NOTN- Juneau officials are asking residents to weigh in on how millions of dollars collected from cruise ship passengers should be spent in the coming year.
The City and Borough of Juneau has released draft recommendations for allocating Marine Passenger Fee revenue and is accepting public comments through May 3.
Each cruise visitor to Juneau pays $13 in fees, which must be used for projects that support the tourism industry or address its impacts on the community.
“Really what people need to know is we get $13 per passenger, and that these funds are restricted on how they can be used.” Said Tourism Manager Alex Pierce, “Every year I get messages that are like, ‘how come we can’t spend this money on my street in the valley, busses drive on it, and it needs to be repaved, and I want to spend passenger fees there.’ The funds are actually restricted by the US Constitution. So under the US Constitution, the fees have to serve the vessel itself. That gets a little bit complicated when you get into human cargo. So we’ve always kind of had a push pull with where and how we can spend this money.”
City officials say the current proposal would allocate about $24.5 million across operating, grant and capital projects.
Recommended spending includes funding to offset increased demand on city services such as police, fire and emergency response, along with street maintenance, parks and expanded bus service during the busy cruise season.
Other proposed projects focus on infrastructure improvements in downtown Juneau, including upgrades to the water system, expansion of public Wi-Fi, maintenance and extension of the seawalk, and additional public restrooms.
All comments received by the May 3 deadline will be reviewed alongside the draft recommendations before being sent to the Assembly Finance Committee on May 6. The plan will then move to the full Assembly for consideration as part of the city’s upcoming budget process.
Residents can submit comments by email or mail to the city manager’s office.
NOTN- The City and Borough of Juneau is scrapping its participation in the long-planned gondola project at Eaglecrest ski area after costs ballooned from single-digit millions to an estimated $37 million, leaving the city on the hook to repay Goldbelt during an already tight budget season.
Finance Committee Chair Christine Woll said the Juneau Assembly voted Wednesday night to move forward with pulling out of its agreement with Goldbelt, which had helped finance the project. The city expects to repay about $12 million that Goldbelt invested, roughly $9 million of which has already been spent.
“We knew that increases at Eaglecrest were going to be significant over time, just because of aging infrastructure, and we knew that the public tax dollars probably couldn’t sustain paying for those increases at Eaglecrest.” Woll said, “So the vision was that by installing a gondola that could help take advantage of summer revenue from our visitor industry, we could provide a more reliable, non-taxpayer dollar-funded income stream at Eaglecrest, but for a price tag that big, it no longer becomes something that the city has funds to invest in.”
The gondola was originally projected to cost about $7 million, later revised to around $9 million when the city and Goldbelt signed their deal, Woll said. The latest estimate, about $37 million to install, pushed the project far beyond affordability for the City.
“It’s just terrible, what a waste of money, but we’re gonna have to figure out how to pay it back.” Woll said.
The decision to cancel the project now leaves Eaglecrest in a precarious financial position. Its future budgets had assumed new income from gondola operations during the summer months.
Woll said the Assembly has directed Eaglecrest to return with a much-reduced operating budget that fits within the traditional taxpayer subsidy the ski area receives.
The gondola reversal comes as Juneau is just beginning to create it’s annual budget for FY 27.
“Ultimately, the assembly is going to have to make some hard decisions about service reductions. We’re aiming to make about $2 million more in cuts before June, when we have to pass the budget.” Said Woll.
Tuesday morning press briefing with City Officials and the Army Corp of Engineers.
NOTN- Juneau is hosting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers this week as the community presses for answers on long-term protections against glacial lake outburst flooding.
Mayor Beth Weldon said the Corps arrived in Juneau Monday afternoon, taking a helicopter tour to inspect the basin area and visiting the city’s HESCO barrier installations before holding formal meetings today.
At a Committee of the Whole meeting in February, City and Borough of Juneau leaders detailed new modeling that shows a worst-case glacial lake outburst flood could send an estimated 118,000 cubic feet per second of water down the Mendenhall River, far beyond anything the city has experienced.
