Juneau Mayor Ken Koelsch will give an update on the state of Juneau’s Indian Point to the City and Borough Lands and Resources Committee meeting in Assembly Chambers at 5 p.m. today.
Indian Point, also known as Auke Cape, is one of the original village sites of the Auk’w Kwáan but has been out of the tribe’s possession for decades. It is located past the ferry terminal, but before Auke Recreation Area, and separates Auke Nu Cove and Indian Cove.
In 2016, Indian Point was added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 2017, a movement has begun to get a portion of the land back to those who originally inhabited it. The City and Borough of Juneau owns roughly two-thirds of the land, and next month, city officials will discuss relinquishing the land.
According to today’s agenda, Koelsch will update the state of Indian Point after his recent communication with Auk’w Kwáan members.
In August of last year, Goldbelt Heritage Foundation Executive Director Dionne Cadiente-Laiti wrote a letter to Koelsch and the CBJ Assembly describing why the city should return the land to the Auk’w Kwáan, but through a loophole. Instead of going directly to the Auk’w Kwáan, the land would go to Goldbelt Heritage, which Cadiente-Laiti wrote, “would welcome being the cultural keeper of Indian Point on behalf of and in concert with the Auk’w Kwáan.”
Goldbelt Heritage is a nonprofit organization committed to fostering and preserving the rich culture, language and stories of the Tlingit.
Committee receiving update on New Juneau Arts and Culture Center development
The CBJ Finance Committee is holding its first meeting since the end of the budget season in Assembly Chambers at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.
On the agenda, the committee will receive information on the planning of the New Juneau Arts and Culture Center (New JACC).
The original projected budget was $26 million. The hope is that groundbreaking starts March 1, 2019. Construction is projected to take approximately 18 months. Finance Committee Chair Jesse Kiehl said in a phone interview with the Empire Friday that there have been some design changes made with the planning of the New JACC. With those changes, the representatives from the New JACC will discuss their plans moving forward. The new changes would add to the projected budgets costs.
“The New JACC wants to keep the Finance Committee in the loop on how their fundraising is going,” Kiehl said. “They also will tell us what they are thinking about doing with those added costs.”
According to New JACC Executive Director Katharine Heumann in an email sent to the Empire, the presentation will involve an “opportunity for the CBJ to invest in this project.”
City hearing update on property at 2nd Street/North Franklin Street
Eagle Rock Ventures LLC, a Seattle-based real estate investment and development firm, which leases the property from the city at Second Street and North Franklin Street, will also give a presentation on its development plans for the lot.
During the CBJ Assembly’s May 14 meeting, an extension of three months was given to the Eagle Rock to continue its work on the site. The stipulation to extending the deal any further was that Eagle Rock provide an update on its plan to the Finance Committee before the Assembly would make a decision. The previous agreement between CBJ and Eagle Rock ended May 18. Eagle Rock has told the city that they have spent more than $80,000 to find an economical, successful workforce development plan and would like to continue working on the site. The property currently used for parking.
• Contact reporter Gregory Philson at gphilson@juneauempire.com or call at 523-2265. Follow him on Twitter at @GTPhilson.
