KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
Tuesday night the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly and the Kodiak City Council held a joint meeting. Included on the agenda was a presentation about local government consolidation and the first report from Fisheries Adviser Denby Lloyd. KMXT’s Jennifer Canfield has more.
There was plenty of chatter about consolidation efforts before the start of last night’s meeting. A group of locals led by Donna Hurley have been meeting for a few months now to discuss the possibility of consolidating the city and borough governments to save taxpayers some money. While a scheduled presentation was given by Hurley, not one person spoke about the effort during the public comments period held at the beginning of the meeting. Hurley advocated for the creation of a committee that would study the pros and cons of consolidation and for the local governments to take an active role in considering the matter.
Fisheries Adviser Denby Lloyd gave an hour-long crash course on fisheries’ policy to the council and assembly. He also presented a draft letter addressed to Senator Lisa Murkowski urging her to support increased federal funding for NOAA Fisheries and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. Several programs under NOAA Fisheries would suffer drastic cuts to funding as part of President Barack Obama’s proposed fiscal year 2013 budget. The letter would also be sent to the governor and various state department heads on behalf of the borough and city.
Gary Byrne from the Kodiak Regional Aquaculture Association gave a presentation on lake nutrient enrichment projects in Kodiak. He shared a chart that suggested declines in the Karluk, Frazer and Spidiron lakes over the last ten years.
Ending the nearly three-hour meeting was discussion about the 2012 Kodiak Island Community Reception to be held in Juneau. Newly appointed council member Mark Anthony Vizcocho asked about the dress code when traveling to Juneau on business. City Mayor Pat Branson jokingly responded, "Tails and top hats!"