Maps presented at the meeting showed that a maximum event could push water beyond the Central valley, crossing Riverside Drive and Mendenhall Loop Road, affecting neighborhoods on both sides of the river.
Scientists from the University of Alaska Southeast, the National Weather Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and Tribal representatives from Tlingit and Haida identified a “lake tap” of Suicide Basin as the preferred enduring solution.
During a press conference this morning, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers leaders outlined plans to expand and reinforce temporary flood barriers along the Mendenhall River while continuing to study more permanent solutions to GLOFs.
“We’re here today because we wanted to make sure that we are in tight, close communication with the local government here, ahead of the 2026 glacial outburst flood that we expect.” Said Assistant Secretary of the Army Office for Civil Works, “This is something that when I was a nominee for this position and going through Senate confirmation, Senator Sullivan called me into his office, and he very effectively impressed upon me the criticality of this issue to this community. Every time I’ve spoken about this publicly, including in a public hearing in September, and most recently in a public hearing last month, I’ve said we have to look at this short term, medium term and long term. And I’ve consistently conveyed that from the very first time I’ve ever spoken about this issue until now, short term, medium and long term. And we’ve had an outstanding discussion this morning with our Senate offices, local community leaders, and then all four levels of our Corps of Engineers organization to make sure that we’re all on the same page in terms of what we’re doing to address this challenge. And so we’ll get into some of that as the questions come but that’s really the reason we’re here.”
Officials said immediate work for 2026 includes raising existing HESCO barriers by 1 to 2 feet and extending the system by roughly 4 to 4.5 miles along both sides of the river, officials also the Corp is adding more armoring along the riverbanks and deploying pumps and technical experts to manage any water that gets behind the barriers.
Telle also mentioned a ‘Medium’ term solution, and here is what he said when asked the clarify.
“In the medium term, we’re looking at more permanent and more survivable barriers that can be implemented, as well as continuing to look at potential channel modifications. Those are all on the turn on the table for the short, medium term, we’re obviously continuing to look at long term options that will require significant technical analysis and engineering. We’re getting down that path every single day.” He said, “In my view, we can’t wait a decade to deliver, or six years, or 15 years, we can’t wait that long to deliver results for the citizens in this community, and so we’re tackling short medium with the same aggression that we’re tackling long.”
Those potential channel modifications could look like dredging or reshaping.
“There’s been conversation within the community for years about straightening the channel. This can be done relatively quickly and for low cost. The question is, does that straightening actually just move the risk to a different part of the community? And so we want to be very careful about that. We’ve got extensive modeling underway right now.” Telle said.
The long-term solution remains under study.
“This is, I’ll just say, glacial outburst flooding is a unique challenge here in Juneau. This phenomenon that we have here is unique to the Corps of Engineers entire portfolio. I think with that uniqueness comes a lot of uncertainty from an engineering and technical perspective, and we’re trying to really reduce that uncertainty as fast as we can.” Telle said.
Telle said that among the “big universe of options” for a long-term solution, a tunnel or lake tap “at this moment appears to be the most viable technically” Still, he emphasized that no option has been taken off the table and that significant technical and cost uncertainties remain.
When asked by The Juneau Independent’s Mark Sabbatini what had changed since last month’s announcement suggesting the Army Corps had “pulled back” from the lake tap solution, officials said their position had remained consistent, saying “nothing has changed other than the reporting.”
“That’s one of the reasons we appreciate the Secretary and the Generals and the Colonel for coming here face to face.” Said Mayor Beth Weldon, “There’s not going to be a miscommunication problem at all. We appreciate their enthusiasm and dedication to a short, medium and long term solution.”
“You know, the HESCO barriers are exactly what needed to happen. They showed they were, but they also showed they were just a triage method.” Said President Richard J. Peterson of Tlingit and Haida, “We’re trying to make sure we come together. We had a charrette last year, we came together all unanimously on an enduring solution, but in the meantime, they have to do their job and look at all solutions. And I think that might have been where the miscommunication came in. It wasn’t pivoting away from this, but the messaging was, ‘we’re doing our due diligence to look at everything’. We have to turn to them. And this meeting was that opportunity for us to understand where we’re at.”
