Borough Assembly sets ordinance on High School payments, next step is public hearing

The Kodiak Island Borough Assembly Thursday night moved to advance to public hearing an ordinance that sets out where the borough will get the funds to pay for the debt on the high school.

The assembly passed the current year’s budget before the governor cut 50-percent of the funding for bond debt reimbursement for schools. That leaves the borough about $2.6 million short for this year’s general obligation bond payments.

As written, the funds for the payments would come from the borough’s education support fund and the facilities fund.

The assembly also voted to send a letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service highlighting several concerns assembly members have with a proposed rule regarding Humpback Whale Critical Habitat areas.

If the new rule is approved by NMFS, the assembly fears Kodiak Island would be completely enclosed by Humpback Whale Critical Habitat areas, which could cause problems with everything from fisheries to transportation, and tourism.