Katherine Rose

2 weeks ago | kcaw.org | Katherine Rose

Photo KCAW/WoolseySitka’s new boatyard is getting another wave of funding. Tuesday night (6-10-25) the Sitka Assembly approved a $715,000 appropriation that is expected to wrap up the first phase of construction for the city-owned haulout. In 2022, 80 percent of Sitka voters approved an initiative to build a marine haulout using over $8 million dollars from the sale of the Sitka Community Hospital building.

2 weeks ago | kcaw.org | Katherine Rose

The marine haulout at the Gary Paxton Industrial Park has already hauled at least one boat in a practice run, but it still needs some more components before it can open for public use. When the Sitka Assembly meets tonight (6-10-25), it will consider whether to put another $715,000 toward the first phase of haulout construction, which would include over $200,000 to fund a heated washdown pad for the facility. That means it could be used year-round.

3 weeks ago | kcaw.org | Katherine Rose

“Cell tower and a perfect blue sky in the background” by Ivan Radic is licensed under CC BY 2.0.The Sitka Assembly periodically convenes as a Board of Adjustment to hear zoning appeals as a quasi-judicial body. At its meeting on May 29, the group was set to hear an appeal from Tidal Network, the telecommunications service run by the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska.

3 weeks ago | kcaw.org | Katherine Rose

The Sitka Assembly is leaving Lincoln Street open for at least another month. When the assembly met on Thursday (5-29-25), the group agreed that more time was needed before making a decision on whether to bring back street closures on days with high cruise traffic. The city has been closing Lincoln Street several times a week for the last few summers of rapid cruise tourism growth- last year, the street was closed to traffic  on days with over 5000 passengers visiting Sitka.

4 weeks ago | alaskapublic.org | Katherine Rose |Robert Woolsey

Sitka voters have overwhelmingly rejected a ballot measure that would have capped the number of cruise visitors beginning next year. Wednesday’s special election brought out almost 3,000 voters, 73% of whom rejected the proposition. This was the third largest turnout for any municipal election in Sitka since 2018. Sitka Sound Cruise Terminal owner Chris McGraw led the opposition to the proposition.