Authorities say they are mindful of the clock the community is under, and said coordination between federal agencies, the City and Borough of Juneau and tribal partners will continue as preparations accelerate in the months ahead.
And for those wondering, despite our recent poor weather, work on flood-protection infrastructure has continued.
Brotherhood Bridge has officially closed starting today for installation of Phase 2 HESCO barriers.
NOTN-The results are in, residents in Juneau have been helping shape the capital city’s long-term future at “Juneau Futures” workshops and with a community survey.
“Juneau’s had Comprehensive Plans on the books for decades, since the 1900s, so it’s basically a big picture guide that helps us decide where and how to develop, usually, over the next 20 to 30 years.” Said Senior Planner Minta Montalbo, “I think it’s important to keep in mind that the Comprehensive Plan reflects community priorities, and it connects our values and goals with CBJ decision makers, with policies and actions. It’s like a reference point for decisions on how to best use our land and where to focus our resources.”
The effort is part of the “Our Juneau, Our Future” comprehensive plan update, which gathered input through 14 in-person workshops and an online survey aimed at guiding development in Juneau over the next 20 years.
The workshops asked residents 3 major questions, Where should Juneau grow? What does Juneau need to do to prepare for the future? And how should Juneau grow?
According to findings released by CBJ, participants outlined several approaches for where that growth should happen. Many supported investing in central areas like downtown Juneau and Lemon Creek.
Quotes in italics will be pulled directly from CBJ’s results.
Downtown Juneau and Lemon Creek were popular development areas with many participants expressing interest in building activity in and around central Juneau.
Others prioritized established neighborhoods such as the Mendenhall Valley, emphasizing investment near current residents.
Investments should focus on infill and areas with existing infrastructure.
Additional support emerged for developing multiple hubs, including Auke Bay, seen by some as an alternative community center, others pointed to North Douglas as a next step for expansion due to its available land.
North Douglas is the next logical step for development in the next 20 years, and then we can focus on West Douglas.
Across all responses, one issue stood out: housing.
Participants consistently identified it as the community’s top priority, even noting that “everything connects to housing.”
Housing was the most important issue for many participants. While approaches differed, it is clear that Juneau needs more housing solutions.
Respondents also stressed the importance of protecting neighborhoods from natural hazards like flooding and avalanches, and called for diversifying Juneau’s economy beyond tourism.
“Folks are focused mainly on flooding and protecting the homes in the valley, but we’re also hearing renewed discussion about landslide dangers and avalanches, so we’re going to want to be looking at that in the new comp plan.” Montalbo said, “Not surprisingly, housing for all definitely remains a huge priority, and when we’re talking about housing, housing options that suit a variety of needs. And then I think the third biggest category is economic diversification. Again, not a new topic, but we’re hearing a lot of concern about trying to strengthen year round industries, and find a balanced approach to tourism. We want to recognize the economic contribution, but people are also asking that we care for Juneau’s unique small town characteristics at the same time.”
Once participants had decided how Juneau should grow, they were asked to see how their scenario would hold up against future conditions, such as potential increase or decrease in tourism, funding, and natural hazards.
Participants said they expect tourism to increase, while state and federal funding may decline and natural hazards may become more severe.
In workshop scenarios, residents adjusted their priorities accordingly, shifting resources toward housing, hazard mitigation, and economic resilience when faced with those challenges, notably when faced with a decrease in federal funds, participants primarily divested from Remote Area Infrastructure and Waterfront Development, viewing them as non-essential “luxuries” without federal support.
According to the findings particpants felt, “no matter the strategy, growth should consider existing investment, current residents, housing needs, and hazard risk.”
NOTN- The Assembly debated the future of 155 Heritage Way, the city’s current City Hall, and voted last night to send the ordinance to the full Assembly for public hearing and back to committee for further refinement.
City staff recommended selling the building by sealed bid with a $2.5 million minimum.
“The intent of bringing the disposal of City Hall to you well in advance of moving into the (new) municipal building or the Burns building, is we acknowledge that this conversation could take some time and even a sealed bid process, which is relatively straightforward, will take about nine months.” Said City Manager Katie Koester.
