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Juneau assembly votes on Eaglecrest and View Drive Buyout program

NOTN- The Juneau Assembly has voted to unwind its controversial gondola deal at Eaglecrest at tonight’s assembly meeting.

Members approved the ordinance to enter negotiations to terminate the revised revenue sharing agreement with Goldbelt and stop the mounting 7% interest charges on the gondola investment.

A follow-up measure, appropriates $12.2 million to repay Goldbelt’s $10 million, plus interest. Both votes passed 8-1, with Assembly Member Nano Brooks in opposition.

Finance Director Christine Woll argued that continuing to delay would only add nearly another $1 million in interest.

“I think we’ve been over where we are with the project and why we can no longer afford to move forward.” She said, “I think we should continue to talk to Goldbelt about the future of Eaglecrest. I think there’s plenty of things that we’ve discussed that could be mutually beneficial in a future partnership, but there is a lot to figure out if that goes forward, and I don’t know why we would do that while there is interest continuing to accumulate. By my math, it would be almost another million dollars if we were to spend a year going down that road, and we would be doing it under duress, because we want to do it quickly.”

The Assembly also took a major step toward buying out the repeatedly flooded homes along View Drive in the Mendenhall Valley.

Members approved $558,000 from the general fund to plan a buyout program with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. The money will pay for backdated appraisals and cost estimates to demolish homes and restore the land to a natural state.

“Each individual homeowner would have a decision to make as to whether or not they would participate in the buyout program.” Said Deputy City Manager Robert Barr, “There would be a real estate transaction that would occur, NRCs would pay 75% of that appraised value of the house. They will also pay 75% It’s a little bit more complicated than that, but in general, they would also pay 75% of the project costs to demolish and return those properties to that natural state.”

Residents could also publicly testify, using their time to warn city leaders against deep cuts to recreation and to question the future of Telephone Hill development.

Public testimony in the hour prior to the passage of terminating the gondola deal, focused on Eaglecrest and the city’s budget shortfall. Supporters called Eaglecrest a cornerstone of Juneau’s livability and a key reason families stay.

“I came to Juneau in 1971 when I was 23. I learned to ski and met my husband at Third Cabin before Eaglecrest. When we had children, skiing became something of a family thing we did on Sundays, because it was much cheaper on Sundays. And Eaglecrest has always been more affordable than any area down south. Our kids grew up skiing, and I really attribute those years at Eaglecrest with helping our children grow up with grit, a love for the outdoors, learning time management when they started traveling with the ski team, and having a sport that helped to create healthy adults.” Said longtime skier and testifier Sharon Denton, “I honestly can’t imagine a winter in Juneau without Eaglecrest. I thank you for funding to keep it going next year, but we have to look further.”

Several speakers also challenged the city’s approach to Telephone Hill.

Larry Talley and Mary Alice McKeen cited the city’s own market analysis, arguing the proposed housing project would require tens of millions in subsidies and a per-unit funding gap far above Juneau’s normal affordable housing support.

“From what I know, the proposed development on Telephone Hill of 155 units with 25 affordable is not financially feasible. The first question in the City Manager’s Telephone FAQ was, ‘why is CBJ moving forward with evictions and building demolition without a developer in place?’ And the answer was, quote, ‘Telephone Hill has been carefully analyzed through the market analysis, and the Assembly has chosen to develop the property.’ She did not cite any specific numbers or pages from that market analysis.” Said McKeen, asking of the RFQ, “How many units will be built if the development plan goes forward as proposed? How many units will be affordable? And the most important question, How much public subsidy will be required? The maximum subsidy in the Juneau Affordable Housing Fund is $50,000 If the gap for this project is greater than $50,000 the project should not go forward.”

Separately, the city is actively working to craft next year’s budget, as well as Eaglcrest’s budget.

The city must finalize the budget by June 15, there will be another opportunity for public testimony on June 8.

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Modeling shows rising long-term flood risk in Mendenhall Valley as HESCO barrier work continues

A drone image shows widespread flooding in the Mendenhall Valley on Tuesday morning. (Image courtesy of Rich Ross)
A drone image shows widespread flooding in the Mendenhall Valley. (Image courtesy of Rich Ross)
A drone image shows widespread flooding in the Mendenhall Valley on Tuesday morning. (Image courtesy of Rich Ross)
A drone image shows widespread flooding in the Mendenhall Valley in 2024. (Image courtesy of Rich Ross)

NOTN- City officials and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers representatives outlined ongoing and proposed flood-mitigation work last night.

The Committee of the Whole work session focused on HESCO barriers and river armoring installed after the series of glacial lake outburst floods in recent years.

Mike Records, the Technical Lead for the Army Corp of Engineers, outlined the hydrology of the system, how the flood water moves.

