KCAW

Students visit the penstock feeding the powerhouse alongside Blue Lake River. (REAP Photo)

The Renewable Energy Alaska Project (REAP) and Sitka’s Parks and Recreation Division are hosting a renewable energy camp in Sitka this summer. Kiera Dent and Adriana Northcutt joined KCAW for the Morning Interview to discuss the camp, which is also a collaboration with the Sustainability Southeast Project and Sitka Conservation Society. Activities include energy audits, hands-on circuit kits, and career pathway discussions with high school and college interns.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bernadette Wilson (pictured here) will host a meet and greet in Ketchikan on Saturday. She’ll be in Sitka on Sunday (7-13-25) and available to the public at Harrigan Centennial Hall from 3-5 p.m. On Monday, she’ll head to Juneau for a luncheon with the Capital City Republicans organization (APM/Stone)

A conservative activist vying to be Alaska’s next governor is touring Southeast this weekend. Bernadette Wilson is an Anchorage business owner, former talk radio host and the great-niece of late Alaska Governor Wally Hickel. She spoke with KCAW about her platform ahead of her visit to Sitka. Wilson hasn’t served in elected office but she has political experience, most recently sponsoring a new campaign to repeal ranked choice voting in Alaska.

She’s a mother of three, and a discussion with her 18-year-old son about opportunities working in other states led her to consider running for office. 

“I don’t want my kids to move. I think that Alaska is the future of the country, with our rich resources, our strategic location on the map,” Wilson said. “But as I look at things that have been going on with our Permanent Fund Dividend, education, our fisheries, it’s clear that it’s time that we get someone in there, in this governor’s seat, that wants to step up and fight for Alaska.”

Wilson said the state of education in Alaska is “dismal.” When asked if she would support future increases to the state’s education funding formula, she said there’s a number she’d support but not necessarily the numbers being discussed. 

“The number that I want to know from the the education bureaucrats, the number that I want is I want someone to tell me a number and then tell me ‘Bernadette, this is what it’s going to take to make us number one,'” she said. “That’s the number that I want to know, and that’s the number that I want to support.”

She’s critical of the state’s approach to the PFD– lawmakers haven’t followed the funding formula since oil prices crashed around a decade ago. Wilson said that needs to change.

“We are the owner state. This is not a welfare program. Alaska residents, whether you are down in Southeast or you’re up north in Fairbanks, it doesn’t matter. We own the resources of this state,” Wilson said. “And I am tired of watching legislators go back to Alaskans and say, ‘Well, we can’t follow a state statute.’ They are breaking the law.”

Like the PFD, Wilson says the ferry system is important for all Alaskans, not just Southeast, and needs to be sustained. 

“If we can’t do it on a federal level, how do we do it on a state level? Are there more ways to make it efficient, more efficient? That is a critical component that we cannot just simply disregard. We need to sit down and have a thorough conversation,” Wilson said.

When asked what she would do to protect and support Alaska’s fisheries, she said the state has to get a handle on trawling. 

“In what world is it still okay to have them raking across the bottom of the ocean floor? We’ve got to have a serious conversation about trawling,” Wilson said. “This is not about the lobbyists coming out of Seattle. This is about sustainability for Alaska fisheries, and we need to start with that incredibly difficult and complex topic.”

Wilson entered the race for the governor’s seat in May along with several other Republican candidates, including former state Senator Click Bishop and Lt. Governor Nancy Dahlstrom. So far, no Democrats have thrown a hat in the ring. Governor Mike Dunleavy’s term ends at the end of next year.

Wilson will host a meet and greet in Ketchikan on Saturday. She’ll be in Sitka on Sunday and available to the public at Harrigan Centennial Hall from 3-5 p.m. On Monday, she’ll head to Juneau for a luncheon with the Capital City Republicans organization.

The Sitka Farmers Market will make its season debut Saturday, July 12. Market Manager Debe Brincefield joined KCAW on the Morning Interview to discuss the market, and why they decided not to hold the event in June due to the particularly cold, rainy season across the region. On Saturday, St. Peters Fellowship Farm and Middle Island Gardens will have fresh produce, and a variety of other vendors will be selling arts and crafts.

The market will take place at the ANB Founders Hall, 235 Katlian Street, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and continue every other week through September. 

2015 ice skating on Swan Lake (KCAW/Hicks)

Geologists studying glacial history and climate changes in the region will be taking samples of Swan Lake this weekend. Elizabeth Thomas, a professor at University at Buffalo, and Jim Baichtal, a southeast Alaska geologist, joined KCAW for the morning interview to discuss the project, which began in 2015. Listen to their conversation here:

The public is invited to meet Thomas and Baichtal and view core samples at Swan Lake this Saturday (7-12-25) at 1 p.m.

