Sitka’s airport improvement project is slightly ahead of schedule and on budget. That’s according to airport terminal manager Joseph Bea, who shared an update on the project with the Sitka Assembly on July 9. Bea said they’ve spent around $4 million so far, around one third of the money needed to complete the first phase of the project. That includes the purchase of Sitka’s only escalator. 

Voters could see two propositions to update the city’s charter on the municipal election ballot this October. At its regular meeting on July 9, the assembly approved the draft propositions on first reading. But a third, dealing with how funds from the former Sitka Community Hospital fund should be spent, failed to gain the assembly’s support.