The ongoing revisions to the city’s mining ordinance are headed to the City and Borough of Juneau’s Planning Commission — the CBJ Committee of the Whole unanimously approved changes to the document at its work session at Assembly Chambers Monday.

The changes in the memo have not officially been made, according to City Attorney Amy Mead. In the memo, Mead said “The (Mining) Committee also approved my request that I be authorized to review the the reclamation and financial warranty sections for the purpose of bringing forward proposed changes designed to better mesh our code with state and federal law.”

The action made by the Committee of the Whole Monday allows Mead to proceed with those actions before bringing them to the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission handles any changes made to Title 49, the city’s ordinance for developmental permitting. Once it is approved there, it will be sent back to the COW.

“We want to make sure we aren’t trying to regulate something we are not able to,” Mead said.

The mining ordinance has been a major topic of discussion since it was brought forward by the CBJ Mining Subcommittee to Mead to make minor changes at its Jan. 25 meeting. Mead has contributed changes on Feb. 8 and March 12 — most of which were done to clarify wording and were included in Mead’s memo for Monday.

Assembly member Jesse Kiehl commended the Mining Subcommittee for its work.

“I would like to give a word of thanks to the Mining Committee for a lot of hard work and getting diverse output from the community,” Kiehl said.

Guy Archibald, staff scientist at Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, said while the process is still ongoing, he likes where it stands right now.

“I am happy with the decision,” Archibald said in a phone interview with the Empire Tuesday morning, “but it is still in a state of flux.”

Archibald said he hopes the revised ordinance not only has longevity, but also sees improvement.

“I hope we are not doing this all over again in five years,” he said. “If they are going to open up the ordinance, there is a chance to make it even better.”

Denny DeWitt, Executive Director of First Things First Alaska Foundation, said that because of the natural progress of the ordinance getting through, he and others who have supported more changes to the ordinance will get to share their opinions with the Assembly.

“We still think there is work in editing that needs to be done,” DeWitt said in phone interview with the Empire Tuesday. “There will be public comment time and we will be there for that.”

City agrees to further discussions between CBJ and Juneau Arts

The Committee of the Whole also moved to allow the city to proceed with further discussions with the Juneau Arts & Humanities Council on the day-to-day management of Centennial Hall.

If an agreement were reached, it would last for five years with possibilities of renewals thereafter. The CBJ would have oversight of operational plans, budget, the facility and governance while daily operations would be handled by the JAHC.

While the motion did pass, it did not come without some questioning.

Assembly member Mary Becker wanted to know, with an agreement, if there would be any priority in who could have first-rights — or priority of the building.

Deputy Manager Mila Cosgrove responded that there will be policies on that issue.

“It is a little bit of a balancing act in terms of scheduling,” Cosgrove said.

Mayor Ken Koelsch said he has heard complaints about the management at Centennial Hall. Koelsch wanted to know if the management would stay the same or would the JAHC implement a new management structure and start from “ground zero.”

“I think it will be a little bit of both,” Cosgrove answered.

City Manager Rorie Watt also agreed that terms will take some time.

“It is a work in progress,” Watt said. “I have some trepidation on it. I am sure there will be probably a few bumps and dips early but they will be resolved.”

Alaska Legacy Partners recommended to purchase Hurlock property

Alaska Legacy Partners, Inc. was recommended to be the choice picked to buy the 9290 Hurlock Ave. vacancy by a 5-2 vote — besting Gehring Nursery. City staff will need to draw up an ordinance to give to the Assembly for approval.

Alaska Legacy plans to put in a 16- to 18-bed senior living facility and submitted plans to have the facility up and running on Feb. 1, 2019.

Watt said he believed while both entities present the city good options, the proposal sent in by Alaska Legacy was better in terms of succeeding in the long-term.

“Alaska Legacy’s proposal has more economic meat,” Watt said. “Their budget is more thought out and more likely to be successful.”

Kiehl, who was one of the dissenting votes, said he would have rather the city pick Gehring Nursery because of the need for childcare services.

“I think we trying to decide between two goods,” Kiehl said. “I think pursuing childcare helps keep one part of community from going backwards.”

Assembly member Loren Jones voted against the sale because he would rather the city do a straight-up sale of the property. If that were the case, the land would be for sale at fair market value and a sealed competitive bid process will be held.

“I think we should just do an outright sale of the property and be done with it,” Jones said. “I know I will be in the minority tonight and that will be fine.”

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• Contact reporter Gregory Philson at gphilson@juneauempire.com or call at 523-2265. Follow him on Twitter at @GTPhilson.

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