City Council - Regular Meeting

and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Good evening, Mayor Pro Tem Green. All council members are present this evening, except for Mayor Fleming, who is absent and excused, and Council Member Foster, is joining us via Teams electronically this evening.

Thank you. All right. We're going to move into our Citizens Academy graduation. This is something that I'm very happy to talk about. And we're going to share with you this evening and congratulate all of our new graduates. Now, this is the inaugural class we have here this evening. AND I APPLAUD EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU FOR JOINING THIS SHERRY, ELISE AND OTHERS FOR THE NUMBER OF WEEKS TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR CITY, OUR COMMUNITY, THE PEOPLE, THE PROCESSES AND VERY ENCOURAGED TO SEE ABOUT WHAT A LARGE TURNOUT IT WAS FOR OUR FIRST SESSION. AND I AM SURE THAT WE'RE GOING TO SEE MANY MORE OF THESE SESSIONS, AND I HOPE THAT YOU SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE, YOUR LEARNINGS, AND WORDS OF WISDOM WITH OTHER MEMBERS IN THE COMMUNITY. AND WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO SHERRY.

Hi, everybody. Congratulations. It's nice to see you all tonight. The Citizens Academy was a brainchild of Dani Snyder, who is the municipal clerk for the city of Fairbanks. And I heard Dani talk about her academy for a number of years and how she started it, how it started off slow, and then she built it. Now she has a waiting list. And I thought, that is something I'd really like to start in our community. So I talked to city manager Duvall, and we discussed it at our department head meeting. Department heads were on board. Nate was on board. And we said, OK, let's do it. So our first academy, of course, was this summer, which not sure if that was the best time to do it. But it was hard for some people. People were going on vacation, or they had other things come up. But most of you persevered. And you made most of our sessions. And so I thank you for that. We are going to run another academy in, I think, February. So we'll try that, see how that goes, and see if more people can be able to attend that. But it was fun. This was really fun. I really enjoyed it. I really enjoyed watching the department heads present to you guys and talk about what they do. Some of the... people that don't come forward and talk about their jobs, like the guys at the Baylor. And so we put them on the spot, and they actually got up and talked about what they did. And so they were a little bit out of their comfort zone, but they did a good job. And then when we did the facilities tour, they were great. You could tell that they loved talking about what they did and what they do and showing us their facilities. So that was a great experience for them as well. So I think this was a learning for our city employees and our graduates that participated in the Citizens Academy. So with that, I'm really excited about starting our next one. And any of you that were not able to make all of the sessions, you're welcome to come and sit in on departments that you might have missed during that time. You guys are great. And we had, you know, 17 people sign up for the very first academy session. So I was just overwhelmed with that. So I'm really excited and really thankful and thankful for you guys. And I learned a lot from you as well, talking to you after the sessions and what you were concerned about and what, you know, the questions that you ask. It was very helpful for us too. as city administration to learn about what questions that you might have and what interested you. And finally, I'd like to say that you are our next mayors. You are our next city council members. You are our next boards and commission members. But hopefully that you are excited about your community from attending the academy. And this will give you the confidence now that if you want to run, be a board of commission member, if you want to be a city council member or run for mayor, you have the knowledge to do that. So with that. Should we hand out some certificates?

Yes, we're going to hand out some certificates. And as we do this, if there's something you'd like to share with the council members and other members here, please do.

What? Okay.

do you want to say? The mic's yours.

OK, Chandler. Congratulations. Well done.

Thank you. Thank you, Chandler. Thanks for a moment to be able to talk and speak. I will say that it is exciting to live in a community where the community council and the community as a whole cares about having citizens know what's going on. That's what excites me the most about being here is Sherry's passion for this, that it's not about... It was extra time for her to be here. It was extra time for everybody to be here. And they spoke of things proudly. They made me want to try and find where can I get my foot in the door in this city with a job, any one of the jobs. So we appreciate it very much. Look forward to helping with whatever we can do in the future. But thank you, Jerry, for spearheading this thing. It was really, really a great opportunity. And then you've got my son started on his path to be mayor one day.

We're going to do a group photo.

I just wanted to thank all the city employees that came and spoke to us. In particular, Jordan, I asked him some really annoying finance questions, and he answered them, and it was actually kind of interesting. Thank you.

I bet Jordan loved those questions.

Karen, over.

I also wanted to send my thanks to Sherry and Nate and Lise and all of the city employees who came in and prepared two-hour lessons to really, and we're really so excited about what they do that I've never thought about how excited I am about the Baylor, but now it's like the coolest place in town. We're just going to build that into our tourist stuff.

I just want to say ditto to what Karen said, because that was exactly what I was going to say. So thank you all.

Christina's here. It's Christina Arsenault. Christina's not here. Maureen Radditch. Thank you, Mayor Moe.

Yeah, I just wanted to thank the city for doing this. It was very informative. I learned a lot. And it was really fun as well and getting to know everybody a little bit. So I appreciate your support of reaching out to the community. I also want to tell my friends about what was going on. They're like, I want to do that. I want to do that. So for the next event, I'm recruiting people for this.

I know that they tried to be here, but they had other commitments tonight. But I do want to read their names. And we'll get them their certificates. Spencer Heston, Tommy Sheridan, Katie Connell, and Autumn Hughes.

And so with that, I will just welcome council.

If you have anything that you would like to add.

JUST WANTED TO CONGRATULATE ALL THE GRADUATES AND THANK THEM FOR SPENDING THE TIME WITH THE CITY AND LEARNING ABOUT WHAT EVERYONE DOES AND WHAT WE DO AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL SEE YOU UP HERE ONE DAY.

GREAT JOB TO EVERYBODY. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING TIME OUT OF YOUR SCHEDULES. TO REALLY FOCUS AND LEARN ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT THE CITY DOES FOR ITS CITIZENS. SO I REALLY DO APPRECIATE YOU GUYS TAKING THAT OPPORTUNITY.

YEAH, I JUST, I MEAN, I DON'T REALLY HAVE ANYTHING NEW TO SAY THAT EVERYBODY ELSE HASN'T SAID. I JUST REALLY APPRECIATE HOW MANY PEOPLE PARTICIPATED AND ALL THESE PEOPLE THAT I'VE KNOWN FOR SO LONG. that we were able to get so much participation and that you guys were all happy with what you learned. So thank you guys so much for participating.

Yeah, I echo what everybody else has said as well, except for I wish they would have started this before I ran. It would have been helpful.

Yeah, if you guys learn anything that you want us to know, please take the opportunity to write to your city council. Better sign up fast. The list is going to fill up.

