KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
An ordinance introduced at last night’s Kodiak Island Borough Assembly meeting had recently reelected assemblyman Mel Stephens up in arms. The offending enactment- drafted and requested by borough Finance Director Karl Short- would repeal sections of an ordinance passed in 2006 that sought to request permission from the State of Alaska to exclude future elected assembly members from participating in the state’s Public Employees Retirement System. The condensed version of Stephens’ argument- which lasted six minutes and endured two point of orders and a request from Borough Mayor Jerome Selby to stay on topic- is that the sections of the ordinance that are being presented for repeal were actually never codified and therefore no action is necessary. Not only that, Stephens says the request to the state was denied.
— (Borough Mtg 1 :15 "I don’t know when it was… ever since 2007.")
The assembly voted 6-1 to move the ordinance ahead. The public can comment on it at the next regular borough meeting.
After the borough manager’s report, Mayor Selby paid respect to Ruth Brechen, a local business owner and community figure, who died yesterday morning at the age of 95.
— (Borough Mtg 2 :25 "Ruth will be remembered… wish her family our condolences.")
The assembly re-elected member Jerrol Friend as deputy presiding officer. The borough reported a 27 percent increase in third-quarter severance tax from fish. The tax totaled $12 million this quarter. He will guide meetings in the event that the borough mayor is absent. Jessica Baswell, an interpretive specialist receptionist at the Kodiak Fisheries Research Center, was named the borough’s employee of the quarter. Seats on the Monashka Bay Road Service Area Board, the Solid Waste Advisory Boards and the Kodiak Workforce Regional Advisory Council were formally announced as vacant. No one showed up or called in to participate during the citizens’ comments period. The meeting ended just shy of 40 minutes.
###
