southworth and Doanh Tran both submitted letters of interest by the Tuesday night deadline.

Southworth is a former city councilor, and he writes in his letter that he’ll be retiring as a longshoreman in a few months, and would like to, “use this free time to continue working hard as a member of the City Council.” He also notes in his letter that he is a homeowner and 33-year resident of the community.

Tonight, city council will dig into the budgeting process for fiscal year 2014.

City manager Chris Hladick will present a list of financial goals for council to consider. In a memo, Hladick says the city will have to plan around federally-mandated updates to its utilities. The projects will drain the enterprise budget, and that might carry over to the personnel budget. Hladick says Unalaska will have to bring on two new full-time employees to manage and operate the utility plants. To help out, Hladick says the utilities should aim for self-sufficiency as soon as possible. Right now, they run at a loss.

After considerable public testimony and internal deliberation, city council voted Tuesday night to support a proposed trawl ban in Unalaska Bay. The vote was 4-1, with Councilor Roger Rowland dissenting, and Councilor Dennis Robinson absent.

During public testimony, half a dozen people spoke in favor of the ban, most of them pointing to declining fish stocks in the bay as a sign that the trawlers are having a negative impact. Unalaska Native Fishermen’s Association vice president Dustan Dickerson told the council that even though the evidence is anecdotal, they should err on the side of caution.