His presentation estimated flood risk. those estimations will be used to design short, medium and long-term protections.

Engineers discussed “Annual Exceedance Probability” or AEP, which was once referred to as “100 Year Flood.”

This means the chance that a flood of a certain size will happen in any given year. For example, a “1% AEP” flood has a 1% chance of happening each year.

But according to officials, those odds add up over time. Even a rare flood becomes much more likely if you look over many years. A flood with a 1% yearly chance has about a 40% chance of happening at least once over 50 years.

“A 1% annual exceedance probability event would be the equivalent of a 100-year event, there is a low chance of that happening, but over time, those chances compound.” Records said, “The annual exceedance probability events that we developed are peak discharge events that we then used in hydraulic modeling to inform decision making on design. You’ll see that a lot of these events are significantly larger in magnitude than anything that’s been experienced at this point.”

In most places, engineers rely on decades of historical data to estimate flood risk, but in this case, there are only about three years of major data available.

“There’s flooding all over the country, it’s rare that it develops so suddenly like this.” Records said, “So normally, you might have like a 60 year period of record of flood events that you could use to develop your AEPS. In this case, there’s basically three years of full drainage events.”

Because of limited data and a changing environment, there is a lot of uncertainty in these estimates, so engineers are planning for the worst-case scenario.

According to officials, Suicide Basin is expanding. This is because the glacier is melting and retreating, which opens up more space for water to collect. Ice is breaking off (calving), melting, and adding to the lake, so overall the basin can hold more water than it used to. On the other side, the spillway,, the pathway where water drains out beneath or around the glacier, is also changing. As the glacier thins and melts, the outlet is getting lower, which can allow water to start draining sooner.

Cubic-feet-per-second or CFS, is the rate at which water flows. Last year’s flood reached about 50,000 CFS. Officials said work aims to reach a 63,500 CFS flood scenario threshold by mid-July.

Assembly Member Nano Brooks asked Records about the service life of the HESCO barriers, to which Records responded, “They have a warranty of five years. I think that’s primarily for fabric degradation. Of course, those parts can be replaced, but that is kind of the maximum expectation without significant ongoing maintenance.”

Three options were presented for the coming season: the status-quo-plus build, upgrades to protect to 63,500 CFS (the staff recommendation), or a larger, more costly build to protect to 90,000 CFS. According to officials, that type of flood has an 18% chance of occurring in the next 10 years. 

Officials said the 63,500-CFS option would leave an estimated $3 million funding gap and the 90,000-CFS option about $8 million short of current funding. 

The city is pursuing State Revolving Fund assistance that would forgive half the loan and could cover much of the cost if approved.

Ultimately The City and Borough Assembly voted 7-2  to authorize work to reinforce and raise HESCO flood barriers to protect against a 63,500 CFS event ahead of the 2026 flood season .

An ordinance to formalize the appropriation is expected for introduction May 18.

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‘Not to panic’ City Manager prepares public for tough budget talks

NOTN- Juneau’s city manager is urging residents to stay engaged and, not to panic as the Assembly prepares to confront a multimillion-dollar budget shortfall that could reshape what services the city provides.

“I think the message I want for the public is definitely be engaged, because, you know, this is where some of the real conversations start to happen, but not the panic. Because the silver lining to this exercise is we, everyone from staff to the assembly, and hopefully the public is learning a lot more about what our city does and the valuable service we provide and who we provide them for. And we should be doing that level of deep dive in our budget process.” Katie Koester said.

Koester said the Assembly’s Finance Committee will meet today to review $2 million to $4 million in potential service reductions, part of a broader effort to address an estimated $12 million budget gap over the next two years.

“The estimated gap we have is $12 million but we don’t really know that, so the assembly is trying to take a measured approach, over two years. They know that there’s going to be some cuts that impact services, so individually, they came up with $2 -4 million in service productions, and they’re looking at that collated a list (this) evening, so it will be the first time some people see, their favorite services, or their favorite things on a list.” Koester said.

The Juneau Independent has published a story detailing some of those potential cuts which can be read here.

The list of possible cuts will be presented publicly tonight.

She also cautioned against alarm, saying the process has forced the city, the Assembly and hopefully the public to take a deeper look at what the city does, who it serves and what those services are worth.

Koester said the priority is to avoid ‘nickel-and-diming’ every program and ending up with a city that does many things poorly.

“I think what we can not afford to do, and I think the assembly sees this, is to do a lot of things really poorly, right? The assembly is really trying to take a look at what things should we be doing? What things should we not be doing? and making sure that the services that we do provide, we continue to provide well.” She said.

Alongside potential cuts, the Assembly will also examine foregone revenue, areas where the city may not be collecting as much as it could under current policy.

