[2:20] Good evening, Dan. Do you want to do a
mic check?
[2:25] » Good evening. Can you hear me?
>> Yes, we can.
[2:30] » Excellent.
[5:21] Well, that's a positive spin on it. I
know.
[5:24] » So that's appreciated.
[5:32] » I would like to call the uh September
9th, 2026 city council regular meeting
[5:36] to order. Would everyone please stand
and join me in the pledge of allegiance?
[5:40] » I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America and to the
[5:45] republic for which it stands, one nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and
[5:51] justice for all.
[5:56] Will the clerk please call the role?
>> Carrie
[6:00] » present.
>> Chilson
[6:02] » present.
>> Hutchings.
[6:05] » Nelson
>> present.
[6:08] » Parker
>> Wackler
[6:11] » present. You have a quorum, sir.
>> Uh, next item on the agenda is the
[6:14] approval of the agenda and consent
agenda. May I have a motion to approve
[6:17] the agenda and consent agenda? Miss
Hutchings,
[6:20] » I'll make a motion to approve the agenda
and consent agenda.
[6:23] » A second, please.
>> Second.
[6:24] » Thank you, Mr. Carrie.
>> Thank you.
[6:25] » Are there any changes to the agenda or
consent agenda?
[6:30] » Seeing none, would the clerk please read
the consent agenda?
[6:35] » August 12th, 2026, city council meeting
minutes. Resolution 2026 027 recognizing
[6:42] access to early childhood education as
an essential economic need. sponsored by
[6:47] Wackler. Action memorandum 2026020,
approval of the planning and zoning
[6:53] commission student representative
program. Sponsored by the city manager.
[6:57] Action memorandum 202621
confirming the mini grant review
[7:01] committee's recommendations for FY27
cycle 1 miniigrant awards sponsored by
[7:07] the city clerk.
>> That is your consent agenda.
[7:11] » Thank you. Are the are there any public
comments on any of the items just read?
[7:15] Anyone in the audience wishing to
comment on any of the items just read
[7:19] and we have no one signed up.
Next having no one wishing to speak, the
[7:24] approval of the agenda and consent
agenda is back before the council. Are
[7:28] there any objections to approving the
agenda and consent agenda? Seeing
[7:32] hearing none, the agenda and consent
agenda are approved by unanimous
[7:36] consent. Uh, next item on the agenda is
I'm going to read a proclamation
[7:41] and would Miss Henshaw from the Elks
please forward.
[8:00] Whereas
[8:05] where up the ideation
[8:10] and freedom to the great sacrifices
[8:15] the foundation
and
[8:19] whereas we recognize that each
generation
[8:25] understand
the right children
[8:31] there both
honor this nation
[8:36] Now therefore
[8:41] September 14th, 2021
[8:54] American citizenship
[9:04] that
[9:13] There's somebody over there want
[9:50] Moving along to the next agenda item and
that is uh public comments and
[9:54] presentations. Are there any members of
the public who would like to speak on
[9:58] any item not appearing on the agenda?
Anyone here in the audience wishing to
[10:02] speak on anything not appearing on the
agenda? And we have no one signed up to
[10:06] speak remotely. Next item, assembly and
legislative report. Are there any
[10:11] representatives from the bureau and or
state legislature that would like to
[10:14] address the and we have no one here in
the audience and I don't think we have
[10:19] anybody online either. Next one, public
hearings and we have none for this
[10:24] evening. Next item on the agenda. Moving
right along. We're down to mayor and
[10:29] council reports. I might set a record on
this one here. Uh mayor's reports and
[10:33] proclamations. Uh I have another one
here I'll read. Um
[10:38] and that is whereas the United States
National PM MIA recognition day is
[10:44] observed across the nation on the 3rd
Friday of September each year. This year
[10:49] that date is September 18th, 2026.
Whereas according to the Department of
[10:54] Defense, more than 80,000 American
service members are missing from
[10:57] previous conflicts and 38,000 are
estimated to be recoverable. And whereas
[11:03] we acknowledge with deep respect those
Americans who were held in captivity and
[11:08] those whose fate have never been
resolved, remembering the indignities
[11:12] and brutalities they suffered. And
whereas we recognize that the families
[11:17] of these courageous individuals have
endured the pain of separation and the
[11:22] anguish of uncertainty, bearing a heavy
burden as they await the return of their
[11:26] loved ones or seek closure and solace
through the knowledge that their
[11:31] sacrifices are not forgotten. And
whereas the National PM MIA Recognition
[11:36] Day serves as a solemn reminder of our
duty to honor and remember all those who
[11:42] have served in uniform and to ensure
that no one is left behind or forgotten,
[11:48] reaffirming our commitment to the values
of loyalty, duty, and respect for those
[11:53] who have borne the cost of our liberty.
