This column has been updated to clarify the definition of Alaska’s Open Meetings Act, which applies to governing bodies, but exempts individuals.
The Open Meetings Act, Alaska Statute 44.62.312 requires that all meetings of a public entity’s governing body be open to the public and that the body provide reasonable notice of its meetings — without taking the sovereignty of the people away, without deciding what is good for the people to know and what is not good for the people to know. The people have the right to be informed and retain control over the instruments they have created.
Rorie Watt, is the city manager and I attest he has clearly violated the above statute because he has not followed the intent of the statute.
The Grand City Hall is not a cost savings.
Rorie says the CBJ spends $800,000 currently for office space. We are talking office space which is in oversupply. Rorie Watt talks of a Grand City Hall. He projects the CBJ will spend in excess of $43 million for new office space. We are talking office space.
A sum of $43 million securitized by our over-assessed property at 5% yields an annual payment of $2.15 million. There is no cost savings.
This is a monument to Rorie Watt and a serious long-term bond obligation around the neck of CBJ. That’s not half the story. If Rorie works his magic as he did with over-assessing our property and uses the same logic, the costs of the Grand City Hall will push its assessed value to an estimated $90 million.
I remind you the people of Juneau are not sheep, are not sleep-walking, and are upset that no town halls, public discussion or public workshops were held. No budget has been presented. Rorie Watt’s modus operandi is “unanimous consent.” That’s how it was at my Board of Equalization hearings and that’s how it was last night at the Assembly meeting. He just takes over the government. I do not get it. How can he manipulate other people to operate CBJ without a civil discussion, pro and con and trample on democratic principles. How can it be that evidence carries no weight in a Rorie Watt administration. How can he get away with such egregious conduct? Somebody is profiting by the Rorie Watt modus operandi and it is not ordinary Juneau citizens.
Does Rori Watt fancy himself a consultant for the Grand City Hall when he enters private life?
Juneau citizens put forward plain speaking ideas that are met with “no comment.” I would make a good point at an Assembly meeting or Board of Equalization hearing and the response was deafening silence or a non-responsive answer and my time dwindled down, down until my presentation was lost. I am not fooled that Rorie Watt holds the keys to Juneau.
A non-partisan watchdog group must monitor CBJ before our local spirit is destroyed, as follows:
Grand City Hall savings: none
Grand City Hall annual financial drain: about $4.5 million.
You know what happens if Juneau cannot pay the interest on the bond obligations? The bondholder goes after the private property in Juneau.
Two Assembly members asked if pro and con positions would be presented in the pamphlet prepared by Rorie Watt for voters.
Rorie Watt answered viewpoints that do not support the Grand City Hall will not be presented to voters.
I heard one Assembly member say in the open public hearing she had discussed Ordinance 2023-31 with Rorie behind closed doors. Another member of the public during a break heard an Assembly member say members had discussed this ordinance behind closed doors.
The influence of Rorie Watt and the Assembly voting in favor of a $50,000 political donation to support a Grand City Hall at best has the appearance of impropriety, is unethical and at worst is unlawful and plain awful.
What if you think the new City Hall is too grand for Juneau or that with repairs, professional interior design and workforce planning the Grand City Hall is not needed?
Non-partisanship must prevail. A sum of $25,000 must be reallocated so both sides of this issue can be heard in a non-partisan manner.
Stop the madness that pushes forward unsustainable practices, stop bullying property owners, stop bullying the public by giving $50,000 to push your agenda. Standard and Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch will not be duped by the city manager or Assembly.
• Greg Adler is a principal in the Goldstein Improvement Co. His family has owned property and conducted business in Juneau since the 1880s. Adler and his family also own a home on Pioneer Avenue in West Juneau. Columns, My Turns and Letters to the Editor represent the view of the author, not the view of the Juneau Empire.