Members were split over whether to require an appraisal before sale, with some arguing an appraisal would provide necessary valuation confidence.
“To me, we have a duty. This project to move City Hall has been very expensive, more expensive than we would have ever wanted, and the public is not happy about it.” Said Christine Woll, “I do feel like we have a responsibility to get at least fair market value for this property. That being said, I don’t think we need to get the highest amount that we could get out of this, because I think that will come at an expense to our other goals. This is our downtown core and our waterfront, and we hear all the time from people who want to make sure this space stays year round in nature. So I think if we don’t design a process that allows us some control, not all the control in the world, but a bit more control to make sure that it goes somewhere that supports other community goals and is more year round in orientation.”
Others said it would add cost and delay.
“I would disagree with getting an appraiser, I think that’s spending money we don’t have to. If Huna Totem dock goes in, this is going to be a really valuable piece of property, and I think 2.5 will be nothing to what we can get for it.” Said Mayor Beth Weldon, “I probably have a couple minor little conditions to put on it, but not major ones. And my minor would be, just to give people food for thought, no jewelry stores, and a portion of the building would have to be year round. But everybody has to keep in mind that we can sell it like this, and then that person who bought it could turn around and sell it and have no conditions on it. So we just want to be careful. And I, like Ms. Woll, would like to get as much money as we can from the building.”
Several members urged sale conditions to protect downtown character, which is most commonly a requirement for year‑round occupancy of some portion of the site.
“Thank you, Mr. Chair. I also would resonate that I’m not particularly interested in doing the assessment, but it’s for a different reason.” said Nano Brooks, “Just a few years ago, we spent a lot of taxpayer money doing a campaign on why we need the new building, and plenty of data and figures came out from that campaign that this building was worth around $3 to $5 million and needed 14 million in deferred maintenance, therefore rendering it worthless. We all know that the land is extremely valuable, extremely desirable, but to say we’re selling a building I think, isn’t the most transparent and upfront, and we already did spend a lot of money figuring that information out that we put out there to the public. We need to find money where it can be found. But doing what’s right by the public takes the precedence too. So as far as the stipulations or requirements, I think, like the others were saying, having a preference for someone interested in year round operations, and then, if possible, having preference for a local purchase or two.”
Staff told the committee the $2.5 million minimum was set after consulting the assessor, and estimated a commercial appraisal would cost roughly $15,000–$20,000 if the Assembly opted for one.
Officials said the city will return with options on sale method, minimums and possible conditions at the next assembly meeting where the issue of City Hall will be brought to the public.
Monday night’s assembly meeting, as seen on CBJ’s livestream
NOTN- Packed public testimony at a Juneau Assembly meeting Monday showcased public tensions over the city’s budget, flooding, and looming cuts.
The public comment period stretched nearly 2 hours before the assembly could continue its regular agenda.
While much of the evenings testimony focused on budget pressures and big upcoming projects, one resident voiced their gratitude to the assembly for holding public comment saying, “I wanted to take the opportunity to say thank you to the assembly and to say that, you look at any scale of global events, down to national events, down to local events, there’s a lot to be fearful of and a lot to be anxious about. That being said, it’s too easy to displace that on, what you can yell at your local assembly.” Testifiers said social media can further exacerbate tensions, “Huge thanks to you guys, I know you have tons of stuff on your plate, and I know that it seems like you can’t catch a break, because I feel like, if it’s not one thing, it’s another.”
Multiple residents demanded the city halt or delay demolition of historic homes on city owned Telephone Hill, which the city hopes to redevelop for potentially, over 150 housing units.
“The CBJ is facing a $10 to $12 million budget shortfall. This will affect everyone in Juneau. It doesn’t make sense to spend $5.5 million on the discretionary demolition of Telephone Hill when there are so many pressing municipal needs.” Said Maureen Conerton, “Many Juneau residents have valid concerns and have testified against this project. including a former administrator, judge, an architect, a retired project manager, in addition to the more than 1000 Juneau residents who signed the Stop the Bulldozers Petition that was presented to you last fall.”
