In the process of approving its budget for the 2018 Fiscal Year, the City and Borough of Juneau Finance Committee also approved funding for an organization looking into the Juneau Access Project on Wednesday night.
By a 6-3 vote, the committee approved setting aside $20,000 for First Things First Alaska Foundation (FTFAF) to contract a survey to gauge Southeast Alaskans’ views on transportation. In particular, the foundation is looking into the Juneau Access Road — often referred to simply as “The Road” — and other road systems in Southeast Alaska.
Denny DeWitt, the Executive Director of FTFAF, said Thursday that a survey like this could be very valuable.
“We have to have an integrated transportation plan if the ferry system is going to survive,” DeWitt said. “There are several ways to do it, but we think that, what we’ve never done is we’ve never really reached out to Juneau and Southeast in terms of polling or any other kind of real outreach to find out what folks really want to see in terms of a transportation plan and what kind of tradeoffs they’re willing to make.”
Members of the Finance Committee agreed, with the exception of Committee Chair Jesse Kiehl, Loren Jones and Maria Gladziszewski, who voted against it.
During the May 3 Finance Committee meeting, Mayor Ken Koelsch proposed adding this to the committee’s list of additions to the budget, pairing it with a $20,000 contribution to the Southeast Conference in support of the Alaska Marine Highway System. FTFAF then drafted a letter to the Finance Committee explaining its intention, saying that it already has $8,000 to contribute to the survey.
Assembly member Jerry Nankervis proposed the amendment Wednesday to add the FTFAF contribution to the budget, and spoke in favor of the construction of the road.
“I think that one of the goals of this Assembly is to try and promote getting the road out of Juneau,” Nankervis said, “and I know that’s a fairly divisive issue to some, not for me. In that spirit, I think that it was an appropriate motion by the mayor.”
The Assembly passed a resolution in January pledging support for the Juneau Access Project after Gov. Bill Walker cut it from his budget in December. This resolution from the Assembly supports the construction of the East Lynn Canal Highway and asks the state Legislature to continue to maintain funds for the project.
That resolution passed by the same exact vote as Wednesday’s FTFAF vote, with Kiehl, Jones and Gladziszewski voting against it. Kiehl in particular was vocal during the meeting, skeptical that the survey is merely a “push poll,” meant more to build support for the organization’s agenda than to accurately measure public opinion.
“I think if you have a group that’s dedicated to doing transportation project come in and say, ‘We want to do a survey of what transportation projects might meet exactly our arguments and the specific thing we like,’ it sounds to me like you’re not doing a survey,” Kiehl said Thursday morning. “It sounds to me like you’re building your arguments. That’s fine for anybody to do, but probably not to spend tax dollars on.”
DeWitt expects this to be the initial response and is looking forward to seeing what the survey reveals.
“Folks who disagree with you, the first thing they want to do is challenge your intentions,” DeWitt said. “We want a good survey. We’re willing to go ask the people, roll the dice and see what comes back.”
The public will have a chance to weigh in on the survey process, which is still in its initial stages. The June 5 Assembly meeting will be open for public comment, and the Assembly will also be looking to approve the final version of the budget that night. FTFAF has been talking with outside agencies about putting the survey together, but DeWitt isn’t sure exactly will be on there yet.
DeWitt knows that Wednesday’s approval from the Finance Committee is a positive sign for FTFAF, but it’s not official until the Assembly approves it in June.
“This is only a step in the budgetary process,” DeWitt said. “Nobody wrote a check last night.”
• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at alex.mccarthy@juneauempire.com or 523-2271.
The City and Borough of Juneau Finance Committee debates the 2018 Fiscal Year budget late into the night Wednesday. The committee voted to appropriate $20,000 to a survey looking into the Juneau Access Road, among other additions to the budget. (Alex McCarthy | Juneau Empire)
