Tag Archives: Matt Van Daele

Another dead gray whale washed up on Kodiak late last week, this time near Surfers Beach. A team of volunteers, led by local veterinarian Dr. Emily Iacobucci and NOAA Fisheries Special Agent Brent Pristas, headed out the road on Saturday morning to begin a necropsy on the specimen. It was a labor-intensive process involving hours of stripping blubber off the …

Kayla Desroches/KMXT The Kodiak Island Borough Assembly held a special public meeting Tuesday night (Aug 28) to discuss whether to share a legal opinion with the public. The assembly is considering waiving the confidentiality of the borough attorney’s legal opinions about an Alaska Aerospace Corporation land-use issue. AAC runs a launch facility, Pacific Spaceport Complex, at Narrow Cape. At a …

Kayla Desroches/KMXT Two service area boards are at odds on how to split a storage space. The utility building is located on the property of the Bayside Fire Department. Currently, the borough owns the building and leases it to Fire Protection Area 1. Service Area 1 also uses the space and would like to sub-lease it from the borough, which …

Kayla Desroches/KMXT The City of Kodiak is moving forward with the review of the termination of former deputy city manager and current Kodiak Island Borough Assemblyman Matt Van Daele. Van Daele was fired earlier in the year. The city did not give a specific reason for his dismissal, and the action followed concern surrounding a potential conflict of interest. At …

Kayla Desroches/KMXT A community member recently alleged that a city councilman asked her to censor a comment she’d planned to make before the city council. At a city regular meeting last week, Judi Kidder approached the microphone and recalled an incident that she claims happened shortly before an earlier work session. “Councilmember Whiddon appeared at my house and cautioned me …

The City of Kodiak sign at the Kodiak Island Borough Building. (Photo by Mitch Borden/KMXT) Mitch Borden/KMXT The Kodiak City Council is calling for an investigation into the firing of Kodiak’s former deputy city manager, Matthew Van Daele. “We want to make sure everything was done with fairness and protocol and procedure. And, so that’s why we’ve called for this.” …

Former deputy city manager Matt Van Daele says he’s proud of his time working for the City of Kodiak. (Photo by Kayla Desroches / KMXT) Mitch Borden/KMXT The City of Kodiak recently fired its deputy city manager, Matthew Van Daele. According to Van Daele, when he got to work last Thursday (5/03) he was notified of his termination, which took …

Matt Van Daele. Kayla Desroches / KMXT Kayla Desroches/KMXT A Kodiak Island Borough Assemblyman is joining the Kodiak City staff. Kodiak-born Matt Van Daele will work alongside city manager Mike Tvenge as deputy city manager. Van Daele speaks passionately about the Kodiak community. He says he’s always envied his dad, Larry Van Daele, for the 30 plus years he spent …

Black plastic bag. Christer / Flickr Kayla Desroches/KMXT The Kodiak Island Borough Assembly is making a possible ban on single-use plastic bags an open conversation with the Kodiak City Council from the get-go. The borough’s Solid Waste Advisory Board has been working on the ban. SWAB has so far drafted an ordinance, consulted the borough attorney, and sent a representative …

Kayla Desroches/KMXT The right of neighbors to give input on private property came up at the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly regular meeting last night. Since last year, the assembly has been working on an ordinance that would permit accessory dwelling units in certain residential districts. ADUs are living areas with their own kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, and entrance that are located …