That includes a fresh look at some sales tax exemptions and other practices that may be limiting the city’s ability to raise money without new tax hikes.

“I certainly think the future is bright, with a lot of development, with the coming of the Coast Guard and all of those things, right? We have more people. We have more economic activity that provides more tax revenue for services, more dollars circulating in our economy.” She said, “Those are all good things, because another thing that the assembly is looking at on (today) is foregone revenue. They’re taking a fresh look at just how we do things and why we do things.”

Still, the immediate focus will be on the detailed, sometimes uncomfortable budget work now beginning in public.

The Assembly is expected to continue its budget work in the coming weeks, with more public discussion as members narrow down which services to preserve and where to look for new or previously overlooked revenue before the budget is due in June.

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Phase 1 HESCO Reconstruction and Fortification Work Moves Forward

Photo provided by CBJ following the installation of the HESCO barrier project
Photo provided by CBJ following the installation of the HESCO barrier project

CBJ- As the snow melts, City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ) crews and contractors are now moving quickly to repair, raise and reconstruct the Phase 1 HESCO barrier project ahead of a 2026 glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) event.

CBJ’s Engineering and Public Works department has spent months documenting damage, analyzing impacts and vulnerabilities, and utilizing the latest available hydrologic and hydraulic modeling to develop plans for the reconstruction of existing Phase 1 HESCO barriers. The CBJ Assembly has identified GLOF response, mitigation & preparedness as a top priority. The goal of this ongoing work, done in coordination with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), is to ensure that these flood fighting projects provide as much protection as practicable until a longer-term solution is in place.

The project includes additional bank armoring and raising HESCO barriers to protect Mendenhall Valley residents from future floods up to 90,000 cubic feet per second or approximately a 20-foot lake stage flood. A map showing planned reinforcements and raising of Phase 1 is available at juneau.org.

“The HESCO barriers proved their value in 2025, but we had some close calls, we’ve learned a lot, and we aren’t taking any chances in 2026,” explains CBJ City Manager, Katie Koester. “By doing this major reconstruction work in 2026, we can have confidence in the protection of the HESCO barriers against larger flood events, with less future disruption to residents and lower annual maintenance costs to the community.”  

The 90,000 CFS flow rate represents a 50-year GLOF event and is the number the USACE is using in their evaluation of mid-term flood fighting solutions for Juneau. Constructing to the 50-year event now, instead of annual incremental increases, will reduce future annual costs and minimize annual disruption to property owners. The “50-year event” is a probability-based number that represents the comparatively higher likelihood that a flood of 90,000 CFS may occur. Based on projections, it is possible that the Mendenhall River could experience a 90,000 CFS (20 ft) event within the operational life of the HESCO barriers.
The 2026 Phase 1 reconstruction and fortification will not impact the Local Improvement District (LID) assessments for the original Phase 1 construction. This year’s project is a separate scope that is fully funded by CBJ funding and Alaska Department of Conservation State Revolving Loan funds. CBJ and agency partners are also actively seeking grant funding to support this project.

CBJ project managers have and will continue to coordinate directly with property owners and impacted residents along the Phase 1 and Phase 2 project areas. More information about flood fighting, flood emergency preparedness and the pursuit of an enduring solution is available at bit.ly/CBJGLOF.
In addition to barrier reinforcement and fortification, CBJ is making improvements to drainage and stormwater management in the area. CBJ is coordinating with USACE to acquire over 40 industrial-grade pumps to deploy to strategic staging locations based on  anticipated  water intrusion risks. These pumps will be deployed to serve the community as a whole rather than individual properties. Importantly, they can operate for up to 24 hours do not require refueling during an event, allowing both staff and residents to safely evacuate inundation areas.

Phase 2 HESCO Barriers
USACE – Alaska District, in partnership with CBJ, began the first phases of the Phase 2 HESCO barrier project installation along the Mendenhall River last month. USACE contractor Sealaska Constructors is leading the work. The Advance Measures scope includes riverbank armoring and installation of temporary (HESCO) flood barriers to construct a fortified, complete temporary flood barrier along the unprotected, populated riverbank areas of the Mendenhall River – referred to as Phase 2 – prior to July 15, 2026. For questions about the Phase 2 HESCO Barrier Project, please contact public.affairs3@usace.army.mil.

Safety
CBJ and USACE are on a tight timeline to complete construction before the next GLOF. We ask that the public avoid the construction area for your safety and the safety of workers, residents and property owners, and to allow for efficient and expedient operations.

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Juneau Leaders, Army Corps committed to trio of Short-, Medium- and Long‑Term GLOF solutions

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.

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Survey and workshops highlight resident priorities for Juneau’s future and they’re exactly what you think

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.”

