When the Sitka Assembly meets tonight (10/8/19) new assembly members will be sworn in. But not until after last year’s assembly takes up a few items of old business- notably, approving the employment agreement between John Leach and the city of Sitka. Leach was offered the city administrator job in September, and began employment negotiations with the city attorney last week, though he won’t begin working in the position until the spring of 2020.
In other old business, the assembly may finalize the sale of a derelict utility dock at Gary Paxton Industrial Park to Hanson Maritime, a local marine salvage company.
They’ll honor outgoing assembly member Aaron Bean. And then the new assembly members, Thor Christianson and incumbent Kevin Knox, will be sworn in.
When the new assembly reconvenes, the group will consider appointing five people to the “SEARHC Sitka Community Health Council.” Six people are up for five available spots — they are: Keith Brady, Mary Ann Hall, David Lam, David Miller, Jay Sweeney and Richard Wein.
The group will also consider approving Jeff Wheeler as the interim electric utility director and discuss possibly appointing former city administrator Hugh Bevan as a long-term interim administrator.
And at the end of the meeting, the assembly will go behind closed doors to discuss collecting debt from Baranof Island Brewing Company, a local brewery which defaulted two city loans earlier this year, all-in-all $637,000.
The Sitka Assembly meets at 6 p.m. tonight at Harrigan Centennial Hall. Raven News will broadcast that meeting live, following Alaska News Nightly.
