City and Borough Assembly

ASSEMBLY CHAMBERS CITY AND BOROUGH OF SITKA 330 Harbor Drive Sitka, AK (907)747-1811 Minutes - Final City and Borough Assembly Mayor Steven Eisenbeisz, Deputy Mayor Kevin Mosher, Vice Deputy Mayor Timothy Pike, Thor Christianson, Chris Ystad, JJ Carlson, Scott Saline Municipal Administrator: John Leach Municipal Attorney: Brian Hanson Municipal Clerk: Sara Peterson Thursday, May 16, 2024 6:00 PM Assembly Chambers SPECIAL MEETING I. CALL TO ORDER II. FLAG SALUTE III. RECITAL OF LANDS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT IV. ROLL CALL Present: 6 - Mosher, Eisenbeisz, Ystad, Pike, Carlson, and Saline Absent: 1 - Christianson V. CORRESPONDENCE/AGENDA CHANGES Eisenbeisz informed Municipal Attorney candidate Annemarie Billingsley had withdrawn her application. VI. PERSONS TO BE HEARD Leah Mason spoke of support for entrepreneurs, limited time and resources available in the community, and succession planning. Nalani James encouraged signage to dissuade people from crossing streets in locations not marked by a crosswalk. VII. NEW BUSINESS: A 24-072 Presentation of the Tourism Task Force final recommendations Planning and Community Development Director Amy Ainslie announced she found a calculation error in information previously shared with the public regarding sales tax projections. Chair Jim Michener presented the recommendations of the Tourism Task Force. CITY AND BOROUGH OF SITKA Page 1 City and Borough Assembly Minutes - Final May 16, 2024 The Assembly thanked the group for their work. B 24-073 Discussion/ Direction/ Decision on the Tourism Task Force recommendations and next steps The Assembly discussed. Carlson mentioned she and Ystad were drafting an ordinance to establish a Tourism Commission. Ystad noted a recurring issue with the Tourism Task Force (TTF) was lack of data for making recommendations. Eisenbeisz stated a memorandum of agreement between cruise lines was initiated but halted during the TTF's work last year, but could be restarted. He expressed interest in exploring how the municipality could help with lightering limits. Administrator Leach suggested a negotiated agreement with the Old Sitka Dock owner. Larry Edwards, Leah Mason, Austin Cranford, Barbara Bingham, and Rachel Roy commented. A motion was made by Mosher to accept the Tourism Task Force recommendations, as amended by the Planning and Community Development Director, and direct the Municipal Administrator to develop an action plan to be brought back to the Assembly no later than the second meeting in June. The motion PASSED by the following vote. Yes: 6- Mosher, Eisenbeisz, Ystad, Pike, Carlson, and Saline Absent: 1- Christianson VIII. PERSONS TO BE HEARD: Jim Michener stated he'd been exploring ways to change how commercial passenger vessel excise tax funds could be used. He encouraged City officials to include this in their lobbying efforts. Leah Mason commented on her mineral resources work in Australia, where a sovereign wealth fund was recommended, and encouraged a boom and bust cycle be considered in regards to the Tourism Task Force recommendations. IX. EXECUTIVE SESSION None. X. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by Ystad to ADJOURN. Hearing no objections, the meeting ADJOURNED at 7:30 p.m. ATTEST: _________________________________ Sara Peterson, MMC Municipal Clerk CITY AND BOROUGH OF SITKA Page 2