Ketchikan Assembly OKs beach bond vote

KETCHIKAN - The Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly will let voters decide in October whether to purchase South Point Higgins Beach.

A bond ordinance would allow the borough to purchase the beach for $1.17 million from the Alaska Mental Health Trust Land Office.

The vote also directed staff to prepare ordinances to set up a fund to acquire and maintain public beaches.

During public comments before Monday's vote, Evan Bolling said there was no reason the borough couldn't invest in a beach for $1.7 million, because it was the wish of the people.

Bolling says it's a rarity that people in every generation agree on something, but "the elders and the youth agree on this."