Police secure airport while city looks for new contractor
Manager expects to dip into reserve funds to pay for officers' work
Police officers have taken over as security guards at Juneau International Airport while the city looks for a new contractor.
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Using police for airport security is estimated to cost the city two and a half times as much as what the airport paid its former contractor, Night Watch Security.
Night Watch ran low on employees and canceled its month-to-month contract to provide the required security, Dave Palmer, airport manager, said.
"They had employee problems," Palmer said. "It wasn't a big contract issue."
Replacing Nightwatch with uniformed police puts a drain on the airport budget. Officers mostly work the airport shifts on voluntary paid overtime, Cindee Brown-Mills, Juneau police spokeswoman, said.
"Even straight time would be twice what we paid Nightwatch," Palmer said. "It's going to have a big impact on the budget."
Palmer said the actual cost was not yet known, but he expected the airport to dip into a reserve fund to cover the additional expense.
Night Watch General Manager Jim Brogdon was not available for comment Thursday.
Palmer said a call for bids to replace Nightwatch brought one viable company, Goldbelt Corp. The airport expects to begin a conversation with the urban Native corporation this week. Palmer said Goldbelt could begin staffing airport security by the first of the year.
• Contact Greg Skinner at 523-258 or greg.skinner@juneauempire.com.