I think we've got some consultants out here.

Olivia?

Oh, thank you. I just this sounds like it was a really successful program and I want to congratulate the graduates of tonight and also thank all of the city staff who were involved to make this successful. And I look forward to future iterations of the program.

Thank you all. All right. With that, we're going to take a little cake break and celebrate this graduation.

Bye, guys.

Thank you.

All right. Move forward with the approval of the minutes. Are there any corrections to the minutes as presented? Hearing none, the minutes will stand as approved. Public appearances. First off, we've got Lynette Oliver, Valdez Adventure Alliance.

I'm Lynette Oliver. I'm with the Valdez and Fitcher Alliance. And I just want to give a quick update to the council about our work over at the Worthington Glacier and also on the Chute Bay Trail. I'm going to move quickly because most of the text and most of the numbers are in the report that went to Barb. But the numbers in here are from January on. And Barb got one in March. So the one I just gave her was from April to the end of August. I THINK THAT'S RIGHT. OKAY. I HATE TO START OFF ON THAT. I SHOULD HAVE PUT SOMETHING ELSE THERE. FIRST I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO THE COUNCIL FOR THE FUNDING FOR THESE PROJECTS. SO EVEN THOUGH THERE'S SOME ISSUES, IT'S REALLY A POSITIVE ALL IN ALL. WE DID HAVE SOME WE'VE ALWAYS HAD VANDALISM. But it was a little bit, I have to say, a little bit worse this year. The damage to the model that's not fixable is the most frustrating because they took the lid off and tore up all of the people and benches and cars. And then they smashed them into the glacier part, which means I can't fix that. The holes are there. And we couldn't get all of the benches and people to stand up. But it's good. It's still usable. Thank you. There was some vandalism on Shoop Trail. We have several benches there. When we put them in in May, they were fine. And then on June 13th, there were some issues on some of them. This one was minor. It was just in the mud. And I'm working with the woman at the state to repair the one and replace the other. There's a little bit of a process for it because... because it has to be in compliance of under the grant agreements um and i don't have a photo for this but the atv and the e-bike damage across the wetlands has been worse this year so i'm really antsy to get the get the board walk up there and try to you know protect that environment as much as possible uh so super super super busy at worthington 44,500 people so far, so we're already past what we had at the end of the season last year. Maybe 60,000 by the end of the, because this doesn't include all of the numbers from August, nor Labor Day weekend or whatever, and we're open. We have more buses coming in on the 21st, and we're open until the end of September, so there will be some more. But we were able to keep up with the trash in the bathroom. All right, $10,500 is what was actually funded for the Worthington Glacier. This is $10,550 because, of course, none of the splits end up exactly to that. But anyway, and these are also in the document I'm sending you. OK, so yeah, typically it has run about $1 per person AFTER THE FIRST SEVERAL YEARS WHEN WE HAD SO MUCH EXPENSE TRYING TO GET IT UNDER CONTROL, LIKE THE GROWTH AND THINGS LIKE THAT. TYPICALLY RUNS ABOUT A DOLLAR PER PERSON AND THE CITY FUNDS ABOUT 23 CENTS OF THAT. THIS IS JUST AN UPDATE ABOUT THE BOARD WALK. NOT MUCH HAS CHANGED SINCE I TALKED TO YOU ON SEPTEMBER THE FIRST EXCEPT I HAVE BEEN BACK IN CONTACT WITH THE PERSON AND EVERYTHING WE HAVE IS WE HAVE EVERYTHING IN AND SHE'S WORKING ON IT. But it hasn't stopped us from doing work on the rest of the trail. Here's a photo of the cutting and clearing. This kind of stuff has to be done essentially every year because there's always trip hazards. And, of course, as it grows up, there's bear hazard, et cetera. And this year we typically, a lot of times we have started at the very front and worked to the back or just past the meadow and then worked to the back. WITH SOME TRIPS FROM THE BACK TOWARDS THIS, BUT THIS YEAR WE STARTED AT GOLD BECAUSE WE HAD GOTTEN CUT ALL THE WAY THROUGH FOR THAT THREE AND A HALF MILES. THIS TIME WE STARTED AT GOLD CREEK CAMPGROUNDS AND WORKING THIS DIRECTION AND ALSO BECAUSE THE CUTTING AND CLEARING FOR THE BOARDWALK IS CLOSE TO THE FRONT ANYWAY, SO THAT'S WHY WE STARTED AT THE BACK AND WORKED THIS WAY. WE'VE ALSO DONE LEVELING OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, BUT ON parts that are so, at such a steep incline, we really can't level much more. And the rock slide, we'll just continue to, of course, it just shifts every year, and every year we'll continue to try to, you know, move around the winds the best we can. And, of course, as everybody knows, all the invisible work that you can't see. I WAS HAPPY WITH OUR GARAGE SALE RAISED 1300 FOR TRAIL WORK. THAT'S ALL DUE TO PEOPLE DONATING AND BUYING. SO YAY. AND THESE NUMBERS ARE ALSO IN. AND YEAH. SO WE'VE EXPENDED EVERYTHING ON WORTHINGTON. WE HAVEN'T EXPENDED EVERYTHING ON SHOOT BAY TRAIL INTENTIONALLY BECAUSE WE NEED TO BUY THE MATERIALS AS SOON AS WE GET THE APPROVAL. AND SOUTH CENTRAL IS WORKING WITH US ON THAT. AND THIS IS ALL THE WORK THAT WE NEED TO DO IN SEPTEMBER THROUGH NOVEMBER, WHICH IS ALSO IN THE TEXT I SENT. AND IF FOR SOME REASON WE CAN'T GET A LOT DONE IN THAT TIME, We will pre-purchase as much materials as we can with South Central so that they have, we're talking about 2,000 boards of stuff, so that they'll have time to bring things in and backstock them and everything that we need. And we're going to test some of the screws so they'll know which screws. We need 1,000 of those. No, that's not right, 3,000 of those. So South Central's working with us on that. OH, AND THIS IS AN INVITATION TO THE ODYSSEY OFF-TRAIL FOOT RACE ON SEPTEMBER 26, NATIONAL PUBLIC LANDS DAY. AND WE'VE BEEN DOING FACEBOOK POSTS AND SOCIAL MEDIA AND EMAILS AND THE FLIERS STARTED GOING UP TODAY AND IT'S REALLY FUN. IT'S GOING TO BE A FUN EVENT WITH CASH PRIZES AND AWARDS AND THEN THIS FIRST YEAR, THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR, WE'VE ONLY BEEN DOING THIS I THINK THIS IS THE FOURTH YEAR THAT WE'VE DONE THIS AND THE THIRD YEAR THAT THE CITY HAS GIVEN US SPENDING. SO THANK YOU TO THE CITY. WE'RE HAVING AN EVENING ACTIVITY AT THE EAGLES WITH MOON DOGGIES AND A GEAR SWAP. AND WE PURCHASED FOUR $25 GIFT CARDS FROM SAM'S SPOT SO THAT PEOPLE CAN PUT IN AS FUNDRAISING FOR THE EAGLES NEEDS A NEW ROOF. SO WE THOUGHT WE WOULD KICK THAT OFF. I hope that people can go from there. Oh, and I skipped the second line on this, but we have booked a shuttle. We've made a partnership with the Valdez Museum, and they're going to provide the shuttle for anybody who doesn't want to drive, who wants to get on it and go up. And then it'll take them up and bring them back. And we have that on a schedule. Facebook and stuff that's going out. Any questions? Any questions?