This Saturday, Sitkans can learn the art of Cuban salsa dance then show off their steps at a fundraiser for Sitka Cirque and the Baranof Bruins Wrestling Club. Franny Donohoe and Brendan Jones joined KCAW to discuss the event which will feature classes for kids and adults, a Cuban-themed dinner, and live music. Listen to the conversation here:

Tickets are available online at sitkacirque.com.

Moller Field is Sitka’s sole artificial-turf ballfield. (KCAW/McKenney)

Sitka’s athletic facilities could get a major upgrade if a proposal the Sitka Assembly is considering gains traction. Sponsors of the initiative to build a sports and recreation complex have identified funding that could support its construction, but freeing up the money will require a vote of the people to amend the city’s Home Rule Charter. While it’s an exciting proposition for some, others wonder whether it’s the best use of the funds. 

Sitka has one artificial-turf ballfield that was built with state money. Building a new one is a costly endeavor. That’s why assembly members Chris Ystad and Kevin Mosher have proposed that the city take on bond debt to cover construction costs and use the excess revenue from a fund dedicated to the former city-owned hospital to cover payments on those bonds.

Right now, the money is set aside to cover retirement costs for former employees of Sitka Community Hospital, which was sold to the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium in 2019. The fund also takes in money from the tobacco tax, and city staff anticipate in the coming years there will be a surplus.

At the Sitka Assembly meeting on July 8, one member of the public and several assembly members wondered if using that surplus for sports and recreation was the best use of the money.   

Lauren Wild is with the Early Childhood Coalition. She said more than a year ago, they identified the tobacco tax as a possible fund to subsidize child care in Sitka. And while she said she supports youth athletics, she feels let down by the city.

“We’re losing kids primarily due to lack of child care and housing,” Wild said. “This body is working on housing, but shows little interest in childcare. Childcare centers need subsidies to operate if we do not invest in it. Now, you’re not going to have any youth left in this community to use the athletic facilities and recreation facilities you want to build and fix with the Sitka Community Hospital Fund.” 

Mayor Steven Eisenbeisz referenced last year’s State of Sitka’s Economy report, in which local business leaders were asked to rank the importance of issues in creating a vibrant business climate. Childcare and attracting and retaining a workforce aged population topped the list. Recreation was at the bottom.

Eisenbeisz said it’s not that the business community doesn’t want recreational facilities, but that those facilities are already sufficiently serviced. 

“We have many fields, we have pools, we have cabins, we have trails, we have playgrounds, but I don’t think there’s anyone at this table that can say that we have sufficient teachers, daycare facilities, and youth education facilities,” Eisenbeisz said. “I have a child in this community who’s going to be a user of athletic facilities, but I think the critically important task right now outweighs the ‘nicer to have’ task for me.”

Several assembly members said while the issue of childcare is incredibly important, there won’t be enough money in the fund to address an issue that large. And, they said, the money won’t be available for years.

“It’s going to take too long,” said assembly member Ystad. “Childcare needs something now, and this is going to be something where there’s not really a decent amount of funding to really make a good impact with childcare for quite some time. But recreation and athletic facilities, they can wait. It isn’t such an urgent thing. We can plan.” 

Assembly member Mosher agreed with Ystad and said sports and recreation facilities will be a major driver in retaining families in Sitka. 

“That’s a very crucial thing that people are interested in,” he said. “They want their children to have things to do.”

Ultimately, after making several amendments to the initiative, including changing the language in the ordinance from “athletic facility” to “athletic and recreational facility” to broaden the use and funding for the facility, the assembly approved it on a 4-2 vote with assembly member JJ Carlson and Mayor Eisenbeisz opposed. It will consider the item again at its July 22 meeting.

If the assembly approves the initiative, it will go before voters in the municipal election this October.

In other business, Lincoln Street will remain open for the rest of the summer. The Sitka Assembly agreed at its meeting Tuesday to keep the street open for the remainder of the cruise season — a decision in line with the most recent recommendation from the city’s tourism commission. 

“We’ve continued to see an improvement in passenger flows in and out of town,” said Amy Ainslie, Planning and Community Development Director. “We have not had any incidents regarding vehicles and pedestrian interactions. And I think the institution of our pedestrian safety guards here at Harrigan [Centennial Hall] has definitely helped with the jaywalking issue.”

As of July 1, Sitka has experienced 29 days with more than 5,000 cruise passengers this season, according to a city memo.

For the past several years, the city closed the downtown thoroughfare on days with high cruise traffic, but the closure policy saw pushback. So this summer, the city began the season with the street open in a two-month trial run. On Tuesday, the assembly extended that trial run through the end of the summer season.  

Assembly members weighed both the pros and cons of keeping Lincoln Street open for the summer, and expressed a desire to review the data after the season wraps up before making a recommendation for next year.

“I’m really, really impartial on this. I see benefits both ways. I see the pros and cons, and I think that they’re both equally important,” Eisenbeisz said. “The one downside, I will say, of keeping the street open is a traffic flow concern that I’ve seen.”

