(Courtesy: City of Unalaska)

Update, 6 p.m. Wednesday: After 14 years as Unalaska’s city manager, Chris Hladick is leaving to join the cabinet of Gov. Bill Walker.

His appointment as state commerce commissioner was announced Tuesday. Hladick says he wasn’t looking for a new job, and was shocked to get the offer. Still, he says he's excited to step up. 

"Many of the things I’ve been dealing with for 25 years are under the umbrella of commerce and economic development," he says.

City council is one step closer to loosening its rule for taxing the appliances and furniture that landlords provide for their tenants.

The business personal property tax applies to equipment used inside businesses, including rental units. Or, as clerk Cat Hazen put it at Tuesday's council meeting:

"If you can pick it up and remove it without either destroying the object or destroying the building that houses the object, then usually it's personal property," Hazen said.

The city of Unalaska could see its first big drop in revenue since 2010 next fiscal year, as prices fall for resources the city depends on.

Finance director Patricia Soule will present her revenue projections to city council tonight.

In a memo, Soule writes that the city can expect to collect less tax on fuel sales. Oil prices have plummeted across the country. And since Unalaska’s port is open year-round, regular fuel shipments are still coming in -- following national price trends.

Dept. of Public Works staff inspect the Manson's Saltery. (Credit: DPW)

Unalaska’s city council met briefly this week to discuss what’s in store for 2015.

In January, city staff plan to open bids to expand the Public Safety parking lot. That will require some heavy excavation, according to public works director Tom Cohenour.

Councilors supported Cohenour’s idea to use up the leftover rock from the worksite by building a park and footpath to the Manson’s Saltery. The city owns the abandoned historic site at the base of Haystack Hill.

At their last meeting of the year, city council will review work contracts that tie into two major projects.

The first contract up for consideration at tonight's meeting is with Wolf Architecture. The Palmer-based firm has been selected to design renovations at the Aquatics Center. That project will eventually include a new sauna and family changing rooms.

Wolf Architecture was the lowest of four bidders on the design contract. They also received high scores from city staff.

Frank Kelty (City of Unalaska)

A familiar face has been appointed to serve on Unalaska’s school board.

Frank Kelty was the only applicant for the seat that Unalaska’s fire chief used to hold. Abner Hoage stepped down in November for a job leading the Ketchikan fire department.

Kelty says the school board "is about the only thing I really don’t have on my resume in my 44 years in the community."

Last night, Unalaska’s preservation commission took its first steps toward fixing up neglected historic sites.

The board nominated the Henry Swanson House and the Manson’s Saltery to be included in Unalaska’s capital spending plan. That could set the stage for renovations within the next five years.

While the final vote was unanimous, the discussion was long -- and sometimes tense. Some of the commissioners weren’t sure how to address the Manson’s Saltery.

Unalaska’s planning commission will meet tonight to discuss new tools for responding to public nuisances.

That’s what it’s called when a resident breaks local rules on land use, zoning, or property maintenance. The city has the authority to fine residents $300 for those offenses.

The wastewater treatment plant this past September. (Annie Ropeik/KUCB)

Right now, Unalaska is in the thick of more than $70 million worth of capital projects -- and some are more on track than others.

On Tuesday, public works director Tom Cohenour brought city council up to speed all that construction. He said the city’s priciest project, the $20-million wastewater treatment plant, is more than two-thirds finished.

Earlier this month, the city missed an Environmental Protection Agency deadline to get the plant’s chlorination system online. That could mean a fine. But Cohenour hopes they’ll be forgiven if they can finish the plant by the end of next year as planned.