Yeah, I had a couple questions. So you talked about cost out at Worthington per person is approximately a dollar per person that's visiting. Is that primarily because of trash and toiletries and so on and so forth? Right, right. Yeah, okay. How is collecting fees going for individuals like the buses, the bus tours go up there and everything and parking? How are fees collecting going?

The buses don't pay anything at all. Okay. But We get the bus schedules and the tour schedules and things so that we can have the retail shop open to help kind of supplement the, because we'll have 150 people getting, well, it'll be like 300 in a day using the bathrooms and stuff. And so we need to kind of recoup that a little bit. And as far as the individuals paying, Some do and some don't. More likely if we're there. And our intern is really good about going up and approaching them and, hey, let me give you some information. And then, of course, our mascot dog is very good at patrolling them in to pay their and then give them a treat. So pretty good. I mean, of course, if we're not there, IT'S LESS LIKELY THAT THEY'RE PUTTING IN. AND SOMETIMES IF WE ARE THERE, THEY ARE NOT PUTTING IN. OCCASIONALLY THEY'LL JUST TELL US BLUNTLY, NO, WE'RE NOT GOING TO. AND SO.

NEW SPEAKER OKAY. THANK YOU.

NEW SPEAKER ARE THERE OTHER QUESTIONS? OLIVIA?

NEW SPEAKER NO QUESTIONS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION, LYNETTE. I APPRECIATE ALL THE INFORMATION THAT YOU PROVIDED.

NEW SPEAKER LYNETTE? Could I get a copy of your ? Could you send that to me? Just email it to me? And I do have one question. Does the state, do you receive funding from the state as well? No. So the state.

We don't receive funding from the state, except this year when he got to the, I think it was in May, he said, I have just under $3,000 that I could, but it has to be spent that he could WE'VE NEVER RECEIVED ANY FUNDING FROM THE STATE BEFORE FOR THE FIRST SEVERAL YEARS. WE HAD TO PAY THE 500 FOR THE PERMIT AND THEN THEY GOT IT DOWN TO 250 PER THE PERMIT AND THEN finally bluntly just told him i'm not going to pay for a permit to lose money for the right to lose money so um uh but hans has worked with us really well and like i said this is the first year that he did contact and say um you know is there something that you could give me something right away and so is he with division of parks or

Who's he with? Who is he with? I'm sorry.

Oh, Hans Frinke, he's the DNR parts person who's our, he's my, he's our contact. OK, so before him it was Jack Blackwell. OK, he took Jack's place. Yes, yes. Does that make sense now? Sorry. To me, I'm just like, oh, well, you know, everybody knows all of this. OK, but you received no funding, have received no funding from the state. Except for this year when he contacted us in May and said, And that was spent on various things. It wasn't required to be at Worthington. In fact, what we ended up having to do is pay quite a bit for some repairs and maintenance and parts and things for the stoves out of the cabins. But $3,000 helps. That's a huge help.

I did have one more question. So you have a direct contact. Have you talked to them at all about the landslide that happened that took out the trail?

um yes quite bluntly they don't want anything to do with any of the parks or trails or anything they just want us to deal with it and just go on so topic for juno thank you yeah thanks thank you for the update much appreciated thanks annette right next under public appearances we have ed with providence valdez counseling center

Hello, my name is Edmo Mangana, and I manage the Providence Volunteers Counseling Center. And we were invited here to actually work with Glenn, a deputy. And Sheree was here earlier, but she had to leave. I'll let Glenn just introduce himself.

Well. MY NAME IS GLENN DEPUTY AND I BEGAN WORK WITH PROVIDENCE VALDEZ COUNSELING CENTER IN EDMORE IN DECEMBER 2024. SO I'M COMING UP ON TWO YEARS AND I'M HAVING A GREAT TIME. I REALLY APPRECIATE SERVING THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS OF VALDEZ AND WE HAVE A GREAT TIME TOGETHER. I REALLY APPRECIATE EDMORE'S INTEGRITY AND HIS COMPASSION and the example he sets for us.