Now therefore, I, Paul Whitney, mayor of
[11:58] the city of Satana, do hereby proclaim
September 18th, 2026, National PM MIA
[12:05] recognition day in the city in honor of
those who became prisoners of war and
[12:10] those who remain missing in action,
encouraging our citizens to fly the P
[12:15] MIA flag as a tribute uh dated this 9th
day of September, 2026.
[12:22] Next, I have
[12:27] At industry appreciation day, the city
received uh the industry appreciation
[12:33] day perseverance award. Persever pre
perseverance award the city of Selatna
[12:40] parks and recreation. Your unwavering
commitment brought to the Satana
[12:45] Fieldhouse to life creating a new
opportunity for recreation connection
[12:50] and community for generations to come.
and
[12:55] we will put that up somewhere here
temporarily and then out to the parks
[13:00] and recck department out at the
fieldhouse.
[13:03] I will pass that along to the city
clerk.
[13:05] » Thank you, sir.
Uh next uh quick thing is we I attended
[13:12] along with Vice Mayor Parker and and the
city manager the AML conference in
[13:17] summer conference in uh Fairbanks and uh
it was a a very good meeting. A lot of
[13:23] things were discussed policy procedures
uh uh strategic planning resolutions and
[13:30] all kinds of different things. uh this
was in the disc discussion mode and
[13:35] these items will be brought up at the uh
annual meeting held in December where
[13:40] there'll be more information on them and
the actual resolutions. Um and also I
[13:46] might mention that I had the opportunity
uh to run into a gentleman that I worked
[13:52] with in the police department 51 years
ago. That's the first time I've seen him
[13:57] in 51 years. He happened to be coming to
Alaska to visit and we sat down and had
[14:03] coffee and met him and his wife and it's
like I said it's the first time seen him
[14:07] in 51 years.
We do look a little bit different
[14:12] just a wee bit. Next item on the agenda
is mayor's report and com uh council
[14:22] report on boards and commissions August
26 sold out in a chamber of commerce
[14:26] board of directors meeting. Mrs.
Backler.
[14:30] » Yes, I attended the chamber board
meeting. Um, of note, I wanted to remind
[14:35] everybody that the 32nd annual pie
auction will be going on and it is
[14:42] Stars, Stripes, and Satna
>> September 26th.
[14:49] » Okay.
Stars, Stripes, and Satna Nights. Um,
[14:54] yes, it is September 26th and the doors
will open at 4:30. Tickets are on sale
[14:59] now. Um, it is a wonderful fundraiser.
They're planning on doing it a little
[15:04] bit different this year. They've brought
in a um character to be the MC or
[15:11] auctioneer um which they're really
excited about and uh plan to run things
[15:16] a little bit a little bit different
little fun different games this year.
[15:19] So, I encourage everybody um their
fundraiser does go to support their
[15:25] scholarships. So, um they do hand out a
number of scholarships for our community
[15:31] and it's great organization to support.
So, that is my report for today.
[15:36] » Any questions for Macklin? Seeing none,
the next one is planning and zoning
[15:40] commission meeting. Mr. Kerry.
>> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. The planning and
[15:44] zoning commission met today. It was a
very short meeting and um everyone was
[15:50] doing just fine.
[15:54] » Okay. Any questions for Mr. Kerry?
Seeing none, next item on the agenda is
[15:58] public comments. Are there any members
of the public who would like to speak on
[16:02] any item? Anyone here in the audience?
Seeing none, uh we have no one on
[16:08] remote. Next item on the agenda,
>> mayor.
[16:12] » Oh, okay. Miss Inshaw, please state your
name and address for the record and
[16:17] you'll have three minutes.
[16:20] » Microphones
[16:26] road. Um I have a question for planning.