Juneau currently has a housing shortage. In an assembly meeting at the end of February, Finance Chair Christine Woll noted that demand is sure to rise with the arrival of Coast Guard personnel in the coming years.
Some speakers said they support building more housing in Juneau, especially downtown, but oppose the current Telephone Hill plan.
Others voiced concern for escalating cost estimates for the gondola project at Eaglecrest Ski Area, saying the price has ballooned far beyond early figures.
“I disagree with what’s been said about social media, I mean, that is the way a lot of people on short notice communicate.” Said Shannan Greene, she mentioned comments in articles by KTOO and the Juneau Independent and encouraged the Assembly to view them as public testimony as well, “This is an example of informal but honest public testimony from your everyday citizens. These are the people who are growing increasingly frustrated with your decisions.”
Residents spoke on flooding in the Mendenhall Valley and said the city has been too slow to address recurring flooding and erosion.
“Residents in the valley are left dealing with flooding, higher costs and the feeling that our concerns are always pushed down the list.” Said Amy Miller, “It isn’t frustrating, it’s driving people away. I’ll be honest with you, myself and many of my friends and neighbors are actively planning to leave Juneau as soon as we can, not because we don’t love this community we do, but because we no longer feel like the city is working for the people who live here, if the city continues to treat the valley’s flooding as a problem to study instead of a problem to solve.”
The Army Corps of Engineers recently, and without explicit reason, pulled back from pursuing the Lake Tap enduring solution, which had its own federal timeline.
The project was endorsed by Tlingit and Haida, the USDA Forest Service and Alaska’s Delegation, city leaders have been ‘Deeply concerned’ about the Army Corp’s shift in priorities.
City Manager Katie Koester said new federal discussions later this month could reshape the city’s strategy.
“We are very much committed to an enduring solution and committed to working on developing and furthering the lake tap.” She said, “We have received great news that Secretary Adam Telle and a large delegation of his high up staff will be traveling to Juneau at the end of this month, and as part of that, we anticipate new information and new strategy.”
Assembly Member Alicia Hughes-Skandijs said because Assembly rules limit speakers to two minutes and do not allow any back-and-forth, some of the most productive conversations happen informally. “You pour out your heart for two minutes, which is a very short time, or you’re trying to identify to someone you’re upset. When we’re in that process, we can ask clarifying questions, but we don’t engage. So the best follow up steps are the conversations that happen in the room, in between, on the breaks, things like that. So I was able to get some contact information and follow up with some folks and I think that happens pretty commonly, that it’s those one on one interactions.”
Concern also came from social service providers, who said potential cuts of up to 30% to city‑supported grants would shrink or shutter essential programs.
Leaders from the Southeast Alaska Food Bank, school counseling programs, the Glory Hall shelter and housing project, youth and senior services, mental health organizations and Alaska Legal Services all reported record demand and rising costs.
“I want to first off, take this opportunity to thank the assembly for the investment that they have made in our organization over the last couple of years. But with that in mind, I want remind you all that we work as social service organizations, many of which are present in the room tonight in partnership with the city. And we’re concerned to hear that the assembly is considering a reduction of investment in the social services block grant, what that would amount to is a reduction in services.” Said Dan Parks, speaking for the Southeast Alaska Food Bank, “I can only speak for our organization, but demand is at record highs. A couple of years ago, when I started with the food bank, we were serving about 300 individuals a week. Now we’re serving about 500 through our public pantry. We’re seeing more and more people slip from what used to be called the middle class into poverty. We also know that hunger doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s an indicator, a canary in the coal mine, if you will, of other social ills.”
They told the Assembly that fewer local dollars would mean fewer meals, beds, and legal and mental health services, pushing more people toward homelessness, emergency rooms and law enforcement.
Hughes-Skandijs said the Assembly welcomes the surge in civic participation, even when emotions run high.
“We welcome, public engagement. We always want more of that.” She said, “We want people to come and talk to their local officials, and we want to know how people are feeling. A room charged with emotion is sometimes going to be because there’s just so much happening. If someone’s brave enough, and we want them to be brave enough,this is where they should be. It’s their local government. And so we want them to get involved.”