Thank you. All right. So the invitation was for us to talk a little bit about suicide prevention. September is generally the month where we emphasize the awareness and prevention of suicide. But I would like to emphasize that I think it should be every month, every day, because suicide is something that we can all work together to prevent. There is a theory of the mechanism of suicide that I just want to share with all of us here. It's called the interpersonal theory of suicide. And with this theory, there are three things that have to be met for somebody to actually die by suicide. Number one is spotted belongingness. This is when a person feels like they do not belong they feel lonely and they feel isolated. And I can say, even in a large group of people, they will still feel like they are alone. And then the second factor is perceived burdensomeness. This is when a person feels like they are a burden to their family, they are a burden to their community, they are a burden to anybody and everybody around them. However, this... This perception is really very false. But a person will actually believe that the way they perceive themselves is true. And then the last one is hopelessness. So when you take this perceived burdensomeness and this thwarted belongingness and put it together, a person who is having thoughts of suicide they don't think that it's going to change. They actually think that it will continue forever. So I think they are in a place where they feel like they have tunnel vision and they are in a dark tunnel and they don't see any light at the end of the tunnel. And those who have studied suicide have said that when these three factors come together and they are fulfilled in the person's mind, then the person will change. die by suicide. At that point, everything makes sense for them because they think nobody cares. They think that they are a burden to society. And then they feel at peace to go ahead and kill themselves. However, their ability for them to kill themselves is also enhanced by their personal experiences, things like trauma, things like self-harm, when they inflict harm on themselves, cutting themselves, burning themselves, and stuff like that, over and over again, they get desensitized to pain, and therefore it becomes easy for them to heal themselves because they think they don't belong in their community or in their family. Now, as a community, I think there are a few things that we can do to prevent this from happening. I want to think that connectedness is the major factor that we can put together. However, it has to come after we have identified people who are at risk of dying by suicide and removing their lethal means that is firearms and chemicals that they can use for ending their lives, making sure that those are locked away, especially away from the people that are at higher risk for killing themselves by suicide. However, sometimes suicide surprises people because there are no symptoms that may show outwardly. And I want to zero in on that at the end to say how we can actually prevent that. The other thing is gatekeeping. I think we have trained a few people in the community about suicide prevention. There is a training called QPR, which is question, persuade, and refer. This is a training that can be offered to any member of the community. And I am impressed by the academy that you put up, Cherry. And I was just wondering if we could add another module to the program. to the academy, which would actually equip everybody who will attend the academy in ways in which they can actually reach out to their neighbor when they see their neighbor in a low mood, a low affect, and ask them what's going on, and then probably get the idea that they are thinking about suicide and then refer them to people who can actually help them. The other training that we have done, but it's been years since we did applied suicide intervention skills. This is used by people to intervene on people who are actively thinking about killing themselves. And I think that can also be added. The last thing that I want to talk about is the reduction of stigma and building connections. I think it is our responsibility as a community to ensure that everybody who lives in our community understands that suicide, depression, mental health in general, is the same as any other physical disease, like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and all the other diseases that affect our physical bodies. brain diseases are just the same. So we have a burden as a community to destroy the stigma, to ensure that people who struggle with mental health are treated and understood the same as those who are suffering with physical ailments. The other thing I think we can develop peer groups and things like group block parties where neighbors actually reach to neighbors and talk together and make sure that we are acquainted with who our neighbors are and what could be going on in their lives. We could prevent a lot of things if we legally became nosy. And I think we can actually save a lot of lives when we make connections. We are going to be doing suicide prevention and awareness work and gathering. at the Kelsey Dock on the 19th, Saturday, at 11 o'clock in the morning. And I know that there are going to be games in the schools, and some people may not be able to attend. But if all of us who are here could attend, I think that would make a huge difference. This suicide prevention work started a few years ago by two people that just came to the hospital and they were walking up and down the hallways of the hospital because one of those two people had lost a child to suicide. And it started from there, and then it has grown. Now we gather probably about 50 people. And if all of you who are here come, it's going to be more than it was last year. Last year when I made the invitation, I want to say thank you, Councilman Lester Green, for attending, because he got the invitation. I would be so elated if all of us here would come and attend to that. Let me conclude by saying that as a community, we can learn something from aspen trees. I don't know if you know, but I have come to understand that aspen trees, they grow into a grove and they look like they are individual trees, but down in their roots, they share the same root system. And if one of those trees is bent down, is cut down, is suffering, all the other trees through their root system send nutrition to the one that is suffering. And I think we can all be a community of aspen trees so that we can prevent this preventable disease of suicide. It takes connection to prevent suicide. It takes a feeling of belongingness to prevent suicide. And you and I can make that difference. Thank you.

Thank you, Ed. Other questions? Ed, I just want to say thank you and also Glenn. Thank you for coming this evening and sharing with us more about suicide awareness and suicide prevention. It is extremely important. I know it's impacted everyone in this community in some way or another there. And I'm glad to see that people are starting to feel more comfortable about talking about it, or even if they're not comfortable. Speaking about it.

That's the goal. I think we have to be comfortable to talk about it until we can be able to reach out and ask somebody, are you thinking about suicide? Just because we see them sad. Because that's where we can actually catch it and prevent it. You don't know how many lives have been saved just by asking, are you thinking about suicide? And then the person says, as a matter of fact, yes. and then they are taken to the hospital, and they are stopped from actually killing themselves.

Thank you very much for sharing the analogy of the aspen tree community. I like that. Could you share once again the date and the time for the walk?

It's supposed to be September 19th at 11 o'clock in the morning.

So this Saturday? Yes. Very good. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. NEXT ON THE AGENDA IS PUBLIC BUSINESS FROM THE FLOOR. IS THERE ANYONE IN THE AUDIENCE THIS EVENING WHO WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS THE CITY COUNCIL ON A NONAGENDA ITEM? HEARING NONE, WE'LL MOVE FORWARD.

Well, I do.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Go ahead. Hey, I appreciate it. Thank you. Senator Rauch, you're here. Sorry. So I just wanted to give you a quick update. I was there at the meeting a couple weeks ago, but there wasn't a whole lot going on. I didn't bother you with it, but... The Senate and the House, joint resource, they had a meeting and they interviewed. It's like a part two. And they had an interview process with the producers out in the Cook Inlet, Fury, Hex Fury rather, and Hill Corps. Blue Crest was supposed to be there. They weren't able to live up to their contract and they're in trouble with the DNR right now. And so due to that, and then I believe Hex Fury is a well short, and starts predicting 18 days short mathematically of gas supply to keep the heat on in the rail belt. So that meeting was basically to understand what we could possibly do to circumvent the problem before it happens. We also, the legislator went up to the slope, to the picket project, which is the new, I guess it's a new gas field that's come online. There are 20,000, I guess, 20,000 barrels a day. It's oil rather that come online. Now there are 20,000 barrels a day. They hope to get to 80 and then 120. But right now, that's good. That's good for the economy. It's good for the budget to have 20,000 extra barrels coming in a day. We also visited their injection process. And in that, they have a ball mill on site, which crushes their tailings so they can inject it. down into the hole again. And then they also have on site a seawater treatment plant, which is basically where they get their water to put down the hole and mix with their fluids, their mud, all the other chemicals that they use to bring the oil back up. and it's a football field and a half long, and it's a football field wide, and they floated it all the way from Indonesia in one piece. Now, coming up to your neck of the woods there, I was at the Royal Health Transfer Nation project a few weeks ago. I'd like to say thank you for everybody that attended. There are some in the room that have, and I also want to thank the state and Providence for being there, the state for putting it on, and what we learned and how we can deal with the future of our health concerns in the area. Now, the ferry dock, I've been working with Ryan Anderson and Nate, and the last communication we got with Ryan was that it was in the lawyers' hands. The lawyers looked it over, and they went with option three. So I don't know whether he's explained that to you or not, but he had given him a list of options. Option three is basically where the state still owns it. And I believe Valdez controls it. So, and they're writing up the, the, I guess the contract between you guys now with finalizing it with the lawyers. So I think that's a good process. We've we've, I've been hammering them about once every two weeks ever since the dedication of the old dock when I ran into Nate there and we talked about how we can move that thing forward. And then I remember we were also talking about it when I went down there to visit the terminal with the city. So I think it's on the move and I think it's closer than ever. That's the wrap up. Any questions?