Um I've seen an influx of apartment
[16:34] buildings coming um in um particularly
on readout area readout road across from
[16:41] elementary school. My concern is number
one when these people put their plans
[16:46] in, they are not, as I was explained to
by an individual who put as many
[16:52] buildings as you can put on.
>> Is your microphone on?
[16:56] » No.
>> N wrong one. Nope. Wrong.
[17:01] » Wrong microphone.
>> Face in front of you.
[17:04] » Yeah. And make sure it's point here.
>> You need
[17:10] funny.
[17:20] We got Johnny under the table.
>> Our clerk does whatever needs to be
[17:26] done.
>> Other duties has assigned.
[17:28] » Please try again. Ma'am,
>> it's
[17:33] » yellow. I mean, it's green. Okay,
>> there. Uh, my name is Elizabeth Hinshaw.
[17:36] I live at 112 Rose Garland Road, Satana
in the area of Reedout Elementary. My
[17:43] concern is for planning. Um, individuals
have bought up property and have been
[17:50] building um
I don't I'm not really sure if they're
[17:56] permanent housing or what. We've got um
duplexes on uh lots and lots of duplexes
[18:04] on a lot. Um, and I understand when this
individual put in his plan, there was no
[18:11] indication that he would have planned
for an area to push his snow, a removal
[18:17] of his snow. Uh, consequently, he was
contacted by the city um roads, I
[18:26] believe, um, regarding him pushing his
snow out into the middle of the road in
[18:31] front of Reedout Elementary. Um, he
wasn't contacted once. He wasn't
[18:35] contacted twice. He was contacted four
times. Um he just likes to push snow in
[18:40] the street. Uh anyway, I'm wondering if
possibly when they come to you for
[18:48] approval on the uh they bought the
property, but what they're going to do
[18:52] with that property that that might be
something that you might want to inquire
[18:58] about. This man actually has built so
much on that lot that he has no place to
[19:03] push snow. So, it wasn't really anything
that he
[19:07] thought of. He's from California. They
have sunshine and it melts. Uh, but he
[19:13] did not have any indication that he was
going to have to push that snow anywhere
[19:17] but in the street. Now, we have another
building that just is in it completion
[19:22] stage farther down readout. And, uh,
this individual has a huge lot, so he'll
[19:28] have plenty of places to push his snow.
But again, we're in an elementary area
[19:35] with lots of people that come and go. My
concern is the kids and the traffic. So,
[19:41] I'm just wondering if maybe planning
might do a little bit more due diligence
[19:46] when it comes to
putting these things together for those
[19:51] individuals.
>> Can you respond to that?
[19:56] Um, thank you for your comments and I
will pass that on to um our planning
[20:00] director and um and I know she will work
with the planning con um commission. We
[20:06] do require snow storage on property. So
I'll we will be checking into that
[20:10] property.
>> Thank you. Anyone else wishing to speak?
[20:17] » Seeing none. Next item, city manager
report.
[20:22] » Thank you, mayor. Um you referenced the
AML meeting that um I I agree with you
[20:27] that it was a very good meeting and um
one particular area I in the meeting
[20:32] that I included in the packet is
regarding um a listening session that
[20:36] was for all state candidates. Um we
don't know I'm not sure but bet AML does
[20:43] who is all listening but they were on
via Zoom and AML produced an um it's
[20:50] called Alaska Municipal League member
issues and challenges for incoming
[20:54] legislators document and I particularly
like that document. I like the format
[20:59] that was used this time. Um there was a
lot of input from members which I
[21:03] particularly appreciated. Um, there were
12 policy areas included in the
[21:08] document. I'm going to briefly go
through six of them that really have an
[21:13] impact for the city of Seldatna. Um, the
first one protecting local taxing
[21:19] authorities, specifically local control
of sales tax and exemptions. This really
[21:24] came up through um a possible title
title 29 change. As you know, we're home
[21:30] rule. Not all of title 29 applies to us.
It was undetermined if this one would
[21:37] have had a home rule connection or not,
but I do like that we protect our home
[21:42] rule, all municipalities, but especially
those home roll statuses.
[21:46] The second one, creating a predictable
state local fiscal partnership rather
[21:50] than shifting state responsibilities and
cost to municipalities as we know that
[21:54] continues to happen. There are um state
mandates that um are being pushed onto
[22:00] municipalities. addressing PERS and
workforce recruitment and retention,
[22:04] particularly in specialized municipal
positions.