This article has been edited to correct the spelling of Shannan Greene’s name and to adjust misleading language on Social Media in early testimony.
NOTN- Leaders of Juneau’s Eaglecrest Ski Area told city officials last night they are facing mounting financial and maintenance challenges, even as they press ahead with plans for a gondola and expanded summer operations to make the resort self-sustaining.
Meeting jointly with the Juneau Assembly, Eaglecrest board members and managers described aging infrastructure, declining season-pass sales and heavy reliance on city support that now pushes the ski area into a negative fund balance.
Board chair Brandon Cullum said the ski area is still recovering from a string of poor snow years, lift problems and price increases that have shaken public confidence.
“I think that the idea of restoring confidence is key,” Cullum said. “It may not be any one thing, but we’ve lived through a bit of a perfect storm here.”
Eaglcrest officials told the city that Eaglecrest opened 61 days so far this season, compared with 86 budgeted days, and has recorded about 305 inches of snowfall. While recent storms have helped, operations remains vulnerable to the inconsistent weather and equipment failures.
Aging lifts are at the top of the worry list. Many of Eaglecrest’s chairlifts are older models, built by a company that shut down in 2003.
“We’ve worked really hard through the summer, through the fall and even through this winter, things are costing us a little bit more, and we are trying to be mindful and responsible on what we’re focusing on.” Said Acting general manager Erin Lupro, “We have some aging infrastructure at Eaglecrest, between lifts, buildings, even our parking lot with those fun little dips that you experience in the upper lot. One of the things that I definitely lose sleep about is the lifts.”
Board member Jim Calvin walked officials through the financial trends, saying season-pass prices have risen sharply in recent years while adult, teen and youth pass sales all declined.
“We would achieve a break-even status in FY 32 or 33 again, under a certain set of assumptions about the gondola being built and being online.” Calvin said
Offcials said the ski area’s long-term strategy hinges the gondola and developing summer attractions aimed at Juneau’s roughly 2 million annual visitors, most of them cruise passengers. He said, expanded summer business could eventually eliminate the ski area’s need for general fund subsidies.
Until then, Eagle Crest is drawing heavily on city support.
Staffing is another challenge.
Officials said the mountain has the equivalent of just over seven full-time positions vacant, representing about 22 individual jobs, including three year-round posts.
The looming decision, board members acknowledged, is what happens if the city decides not to proceed with the gondola, or no longer allows Eagle Crest to operate with a negative fund balance.
“With the maintenance requirements, with our operating cost, with revenue where we anticipate it to be, to not carry a negative fund balance not only hobbles our ability to position ourselves for summer operations, but it hobbles our ability to contemplate winter operations,” Cullum said. “It’s definitely a question of whether we could continue to operate.”
Board members said they will provide the Assembly with a prioritized capital project list and are seeking to hire a professional mountain recreation planner to craft a detailed strategic and business plan for Eaglecrest’s future.
The Assembly is scheduled to receive a separate, in‑depth presentation on the gondola project April 1.
NOTN- Streets, schools and public safety topped the list of community priorities in the results of the recent city budget survey that, according to city leaders drew an unusually high level of public participation.
Mayor Beth Weldon said 4,400 residents responded to the survey.
“Which is quite unusual, and if you think about that, that’s half of what we usually have for voting on elections. So we did have a lot of people interested in telling us what they prioritize.” Weldon said.
According to Weldon, the number one priority identified by respondents was streets, roads and winter maintenance, followed by schools and public safety.
Rounding out the top 10 priorities were water and wastewater services, Bartlett Regional Hospital, recreation facilities, trails, the airport, national disaster response, libraries and museums.
Residents were also surveyed on areas they viewed as lower priorities or potential places to cut.
Tourism management ranked first among programs seen as candidates for reductions.
“The responses were mainly that they thought we should use more of the Marine Passenger fees to do that, rather than general fund fees.” Weldon said.