Hi, Senator. This is Joe Lally. I just wanted to thank you for the update and the good news on the ferry dock option. And, you know, I've been, you know, to Washington, D.C., as well as in Juneau when we were pitching that. And good news that it seems to be coming to fruition. So thank you for that.

Yeah, you bet. I'll tell you what, Andy Ryan Anderson, you've got to just keep reminding him. That's all. I don't think he's avoiding it. I think he's got a lot on his plate. You just have to keep reminding him, and I believe that seems to have worked really well.

Hi, this is Joy Witte. I just wanted to say thank you for that update. That is something that I know that we went to Juneau and advocated for. So I'm really appreciative that it's moving forward for that update. That's wonderful news. Thank you so much.

You bet. Any other questions? All right. Senator Rauscher, thank you very much for the updates. Very much appreciated.

All right. You bet.

MOVING FORWARD, WE'RE INTO THE CONSENT AGENDA. ITEM ONE, PROCLAMATION ADULT EDUCATION AND FAMILY LITERACY WEEK. ITEM TWO, APPOINTMENT TO THE VALDEZ CONSORTIUM LIBRARY, APPLICANT MELISSA USELIN. THREE, APPROVAL OF LIQUOR LICENSE RENEWAL, INTERNAL ORDER OF EAGLES AREA 1971, LICENSE NUMBER 335. Four, approval to go into executive session, discussion of implications for the city revenue and litigation strategy regarding Trans-Alaska Pipeline System ad valorem tax issues.

Motion. Motion to consent to all items. Second.

It's moved by Council Member Devins, second by Council Member Lally, to approve all items on the consent agenda. for the vote call for the vote all those in favor please say aye aye aye aye all those opposed we have six years one absent mayor fleming motion carries thank you and we've got the proclamation whereas education is the foundation for individual opportunity

family stability and community prosperity, and adult education and family literacy programs play a vital role in ensuring that all Alaskans, regardless of age, background or circumstance, have the tools they need to succeed. Whereas Alaska adult education and literacy programs have been serving Alaska since 1942, With general development, testing results in a high school equivalency diploma, graduating approximately 500 students per year, and whereas more than 39,000 Alaskan adults lack a high school equivalency diploma, and thousands more seek to improve their literacy, numeracy, digital, and English language skills to advance in careers and support their families, and whereas education and literacy programs assist more than 2,000 Alaskans who receive services annually from 14 adult education programs through the state, and whereas adult education programs, including the adult education program at Prince William Sound Community College, provide vital education opportunities for residents working with dozens of students each year to help them achieve their educational career goals. And whereas the adult education program in Valdez celebrates the accomplishments of its students, including eight students who earned their general education development credentials in the past year, demonstrating the determination and perseverance of adult learners in our community. And whereas Alaska adult education and literacy programs provide countless benefits to citizens from all backgrounds, these critical programs broaden opportunities for Alaskans and increase their likelihood to create more program, more prosperous careers. Now therefore, I, Lester Green, Mayor Pro Tem, City of Valdez, Alaska, do hereby claim the week of September 13th through September 19th, 2026 as Alaska Adult Education and Family Literacy Week. Valdez and encourage all residents to recognize the importance of adult learning and family literacy as critical to the success and well-being of individuals, families, and communities throughout Alaska, and to support and participate in these programs dated this day, the 15th day of September 2026. Someone here too.

Woo! Yay! Adult education!

Thank you very much. We appreciate your dedication. Moving forward resolutions Number 2640 establishing rates and fees for Valdez harbors and repealing resolution 26-29 formerly naming such rates and fees Your motion move to approve

MOVED BY COUNCILMEMBER RALEIGH, SECOND BY COUNCILMEMBER SNYDES, TO APPROVE RESOLUTION 2640.

IS THERE ANY COUNCIL DISCUSSION?

I'VE GOT A COUPLE QUESTIONS.

SIR VON BARGEN, HARBORMASTER.

THANK YOU SO MUCH. SO I WASN'T HERE THE WEEK THAT IT WAS DECIDED WE WANTED TO LOOK AT THESE FEES. I had a couple of questions, and I apologize if you've already answered them the week that I was missing. So the harbor charges based on space occupied, correct?

Yes and no. As a transient vessel, it's going to be based on the length of your vessel. But as a tenant holder, it's going to be based on the length of the slip or the vessel, whichever is greater overall.

OK. So are we applying the same principle for this change from our standard residents and the commercial vehicles, vessels? Yes, the same across the board, whether it's commercial or recreational. So we're charging by the foot? Yes. So with these commercial vessels, we're going to be charging them for the skiff, or are we forgiving that space?

We are forgiving that space, as it's considered now part of the primary vessel. So unless the same skiff or auxiliary skiff is left in the slip when the primary vessel is not there, then they are not going to get charged for any kind of additional moorage.

So I'm just curious what the policy basis for treating the commercial skiff is, why it is that we're doing that differently from an auxiliary vessel used by a recreational boater.

So we had never had a charge in place for seine skiffs until this year. And after the Resolution 2629 passed, we had some public feedback about how they did not appreciate that and that it was an extra hardship on them, especially during a bad fishing year. also with regular auxiliary skiffs that people have in their slips with them. If they're not impeding navigation or taking up any additional space, they shouldn't be getting charged for it.

So what if there was a recreational boater that had a small watercraft that was being used for similar purposes, let's say?

So as long as it's not impeding navigation, it's not taking up more than, say, half the slip or assuming it's a tenant boat, or hanging off the back, taking up any, again, additional navigational space, there's not going to be any charge for it. So, again, if you've got a kayak or a small inflatable that you have, say, either side-tied or butted up to the front of your vessel and it's not causing any issues, there's no charge for it. There's no charge. Okay, that's good to know.

Can you explain the commercial fueling of a vessel outside designated fuel docks?

So last year we implemented a fuel flowage fee for primarily the fuel docks. Every now and then we have the occasional delivery by North Pacific Fuel to a vessel, and we feel like that should be passed on to them as well so that It's not just Crowley who's being affected by the fuel flowage fee. That's why we put this in. Because I know there was confusion originally about how, oh, you're going to charge me $0.04 a gallon on a gas can. No, we're not monitoring that. It's primarily if it's a commercial fueling truck coming over and fueling a vessel.

OK.

Thank you. And another question. I was looking over all the fees that were associated.

Is there a $25 fee for people to post on the board down by the bathrooms?

Sorry, I had to ask.