[22:08] Investing in existing infrastructure and
major maintenance before deferred
[22:12] maintenance results in substantially
greater costs, which we strive to do at
[22:16] the city um to keep up on our
maintenance. Improving public safety
[22:20] capacity, including police recruitment,
um prosecution resources, public records
[22:26] requirements, and regulatory processes.
And part of what was talked about was
[22:29] the APSC process and streaming
streamlining that improving
[22:35] infrastructure funding and project
delivery particularly for water
[22:38] wastewater transportation and federally
funded projects where delays and
[22:43] inflation can significantly reduce the
value of an award. And as you know we
[22:47] see that as our awards get delayed. Um,
and speaking of that, I received an
[22:52] email from our lobbyists, um, both
Genevieve and, um, Sebastian regarding
[22:58] our FY27 CDS appropriation for the M
Maryale Utilities Project. And, um,
[23:06] there is a continuing resolution through
um, federal um, that has
[23:13] appropriated funds to keep the federal
government open until December 11th.
[23:18] However, it does not include any CDS
funding. This happened, as you remember,
[23:23] a couple of years ago, so we'll continue
to watch this after December, excuse me,
[23:28] December 11th.
Um, a couple of other items. The
[23:34] auditors will be on site in October and
the finance department is working hard
[23:38] to be ready for them, and I have no
doubt that they will be, and things are
[23:41] going very smoothly.
Um the streets condition assessment is
[23:47] happening this week and I understand
from Vice Mayor Parker they were on her
[23:51] street um evaluating the conditions and
the report will contain all conditions
[23:58] excuse me conditions of all pavement and
gravel streets and the life left in the
[24:02] pavement and this is really a val a very
crucial report for us. we'll be able to,
[24:10] you know, create priorities off of it
and if there's any type of funding,
[24:13] grants or otherwise that we can obtain,
we really need this document to do so.
[24:18] The bioolids project is continuing along
and um sub substantial completion will
[24:24] be at the end of June. It really is a
very big project. Um basically it's an
[24:30] addition to the wastewater treatment
plant, a large one, and installing
[24:34] equipment. It's two-phase. Um right now
they're building the addition
[24:38] and it will replace the sludge um
equipment and which is 40 year old belt
[24:43] press will also be replaced. This will
create a lot more efficiencies. And this
[24:48] was funded through CDS, the state
revolving loan fund, loan forgiveness
[24:52] for part of the um loan and city
matching funds. And the next project
[24:57] that is on the way um in the works is
sand storage structure project. And due
[25:03] to shipping issues um the project
completion should be in November. We
[25:08] were hoping for next month, but we'll
get there in November. and the funding
[25:12] sources also appropriation through state
budget uh several years ago um
[25:17] representative Ruffage put that in the
bill and city matching funds. Lots of
[25:22] projects going on very busy with
projects. There are a lot of contacts to
[25:27] the building department with people who
are trying to still put in foundations
[25:32] and get their projects going so they can
continue to work through the winter. So,
[25:35] it's been very busy.
>> That's everything unless there's any
[25:39] questions. Any questions from the
council for the city manager?
[25:44] » You can tell that roads group they can
come walking with me and I'll show them
[25:48] a few road needed improvements. I see a
few of them when I'm walking. Okay. Next
[25:54] item on the agenda is council comments
and we'll start with Mr. Nelson.
[26:01] » Thank you, Mayor Whitney. No comments
tonight.
[26:05] » Ms. Wackler.
>> No comment. Miss Hutchings.
[26:11] » Well, the only thing I wanted to mention
is we also have the harvest festival the
[26:16] same day as the pie auction the 26. So
everybody can have a full day
[26:23] and no further comments.
[26:28] » Mr. Kerry,
>> no comment. Thank you.
[26:30] » Vice Mayor Parker,
>> no comment.
[26:34] » Mr. Chelse, keep up the record.
>> No comment.
[26:40] All right. Next item on the agenda,
executive session. There is no need for
[26:43] one. Uh pending leg uh legislation
ordinance 26 2026-021
[26:50] uh is postponed until October 28th. Uh
meeting announcements. September 17th,
[26:55] 2026, airport commission meeting at 5:30
and September 23rd, 2026, city council
[27:02] meeting at 6 pm. Having nothing further
on our agenda, we are adjourned.