Assembly Reviews Fall Bear Awareness at Tonight’s Work Session

Jay Barrett/KMXT
The Kodiak Island Borough Assembly is holding a work session tonight, with what looks like a fairly light agenda.
The assembly will discuss a change order for the contract with EMC Engineering for capital construction projects oversight and inspection, and a new contract to rewrite the Kodiak Area Emergency Operations Plan. Both of those will come up for a vote next Thursday at the Assembly’s regular meeting.
There are two topics for discussion, including the opportunity to join City of Kodiak representatives on a tour of composting facilities in Idaho and Washington State. There will also be discussion about preparing for fall when still-hungry bears start roaming closer to homes looking for that one last meal before denning up for the winter.
Kodiak City Manager Aimee Kniaziowski and at least two city council members will be traveling in mid September to tour four composting facilities designed by CH2M-Hill. They are in Moscow, Idaho, Washington State University in Pullman, and then another just outside Spokane. The second day will be spent in Puget Sound, touring the Lenz Earthworks composting system in Stanwood, north of Everett. Each composting plant uses a different method to achieve its goal, and the trip is designed to explore all the options. The city representatives have extended an invitation to the assembly to join them.
The Bear Aware discussion will go over measures used last fall to remind residents that the bears are leaving the salmon streams and will be cruising the neighborhoods looking for easy pickin’s.
The meeting starts at 7:30 tonight in the borough conference room.