No, it's OK. It's OK. It's definitely a gray area on that one. No, there is no fee for people to post down there. I think it's more when people are putting flyers and stuff on people's vehicles. And all of a sudden, you've got that. I mean, like somebody putting a restaurant menu on everybody's windshield. then all of a sudden people are just disposing of it, and then it's more trash and stuff that the city's having to clean up. Absolutely. OK.

When it comes to the fees that were on there regarding people that are creating wakes and so on and so forth, how is that being monitored?

Well, we don't have the patrol person like we used to, who actually used to live on the what is it called, Johnson's house or whatever on the corner. I mean, she was long gone before I started. Maybe not long gone, but anyways, let's just say that we had log books where she was calling pretty much five to 10 times a day saying, this boat's sleeping awake, this boat's sleeping awake. A lot of times you get the chatter on the radio where people are Other boaters are monitoring it. But I mean, unless somebody says, it's AK number such and such, or it's this boat name, there's no way for us to tell exactly who it is. And then ultimately, we're going to try and do a warning first. And if it happens again, then we would impose a fine. OK, fantastic.

OK, wonderful. Thank you so much for answering those questions.

Are there other questions from council? All right. Is there any public discussion? All for the vote.

Oh, wait, can I ask a question?

Sorry. Go ahead, Olivia.

That's OK. OK, so I have a few questions, actually, and I wish that I had asked this the first go around. But out of I just have a few questions about. specific changes why and then how are we going to manage that with the administration so specifically i wanted to ask questions about section two um i wanted to know in section two which of those um it's a fairly large section that talks about upland storage and parking and it goes from a through j And I'm curious, out of A through J, which one of those is new before this repeal of this most recent resolution?

So I guess I'm missing it in Section 2 that you're looking at. I'm seeing general billing and interpretation rules for Section 2. Are you looking at the older version of the rate resolution, or am I missing that out?

I may be looking at the older one. Let me pull give me just one second. I'm sorry. But there there is likely a section called upland storage and parking, correct? In the.

Section 5 in the in the new format.

OK, and in Section 5 do you have letters A through J in there?

Not that I was ever aware of, so unless you can specifically point it out to me. I mean, we've got where it talks about like A ramp, certain different parking areas, but nothing about like A through J, like docks or anything.

No, it's not about docks. It's actually just like paragraph sections. So it talks about upland storage vessels, vessels on trailers, trailers, cradles, vessels on cradles and vehicles, and it discusses dates and what areas of the ports and harbor will be impacted by those fees.

Okay.

In one, it talks about a length of a vessel, and it's going to be $3 per foot more a month. So it's actually the third attachment that was signed by Mayor Fleming.

Council Member Foster, that's the resolution that is repealed by this resolution. Okay.

What you're going to want to look at is the Harbor Rates and Fees Schedule Final Draft Attachment.

Okay. Okay.

And the $3 per month in the winter months is actually, it's a $3 per foot minimum at 30 feet, and anything over that is going to be a little bit additional. So if you're a, I'm not going to be able to do the math in my head, but if you're a 40-foot vessel, instead of it being $90 a month, you might be paying $98 a month or $100 a month.

Okay, so I guess going back to my original question, in Section 5, upland storage and parking, out of all of these items that are mentioned here in the fee section, which one of these are new from the existing resolution before the repeal?

So the only thing that is actually new, I want to say, and I apologize, normally I would have... My red line is we had changed it from last year where it was $2 a foot per month for each foot over 30 feet, and now it's $3. Everything else is essentially the same.

So there was a $10 a day parking fee for people who...

That was in the original one, the 2629 that was adopted, and that was also kind of a bone of contention with our users, and so we have taken that out as well.

Okay, perfect. So the $10 fee per day is going away, and then the RV, the $40 a night, is that going away as well?

$40 a night is gonna stay in place just specifically from the the time frame when the regular RV parks are not open for business and That's only gonna really affect maybe one or two RVs like when we have the skiers in town if they want to come in for a night just to you know maybe refresh get water shower and empty their holding tanks and Other than that, no, it's just it's only from, I believe it's October 15th through April 15th. And then once the parks are open, then it's considered unauthorized camping.

It is considered unauthorized?

Yes, if it's outside of that timeframe.

Okay.

And you all monitor that? We do. I mean, again, we will normally give a warning to people, especially in the summertime. And then if they're still there the following day, then they will get charged the fine. But most everybody in the winter does actually come in and check in with us.

Okay, that's great. And then does that also apply to the Kelsey Dock area? Or does that not apply to that part of ports and harbors? Because it's

That would be in the court tariff. And so I don't believe that they have a fee in place for that. But I'd have to get back to you on that.

Okay, no worries. Okay, I think I heard a lot from several individuals about the $10 a day parking fee. So I am super grateful that that is going away. That was my main bone of contention because I've heard from so many people. I don't own a boat, but I did receive several emails and I heard a lot of people tell me things in person so i appreciate that that is gone and i think a lot of our users will appreciate it and i think it aligns with our strategic plan around tourism and building um building that and i just hope that for the rest of the um you know, fines that we have, we're able to enforce them. Because I think that's one of the most difficult things is that we create these fine schedules, but it's difficult to enforce things a lot of times. We don't have the gal living on Johnson, in the Johnson house, who's calling us every day. But I appreciate the just review of this. And I apologize for getting the sections incorrect.

Of course.

Jerry, did you have something?

No, I just want to clarify that when you're looking at the document, everything that is redlined is new language. Yes. Everything that you see that is struck out, has a strikeout, just like in our ordinances, that language has been removed. Correct.

Are there any other questions?

Okay.

Thank you, Sarah. I'm going to call for the vote.

All those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

All those opposed? We have six yays, one absent. Mayor Fleming, motion carries.

Thank you.

Before we move forward, I'd just like to comment. I do appreciate very much the hard work that was put into the revision of this by the Ports and Harbor Commission there. Sarah, you and your team there, very much appreciated. Thank you. Moving on to reports. Monthly project report. Casey.