Other lower-ranked areas included climate and energy efficiency, economic development, housing development and land use planning, recreation facilities, homeless services, libraries and museums, trails, and the port and harbor.
“It was interesting seeing recreation facilities both on priority and where to cut but it totally was generational. The older you were, the less you prioritize recreational facilities.” Said Weldon.
The most popular option for raising or adjusting revenue was through property tax changes, Weldon said, with support “well into the 50%” range.
“It will be pretty tricky to do that, because one of the ballot measures capped our property tax, so we can’t do a lot there for another year or two.” Weldon said.
Weldon said the city is continuing to collect feedback through budget workshops, the final workshop takes place on March 4.
NOTN- Juneau officials are weighing whether to move forward with a federal buyout program for homes on flood‑prone View Drive, after most residents said they can’t afford the required local cost share.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service has identified View Drive as a candidate for its Emergency Watershed Protection buyout program. A preliminary estimate puts the total project cost at about $25 million.
Under the program, the federal government would cover 75% of eligible costs. The remaining 25% must come from non‑federal sources, such as the city, homeowners or other partners. Juneau asked NRCS to waive that local share, but the request was denied.
“After the assembly had some additional discussion at the Finance Committee meeting, they directed staff to to do an informal poll, so it was non-binding, just to get a sense from the residents who live on that road, if they would be willing and interested to participate in this program, if they had to pay the 25% non federal cost share, or if they would not be interested in participating in the program.” Said Director of Engineering Denise Koch.
The city conducted that informal poll of 18 properties on View Drive. 14 responded.
Koch said most homeowners indicated they would not participate if they had to pay the full 25% themselves. Only two said they were interested.
“Most of the respondents said that they would not be interested in participating under those circumstances. There was one property owner that I had listed as unclear, they selected yes and no, and they indicated that they would need more information in order to make an informed decision.” Koch said, “Of the two yeses, one is a property that has been subject to severe and repetitive flooding, the other is a property that is on the high side and has not flooded.”
Because the two interested homes are far apart, Koch said it’s likely NRCS would only approve a buyout for the repeatedly flooded property. That would create an unusual, one‑house project in a program that typically buys out a group of homes.
“A major theme was real disappointment that CBJ would require individual property owners to pay a 25% cost share.” Said Koch, summarizing several responses from the informal ballot and in person conversations, “Some people said that they didn’t have the ability to pay for that 25% cost share. Or if they had that amount of money, they might use it in other ways to protect their homes versus participating in a buyout program.”
On top of the 25% share, the city would also face tens of thousands of dollars per property in non‑reimbursable project management costs, including permitting and technical work. Kocher said the city is already stretched thin and facing a tight federal timeline; participating homeowners would need to be out of their homes before the 2026 glacial outburst flood season.
“What we’re looking for from a staff perspective is to understand from the Assembly, if there’s additional information that that you need in order to help make a decision as to whether CBJ should participate in this program or not. We do have this, essentially, time is of the essence problem again, if we’re going to proceed with this project, we have to get people out of their homes before August of 2026, and that’s really not that that far away.” Koch said.
Assembly members said View Drive residents have found the program details “incredibly confusing,” with multiple meetings, memos, and evolving information about eligibility and costs.
“One of the frustrating things I think about this project is there probably is a solution out there, you could bring partners together, you know, city homeowners, our community, the state nonprofits, there are lots of folks who may want to see this come to fruition, but we don’t have time.” Said Assembly member Christine Woll.
Kocher acknowledged that city staff are “learning as we go” while simultaneously working on other flood mitigation and long‑term enduring solution efforts, including the now‑uncertain lake tap alternative that, if built, was expected to protect all homes along View Drive.
For now, the Assembly has directed staff to hold another neighborhood meeting with View Drive residents, along with a small number of Assembly members. The goal is to explain the program more clearly, answer questions and find out whether there’s enough interest to justify moving ahead with the buyout option at all.
Juneau officials said they were “deeply frustrated” after learning that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has abruptly backed away from pursuing a preferred long-term fix for the catastrophic glacial outburst floods threatening the Mendenhall Valley.