Judge Amanda Browning swears in Chad Goeden to serve as Sitka’s interim police chief (KCAW Photo)

Chad Goeden has spent 25 years working in law enforcement throughout the state, including seven leading the Alaska State Trooper Academy in Sitka. He retired four years ago, but now he’s donning a blue uniform again, this time as and now he will be Sitka’s interim police chief. KCAW spoke with Goeden after he was sworn in on Thursday (7-3-25).

Chief Chad Goeden will serve in the role until someone is hired on permanently. The city hosted meet and greets with two finalists for the role late last month.

The Brave Heart Bowls fundraiser will take place on Saturday, July 5, at Centennial Hall. (Courtesy of Brave Heart Volunteers)

A local volunteer organization that provides companionship for elders in Sitka is hosting its annual Brave Heart Bowls fundraiser this weekend. Organizers Phyllis Hackett and Liz Zacher joined KCAW on the Morning Interview to discuss the event, which has been going for about two decades and is Brave Heart Volunteers’ biggest fundraiser of the year. It features hundreds of handmade bowls made by local artists, and is a great opportunity to see work from artists that don’t sell their pottery locally. Listen to their conversation here. 

The organization’s annual fundraiser will be held on Saturday, July 5, at Centennial Hall, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Community members can pick a bowl or several to purchase, which are then filled with free soup and bread. Donations support Brave Heart’s operations.

Flier for the Sitka Maritime Heritage Society’s annual July 4 cruise. (Courtesy of SMHS)

The Sitka Maritime Heritage Society’s Keith Nyitray and Rebecca Poulson joined KCAW on the Morning Interview to discuss the society’s annual history and wildlife cruise. The event will feature a naturalist-led wildlife tour around Japonski and Makhnati islands, and discussions of World War II history in Sitka and the war’s impact on the town. Listen to their conversation here:

The cruise departs from Crescent Harbor at 4:30 p.m. on July 4 and returns by 7 p.m. Visit sitkamaritime.org or Old Harbor Books for tickets or more information.

This Sitka resident’s latest utility bill topped $800. That unseasonable spring weather is to blame is cold comfort: Utility rates in Sitka will increase 2-percent beginning this July. (KCAW file photo)

John Leach is Sitka’s municipal administrator. He’s fielded a few calls from residents concerned about unusually high utility bills.

“We haven’t had the warmest spring this year, and May was an unusually cold month,” said Leach. “And we have a rate structure set up where it’s it’s seasonal: We have a lower rate in the wintertime and a higher rate in the summertime, and that’s meant to kind of equalize out that that utility bill throughout the year. And in May, the new seasonal rates kicked in and unfortunately, it was still pretty cold, and people had to run their heaters a lot, so most are experiencing some higher-than-normal utility bills right now.”

Sitka’s electric rate for residential customers jumps from around $.13 to $.22 cents per kilowatt hour every April through September. (And these rates will increase by 2-percent beginning July 1.) The average high temperature for April in Sitka is 50-degrees; the average high for May is 54. This year in April, Sitka hit 50 only nine times. Likewise, in May the daily high temperatures reached 54 only nine times.

Overnight lows dipped into the 30s as late as May 12.

Rate payers noticed the unusually high bills, and a few inquired at City Hall to ask – with thousands of cruise tourists roaming the streets paying sales taxes – why they weren’t seeing a bit of a break. Leach says that’s because the Electric Department, like water and sewer, and garbage are “enterprise funds,” and aren’t financially connected.

“They operate like little mini businesses, and those businesses stand on the fees that people pay for the services,” he said. “ We don’t look to make a profit in any of those businesses. It’s just what do we need to keep that service up and running? Now the difference between our general fund – that’s where sales tax dollars go, that’s where property tax dollars go – those are for general governmental services like your roads, public safety or Police Department, your Fire Department. So you can kind of see how we wouldn’t want to collect fees for electricity and apply that to harbor rates, since there’s unique users in each area, or we don’t want to take electric department rates and give it to the Police Department, right? So we want to make sure that the fund stays healthy.”

Leach says that occasionally the assembly will decide to transfer a surplus in the general fund, to give rate payers a break. Last year, for example, residents all received a $300 credit on their utility bills.

Some Sitkans remain divided on the value of the major expansion of the city’s Blue Lake Hydroelectric project in 2015. At $140 million, some think it was too expensive, others wonder why it hasn’t brought down rates. 

Leach says Blue Lake is holding down rates. Most residents don’t realize what they’d be paying if the project had not been built.

“The dam was necessary to increase capacity,” he said. “As more and more users came onto the system, we just couldn’t keep up anymore. And if this project hadn’t happened, then we would be running diesels and the cost of running those diesels is about $60,000 a day.”

Although warmer weather will probably spare residents from further sticker shock this summer, there is immediate relief for many people already in place. Leach says residents who qualify for any number of services, including free school lunches, food stamps, or Medicaid can apply for Sitka’s utility cost subsidization program, and receive $100 per month off their utility bills.