Good evening. Casey Walker, Capital Facilities. How are we doing? Good. Good to be here. So big things happening in the project world. It'll pop up for me. There we go. All right, so we will go ahead and jump right into it. One of the biggest ones that we have that everybody's always asking about is obviously Mills Avenue. As you may have noticed over the past week, we've had a lot of road base going down as well as the fabric underlayment. So that's great work that's in preparation for the curb and gutter work that's going to be starting next week. Once that stuff starts, things move rather quickly. So we're anticipating seeing asphalt work beginning by the end of September. Of course, that is pending weather. This week is a little hard on us for the weather. So hopefully we can continue moving along appropriately with weather not withstanding. So next project on the list is the well house project currently sitting at a rough 60 percent completion. If you've driven by there you may have noticed recently the framing and sheathing for that building is complete. We're currently working on weathering that in. They will also be planning a water tie-in across Eagan to take place this fall. The official date for that is yet to be determined, but that's the general timeframe that we're working on for that project. So things are moving along nicely there. The child care facility, the RFP selection was completed last month with Orion as the selected consulting contractor. So that's the only major update that we have in that field for the moment. The hospital generator replacement project was put on a brief pause as we were waiting for the fire marshal approval. We're hoping to have that approval here shortly so that we can finalize and finish with commissioning. The radio tower project, we're currently sitting at about 70% completion. They finally started the official work on the site. So they're doing a lot of the underground work. Copper Valley is over there laying conduit to be able to run fiber to that area. And then the tower itself, as well as the comm shelter, should be showing up. Let's see, what do I have on here? the end of the month so big work happening over there they're currently preparing the site for concrete work to begin this week for the foundation of that tower so very exciting the skate park replacement if you've driven by there you've noticed all the new equipment that they have out there the parks and rec department has done a phenomenal job at coordinating that and I've been notified that the final opening event is to take place this weekend on the 19th, and I just received a text from Colbeck saying that that's going to start at 1 p.m. So as soon as you get done walking for the suicide prevention, go ahead and head on over to the skate park, and hopefully with the weather that we're having, hopefully we can still have a good event over there. It's kind of being cut off at the bottom of the screen here, but the animal shelter fuel lines, There's been a lot of progress on there. The concrete pad for that fuel tank, as well as all of the gas line, sump work, the bollards, all of that's been completed. The only thing that we're waiting on now is the tank itself. It's a rather long lead item, so we're looking at some time this winter to be able to install that tank as soon as it arrives. CURRENTLY LOOKING AT A POSSIBLE JANUARY, FEBRUARY INSTALLATION, BUT WE'VE EXTENDED THAT CONTRACT TO MARCH JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN ENCAPSULATE THAT. BEFORE I MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THE PROJECTS ON THIS SLIDE?

Yeah, about Neil's Avenue, of course. I apologize. I don't know a lot about asphalt. Can you tell me, do we need to have dry days? Does it have to be a certain temperature? What are we looking at for optimal conditions?

There are certain conditions that we will be shooting for. I believe that we can still pour if it's not a completely dry day. I have limited experience myself with asphalt, but I do believe that there is some leniency there. But obviously we want to shoot for the best conditions so that it'll set up as best as possible so that we don't have to begin repairs in the next year on the same project.

Start doing our dry day dance. Exactly.

Start hoping, praying for it. Anything we can do in the background to will some good weather our way for that.

It's been great to see as much progress that got pushed through in this last week. It was really great. So that's excellent. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Any other questions before moving on? Great. So the design projects, we have Roll Roads. Dow is currently working on designs and estimates for us for the upcoming year. A big one for this last week was the high school remodel project. So the architects hosted info gathering sessions this last week on the 10th and the 11th. They met with different staff members and students as well, taking special time to shadow with students, to interview teachers, and to take a really good amount of time to understand the needs of the school at their most base level. So it was a phenomenal event. I participated directly in the majority of it. So it took place over the course of those two days. And it was a very involved process. And so a tremendous amount of information was gathered at that event. With that said, something that I'd like to do, given the scope and the importance of this project to the community as well as the future of our community, I'd like to have the architects come and meet with the council to both inform you all on the progress up to this point, as well as to gather your own input, find out from you what you find to be great about the school, what it lacks, what our desires are for the future of our education system, and how we can best accommodate that through this project. So I'll be looking at getting that on the schedule in the future. Though I wanted to gain an understanding if that would be something that we could do maybe a work session for in the future. I think it would be appropriate. Would that be appropriate? Yes. Okay, perfect. If there's not another work session already scheduled, we're currently looking at having them visit, I believe it was on the 6th. Is that the first one of next month? That is. So if it's a possibility, we'd love to get on the schedule for that. Okay. I'll work with Sherry then in the background and we'll figure out a time and get them in front of you all. So your input will be extremely valuable and greatly appreciated on that. The Baylor replacement project, so work has begun on design. They have been out there this last week with geotechnical sampling and that has been done by Shannon Wilson. So continuing to move forward there. THE VCT WATER LINE REPLACEMENT CURRENTLY SITS IN 95% DESIGN. WE HAVE BEGUN REVISITING THIS RECENTLY IN HOPES OF EXPLORING FUNDING OPTIONS FOR 2027 TO GET THIS PROJECT ON THE DOCKET. IT DEFINITELY NEEDS TO BE DONE. THE ROOF REPLACEMENTS FOR THE LIFT STATIONS AND WELLHOUSES. We are currently reviewing funding options and considering how to move forward with that project, but we have a fee proposal in hand that we're still considering. The museum annex lights, Frontier Electric has been assigned to the project and they are going to beginning the submittal process this fall and we are working to start that work in January.

A quick question about the lighting. Are we going to be looking into energy efficient LEDs?

I think that that was taken into account. I haven't looked at the plans in depth myself, but I can definitely look into that and have some better information for you.

I'd appreciate it. Thank you.

Absolutely. Hospital projects. So the storm drain project has been moving along nicely. Everything's essentially in place. The manhole cover currently sits as a pipe out of the ground, so as soon as we have some agreeable weather, the plan is to put that pipe down to grade and install the manhole cover, and we should be good to run for the season with that one. The hospital generator project, as I mentioned before, There is hopefully to be some better progress on that soon. And then the long-term care unit, still currently working through two or three final punch list items, but hopefully they should be fully wrapped up with that one shortly. And lastly, other projects of note, especially for this rainy season that we have, the erosion monitoring is ongoing. It seems like for Mineral Creek and Glacier Stream, we're holding out nicely. However, the low river continues to be a point of concern and a point of interest for us. So we're closely monitoring that and we're actually working with Dow on getting them out here to to further mitigate any additional damages or potential damages down the road. All right. That's all I have for you tonight, unless there's any other outstanding questions.

Are there any questions? Casey, I'd like to thank you for holding the stakeholder engagement sessions with the school staff, the students, and other community members. As you know, that's one of the big keys to a successful project, and I look forward to hearing from the architects, engineers, and the project.

we want to make sure that we're doing everything that we can to engage the entire community with this one. It's, it's an important project. So yes. And, uh, one that, you know, of course I hold dear to my heart since I attended that school and I'd love to see it, uh, in a new, uh, longer lasting glory. So it'd be great. So thank you so much. Thank you.