At a Committee of the Whole meeting Monday night, City and Borough of Juneau leaders detailed new modeling that shows a worst-case glacial lake outburst flood could send an estimated 118,000 cubic feet per second of water down the Mendenhall River, far beyond anything the city has experienced.
“So in August of 2023 when we had our first majorly destructive GLOF, that impacted about 30 homes. Then the next year, in the August of 2024 we wound up with a very different type of event. It wasn’t as much of a riverbank erosion event, it was more of an inundation event. It impacted about 300 homes. So just get a sense of that.” Said Director of engineering Denise Koch, “Then in August of 2025 we had an even more severe GLOF. The HESCO barriers were largely successful in protecting the areas that they were designed to protect. We think without HESCO barriers in 2025, we would have had anywhere from 750 to 1000 homes that would have been impacted. So just to give you a sense of how much more severe each one of these GLOFs is getting.”
Maps presented at the meeting showed that a maximum event could push water beyond the Central valley, crossing Riverside Drive and Mendenhall Loop Road, affecting neighborhoods on both sides of the river.
“We’re talking about a GLOF of this magnitude, if you did not have sufficient mitigation, going beyond what people experienced in 2024 which was terrible in and of itself.” Said Koch, “We’re talking about water also having impacts on the western side of the river, having impacts all the way down, impacting the Mendenhall wastewater treatment plant, having impacts to the airport, a GLOF of this magnitude really gets beyond the Central Valley.”
Scientists from the University of Alaska Southeast, the National Weather Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and Tribal representatives from Tlingit and Haida identified a “lake tap” of Suicide Basin as the preferred enduring solution.
“The lake tap was the most attractive option. It has a very high likelihood of reducing the GLOF risk. It is designed to drain out Suicide Basin at approximately the Basin’s inflow rate.” Said Koch, “There are a lot of assumptions that went into this. A lake tap is essentially a tunnel, there’s a lot of tunnel building capacity in Alaska, It is definitely a technology that is out there and exists.”
The Lake Tap option, the least costly of the long term mitigation efforts discussed, would include construction of a roughly 2.3‑mile tunnel from Suicide Basin to an outfall between Nugget Falls and the face of the Mendenhall Glacier, according to officials.
City Manager Katie Koester said that until recently, CBJ had been told the lake tap was the selected alternative, and that the Army Corps would move quickly toward a technical report on a timeline strongly backed by Sen. Dan Sullivan.
Koester said the city had been in “multiple times a week” coordination with the Corps, but that a couple weeks ago those check ins ceased.
“We were under the impression that it was all going smoothly.” Koester said, “We began inquiring, why haven’t we had a check in a while? Then on Thursday of last week, we had a meeting with Army Corps headquarters where they rescinded all of the direction that they had previously given to pursue a lake tap as the selected alternative. They directed staff to wrap up all efforts on the lake tap as the selected alternative, which included environmental work and feasibility and preliminary engineering.”
Koester described the change as “a really disheartening pivot that left us a little bit speechless,” adding, “I imagine also leaves you speechless.”
“I’m deeply frustrated with this change of course from Army Corps of Engineers. They certainly have been a great partner, really we need them.” Koester said, “We need them to fight the flood fight, to keep this community safe and whole until we can get to an enduring solution.”
According to Koester, Alaska’s delegation, Sen. Murkowski and Sullivan are both committed to an enduring solution, with Sen. Sullivan meeting with the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works on Wednesday.
Koester urged residents to advocate specifically for the lake tap, and to speak as a unified community.
“I think that it certainly doesn’t help our position to have a divided community on what the best option is, because we are asking for so much so quickly.” Koester said, “I’m confident that we are all advocating for a solution. We need to be aligned, and it doesn’t help when we’re unaligned. But we’re not that unaligned. We all, everyone in this room, everyone who has written their delegation and talked to their delegation, wants an enduring solution and wants it quickly, and I have never heard anyone advocate for anything other than that.”
Officials did emphasize however, that HESCO barrier flood protection work is proceeding.
Koester confirmed the Corps has a signed agreement and continues to cover 100% of Phase Two HESCO costs.
