Introducing CBS News: Your Quarterly Update
Welcome to CBS News, our quarterly newsletter bringing you the latest updates, insightful stories, and important developments from the City and Borough of Sitka. Whether you're a long-time resident or new to the area, this newsletter is your go-to source for news that impacts you and your community. We cover a wide range of topics including city projects, events, public service updates, and more!
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Regular Assembly Meetings are held the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month at 6:00 p.m. in Harrigan Centennial Hall. Agendas and supporting documentation are available at https://sitka.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx or by contacting the Municipal Clerk's Office at City Hall.
Public comment on agenda items and “Persons to be heard” is encouraged and welcomed. Guidelines for citizen participation at Assembly meetings, including public comment, can be found here.
Citizens may provide comment by email, in-person, or by phone.
Email testimony:
To comment by email to the Mayor and Assembly Members on an agenda item, use assembly@cityofsitka.org.
In-person testimony:
There is no sign-up list for in-person testimony. Arrive at the Assembly Chambers at Harrigan Centennial Hall (330 Harbor Drive) before the item you wish to testify on is brought up. At the appropriate time for public participation on each agenda item, the Mayor will invite the public to speak on a first come basis. Please state your full name for the record. You will have 3 minutes to provide testimony. To learn more, read SGC 2.04.130 Public Participation.
Phone testimony:
The deadline to sign up to provide testimony by phone during an Assembly meeting is 5:00 p.m. the day before the meeting. To sign up, call the Municipal Clerk’s Office at 907-747-1826 or email clerk@cityofsitka.org. Be prepared to provide your name, phone number, and indicate which agenda item(s) you wish to provide comment on. For discussion / direction / decision items, citizens are encouraged to sign up for telephonic testimony to have the opportunity to comment if a formal motion is made. When the Assembly reaches your agenda item, the Municipal Clerk will phone you at the number provided. You will have 3 minutes to provide testimony. If you are not available, the Municipal Clerk will move to the next person on the call list. To learn more, read SGC 2.04.186 Telephonic Participation by the Public.
To make your telephonic testimony more effective, please consider the following:
• Mute your radio, television, or the livestream if you are following along. There is a delay, and it may echo, thereby complicating your testimony.
• Do not have your phone on speaker. Speaker phones introduce a myriad of extraneous noise into your testimony.
• Make sure there is limited ambient noise from your location and if on a cell phone make sure you are in a location with good cell service.
• If you have a headset, please use it. Headsets will give a more consistent signal and reduce room noise.
Regular and special Assembly meetings are livestreamed through the City's website and YouTube channel. In addition, regular meetings are aired live on KCAW FM 104.7. To receive Assembly agenda notifications, sign up with GovDelivery on the City website.
For more information, contact the Municipal Clerk's Office at 747-1826 or 747-1811.
Grant applications are available for non-profit organizations to apply for annual funding from the City and Borough of Sitka FY26 General Fund. $45,000 is available for disbursement. Applications are available at City Hall, 100 Lincoln Street, 3rd Floor (Municipal Clerk's Office), and online HERE.
Submit completed applications to the Administrator’s Office by 5:00 p.m. Friday, August 15, 2025. Applications received after the time fixed for receipt will not be considered. Applications will be awarded in September at an Assembly Special Meeting.
For more information, contact the Municipal Clerk’s office at 907.747.1826 or clerk@cityofsitka.org.
🛫 Step Up, Sitka! First Ride Contest
Are you a Sitka student grade K-5 with a big imagination (and maybe a love for airports)? 🖍✍️
Enter our kids’ contest for a chance to be a part of the first ride on the new airport escalator!
🎨 Draw a picture or write a short story about escalators, airports, or travel
🎒 Open to grades K–5
📅 Submit by July 31
🏆 Winner rides first + gets recognized at the grand opening August 9!
Sitka’s brand-new airport terminal addition is nearly ready and the community’s very first airport escalator will soon be moving people up and down! Although there are several phases of this project left to complete, we want to celebrate this special milestone. A Ribbon Cutting & Terminal Open House is planned for August 16 at 3:00 p.m.
For the fun part: Kids (k-5) in Sitka are invited to help mark the occasion by entering the Airport Escalator Essay & Art Contest!
Students can write a short story, draw a picture, or both, on one of these fun topics:
Contest winners will be among the very first to ride the new escalator during the ribbon cutting event!
Entries are due by July 31, 2025. Submissions can be dropped off or mailed to: City Hall, 100 Lincoln Street, Sitka, AK 99835, OR emailed to Melissa.Wileman@CityofSitka.org.
Click here to visit the Gary Paxton Industrial Park Haul Out and Ship Yard Project page
3/11/2025 - The Travel Lift is on it's way! Below is a picture of it being assembled at the manufacturer prior to shipping it out to it's new home of SITKA.
December2024 Pilings going in
Below is the GPIP Haul Out Groundbreaking November 8, 2024
At the Assembly meeting on July 25 at 6:00 p.m. in Harrigan Centennial Hall, the Assembly approved Concept Design #4. Agenda and packet materials.
A June 2023 presentation on the project can be found by visiting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjPVCVTy5Lo
For more information on the project, ways to comment, and supporting documents visit: https://www.cityofsitka.com/departments/PublicWorks/GPIPHaulOut
Municipal Administrator John Leach gave his presentation to the Greater Sitka Chamber of Commerce of the State of the City on January 22, 2025. The annual report comprised of milestones of our Strategic Plan, statistics, and outlined future commitments. 2024 CBS Annual Report
Past Annual Reports:
Report presented to the Greater Sitka Chamber of Commerce on January 24, 2024: 2023 CBS Annual Report
Report presented to the Greater Sitka Chamber of Commerce on January 23, 2023: FY2022 Annual Report
Report presented to the Greater Sitka Chamber of Commerce on January 26, 2022 by John Leach, Municipal Administrator. Annual Report. Talking points that accompany Annual Report Presentation. Talking Points
Sitka Strategic Plan 2022-2027 Updated November 2024
A strategic plan acts as a compass. It helps our organization focus on a set of shared goals and guide it toward achieving them. The strategic plan provides defined goals and actions rooted in community-identified priorities and informed by an understanding of current trends, along with an action plan and key performance indicators to measure progress over time. Furthermore, it fosters a culture of strategic management for the organization by serving as a resource to guide both long-term planning as well as daily decisions concerning the organization's delivery of services and the community's future.
Click to get the latest information on the following projects:
Lake-Hirst and Monastery-Kinkead Project
SIT Airport Terminal Improvement Project
Thomsen Harbor Lift Station (updated 04/03/2024)