Moving on to reports. We've got, uh, City manager, state clerk report all in one. That's efficient. That's efficient.

So of course, Nate's not here this evening. He's hunting for moose. So I don't have a report from the city manager. Everything is status quo or well. Nothing to report. And I will work with Casey to schedule the work session for you with the high school. In the clerk's report, Elise sent out an email to everyone regarding AML this year. They're doing something a little different with newly elected officials. They're also encouraging, I guess, other municipal officials. During NEO, there are a lot of municipal officials who continue to attend NEO. And so what they're doing, and I know when I teach, I look out and I see some of the same faces out there. So what they're looking at doing is encouraging municipal officials if they want to, if they're interested in sessions that they're offering, they're also encouraging people outside of newly elected officials to attend. This is... something new that they're trying. So I know Elise sent out that information to you, I think, today. So if you'll take a look at it, there is an agenda. If anyone is interested in attending that, they'll have to let us know because basically we have just booked you to attend NEO Wednesday through Friday. So take a look at that. If you are interested in anything that they are offering for NEO, sitting council members, not just newly elected officials, let us know. We can work with you to change your reservations or accommodate you. So anyway, take a look at that. But please let us know right away, because we will have to work to make changes. Hotel rooms are not easy to change this time of year. And other than that, I am leaving tomorrow evening for vacation. And Tracy Rainer will be taking over for me until Nate returns. So that's all I've got this evening.

Thank you, Sherry.

Any questions?

Enjoy that vacation.

Yeah, it'll be nice. Nice and warm, hopefully. No hurricanes.

City Attorney Report. GOOD EVENING. GLAD TO BE WITH YOU. I WILL DEFER DISCUSSION TO THE EXECUTIVE SESSION UNLESS THERE ARE GENERAL QUESTIONS ON THE WRITTEN REPORT THAT WE SENT DOWN. IS THERE ANY QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME? THANK YOU. NO CITY MAYOR REPORT AT THIS TIME. WE'LL JUST HOLD MINE UNTIL COUNCIL BUSINESS FROM THE FLOOR.

WITH THAT. COUNCIL BUSINESS FROM THE FLOOR.

LET'S START WITH OLIVIA.

THANK YOU. I HAVE NOTHING TO SHARE.

I DON'T HAVE A WHOLE LOT TO SHARE. JUST MORE CONGRATULATING THE CITIZEN ACADEMY GRADUATES AND ADULT BASIC EDUCATION. I KNOW THAT I'VE SEEN THE IMPACT OF THAT. SO IT'S GREAT THAT THEY'RE BEING HONORED FOR THE WEEK. Yeah, and all the project work. I will have to say the skate park's pretty amazing. My son is pretty excited and has been over there. I think he even got over there before the tape was actually off. It was pretty exciting. And he is bummed he's not going to be here the 19th because they're supposed to be giving away cool skateboards. But he's excited. And it's nice just to see it all matching and just look like it's nice to see in our community. THE WORK THAT WENT INTO IT. IT'S MUCH APPRECIATED AND IT IS ALSO, CASEY, THANK YOU FOR ALL THE PROJECT UPDATES.

NEW SPEAKER Yeah, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO ECHO THAT IN REGARDS TO THE The Citizens Academy as well as the adult education and literacy, child literacy, family literacy, I guess the topic of both is kind of literacy. One of them is civic literacy and the other is literal literacy. I would say that those are two of the most important tools that you can have to engage effectively with your society. And I'm really glad that we're working toward and celebrating both as a community and as a state.

I HAD A COUPLE OF THINGS. JUST WANTED TO THANK LYNETTE OLIVER FROM VALDEZ ADVENTURE ALLIANCE FOR HER PRESENTATION AND ALL THE GOOD WORK THAT SHE'S DONE ON THE TWO PARK AREAS THAT SHE REPORTED ON. ALSO WANTED TO THANK ED MOORE AND GLENN FROM THE PROVIDENCE VALDEZ COUNSELING CENTER FOR THEIR PRESENTATION AND ALL THEIR GREAT WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING. TO SUPPORT VALDIES WITH REGARDS TO SUICIDE PREVENTION. AND CONGRATS TO THE CITIZENS ACADEMY GRADUATES AND I WANTED TO THANK SPECIFICALLY THE VALDEZ FIRE DEPARTMENT, POLICE DEPARTMENT, EMS PERSONNEL, COAST GUARD FOR THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF 9-11 REMEMBRANCE CEREMONY. I GOT TO ATTEND THAT AND I WANTED TO SPECIFICALLY THANK CHIEF REYNER WHO GAVE A GREAT SPEECH DURING THE CEREMONY. about the importance of never forgetting. Everybody knows that kind of phrase, but he also stressed the importance of educating the next generations because we're going to age out soon of the people that were actually around for it. It's near and dear to my heart because I was in the Coast Guard and stationed in New York and helped with the response. So just wanted to thank the city for putting that on and greatly appreciate it.

THANK YOU. I'VE GOT JUST A COUPLE OF COMMENTS. FIRST, I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY LAST WEEK TO ATTEND presentation by Alaska drone and they showed some of the different three different drones that they had and they also had industry their industry leaders with Alyeska and other folks in the community as well as the school system including the college and it was nice to see that group you know looking at the various opportunities that are out there TO USE AND INCREASE THE EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE WITH DRONE TECHNOLOGY. I MEAN, IT'S TO HAVE THE ABILITY RIGHT HERE LOCALLY, AND IT'S AMAZING WHAT THEY CAN DO WHETHER IT'S WITH EMERGENCY SERVICES, SEARCH AND The mapping and surveying and inspection that they can do, you know, critical lifts, et cetera, for construction or other projects. It was impressive. And to see the crowd out there, many of them, you know, in their teens, you know, and moving forward with their getting their certifications there. You do not want me operating a drone. I can tell you that. IT challenged. Next one, I did have an opportunity to attend the, and I'm sure a lot of people did this, or I know they did, the Swan Symposium at the Civic Center on Saturday. Very good turnout, nice variety of different groups within the community and vendors. You know, everything from the Health Mobile to various organic food products. It was very well organized. Very well done.

And I want to thank those groups and Allie Steed.

And just for awareness, I will be out of state, leaving tomorrow, returning November 8th. But I will be attending meetings remotely. Thank you. And with that, we'll bring this to a close. And move into executive session room. Bringing this to a close here, during our executive session, we received an update from our attorney on the current status of the TAP settlement. With that, we'll call it a wrap. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good night, Robin.

Good night, Rob.

Good night, all. Nice to see you. Take care.