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Sullivan, Juneau officials press Army Corps for long-term fix to Glacial Lake Outburst flooding

A drone image shows widespread flooding in the Mendenhall Valley on Tuesday morning. (Image courtesy of Rich Ross)
A drone image shows widespread flooding in the Mendenhall Valley. (Image courtesy of Rich Ross)
A drone image shows widespread flooding in the Mendenhall Valley on Tuesday morning. (Image courtesy of Rich Ross)
A drone image shows widespread flooding in the Mendenhall Valley. (Image courtesy of Rich Ross)

NOTN- Alaska’s congressional delegation and State and City officials are urging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for clarity and action after the agency abruptly pulled back from the lake tap enduring solution, viewed as the leading option for protecting the Mendenhall Valley from glacial lake outburst flooding long term.

Juneau Sen. Jesse Kiehl said U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan used all of his allotted time, and asked for more, during a U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing last Wednesday to question Army Corps leaders about their lack of clear plans for a permanent solution.

“One of our U.S. senators could have spent time on a lot of Alaska issues, and he spent every minute he had on Juneau’s issue, and I appreciate that kind of work,” Kiehl said.

The Army Corps recently informed local officials it is pivoting away from advancing the lake tap as the identified long-term fix for the glacial lake outburst flooding that has repeatedly damaged homes and infrastructure along the Mendenhall River.

Instead, Corps officials emphasized “robust flood fighting”, emergency-response measures such as HESCO Barriers, while expressing continued, but less defined, interest in long-term mitigation.

City Manager Katie Koester said in a published update, “I want to acknowledge the weight of that update as it threatens the longevity of our entire community. Many of us have invested years of effort, advocacy, and hope into advancing a long-term solution.”

Koester said she is “deeply concerned that all planning and design efforts have been diverted to flood fighting,” leaving uncertainty around an enduring solution.

Since learning of the Corps’ change in direction, Koester said Juneau officials have been in active talks with Alaska’s federal delegation and senior Army leaders.

She met with staff from Sullivan’s office and with Lee Forsgren, the assistant secretary of the Army for civil works, who she said reaffirmed “his commitment to an enduring solution for Juneau,” though it remains unclear what that will be.

Koester said she has also met with staff for U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski.

“I want to emphasize that our delegation remains dedicated advocates for this project and for Juneau. Their engagement has been evidence of that.” Koester wrote.

During Wednesday’s Senate hearing, Sullivan pressed Army officials about the Corps’ reversal, the urgency of the threat and the need for both interim protections and a permanent fix. Senior officials reiterated a commitment to work toward a “durable solution” and agreed to travel to Juneau this spring.

“That visit will be an important opportunity to demonstrate the unique and imminent threat facing our community and to press for clarity on the path forward.” said Koester.

Koester stressed that Juneau is not waiting for federal decisions. The city has submitted a $8 million Congressionally Directed Spending request to fund geotechnical and planning work for the lake tap approach, which she described as the most cost-effective, fastest to implement and least disruptive option for reducing flood risk across the valley.

Kiehl said the Army Corps is “absolutely feeling the need and the pressure from our delegation in Washington, D.C.” but added that locals will keep pressing until a clear long-term plan is back on the table.

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Tough choices ahead on federal buyout for flood‑prone View Drive

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.

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Army Corps abruptly backs away from ‘Lake Tap’ enduring solution for Glacial Lake Outburst Floods

By: Grace Dumas, News of the North

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.

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Juneau Assembly to discuss flood mitigation, Buyout Plan, Telephone Hill and budget survey results

NOTN- The City and Borough of Juneau Assembly is set to tackle several hot button issues at tonight’s Committee of the Whole meeting, including flood mitigation efforts, redevelopment plans and new budget survey results.

According to a release from CBJ, the major focus of the meeting will be long-term solutions for glacial lake outburst flooding in the Mendenhall Valley.

City officials will present updates on a proposed Lake Tap which has been identified as the preferred engineering option following a recent planning session hosted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Engineers estimate that without further mitigation, a future maximum flood event could impact more than 2,800 properties in the valley.

The Assembly will also receive updates on the second phase of the HESCO barrier flood project, and review results of an informal poll of View Drive residents about a voluntary federal buyout program.

City Manager Katie Koester said the buyout option would require a 25% non-federal match, estimated at roughly $6 million if all 18 eligible properties on View Drive participate.

Officials are seeking to determine whether homeowners are interested and whether they could help assemble the local share through private or nonprofit contributions.

City leaders emphasized participation would be voluntary, and the city would not move forward without sufficient interest.

Beyond flood response, the Assembly will hear results from a recent citywide budget priorities survey.

The meeting will also include discussion of next steps for a developer solicitation for Telephone Hill and updates on the ongoing Seawalk project.

City leaders are anticipating a late night tonight.

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