City Council to Begin Demolition Plans for Old Library Building

Kayla Desroches/KMXT

The Kodiak City Council is approaching the deadline for its final fiscal year 2017 budget, and will continue putting the final touches on its fee schedule at its regular meeting tonight.

That includes an amendment to harbor fees and a dockage and moorage fee rate increase of 18.5 percent for commercial fishing vessels. For example, for vessels up to 40 feet, the annual fee was increased from $30 to roughly $35.50 per foot.

The council held the budget’s first reading in late May, and it reviewed the budget again at a regular meeting earlier in June. The staff recommends that it pass the budget following its second reading and public hearing, which is coming up tonight.

As stated in the meeting packet the staff and council have tried to maintain “the same level of services” as the FY2016 budget with a “reduction in overall expenses.”

Also on the agenda is a professional services contract for plans to demolish the old library building on Mill Bay Road and designs for a new fire station in the same location. The city is currently covering costs of utilities for the structure, which according to the meeting packet is unsound enough that repair and improvements would cost as much as new construction.

The council is considering a contract with Stantec Architecture for an overall fee of roughly $31,200. The city will also look into hiring a local surveyor, Kodiak Land Services, for an overall fee of almost $32,000.

You can hear the council’s full discussion starting at 7:30 p.m. tonight on KMXT, or you can drop by the borough building to attend the regular meeting yourself.