Borough Manager Amy Williams told the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly on Oct. 16 that dumpsters at the Dark Lake site will be temporarily relocated at the end of October and that staff have secured private landowners’ permission to use nearby property and installed cameras to discourage illegal dumping and identify vehicles.

Manager’s report and operational items: Williams said Alaska Waste will move the dumpsters and that the borough will advertise the change so residents have notice. “Cameras will be taking pictures of all vehicles going in and out so we can easily identify who had waste on the way in and who does not on the way out,” Williams said. She added that the borough recently completed a joint inspection of landfill fence repairs with Alaska Fish and Game and the contractor and reported several bear sightings during the inspection; Williams said an Alaska Fish and Game staffer temporarily left and returned with a personal firearm because a bear had come uncomfortably close to the inspection team.

Williams reported additional projects and staffing items: staff will start an ordinance for the sale of four borough lots and attached maps in the meeting packet; the borough is recruiting for an environmental facilities director and had an applicant for environmental specialist, and staff expect to make an offer for the latter role. She said there were no applicants yet for the code-enforcement position. She noted the Planning and Zoning Commission voted 6–0 (one absent) to approve a variance for Maritime Museum parking. Engineering and facilities updates included final paint inspection for Chaneyac School and invitations to bid for the Mill State Bay stairs replacement and a landfill scale-shack platform.

Finance and IT updates: Williams said the property assessment and taxation system migration is ongoing, with dual entry into the old and new systems through December to ensure data integrity; finance staff are working with an on-site Tyler consultant and expect the property-access module to go live in mid-October. Williams reminded taxpayers that second-half property tax payments are due Nov. 17 for those who paid the first half by Aug. 15.

Public comments recorded: Remote caller David Miller described access challenges for remote residents and asked why the borough does not allow online filing for the senior-citizen property tax exemption. He said his remote location makes it expensive and difficult to travel to town and asked if the borough will allow earlier in-person filing or an online option; he added that he paid $740 in late fees after the assessor’s office said it had not received his notice about an airplane’s noncommercial status. Miller said, “It cost me a $150 to make a round trip into town and back out to my cabin… It just seems… I can take care of financial institutions with DocuSign or other systems on the Internet. The state of Alaska, I can do that with the federal government, the Veterans Administration, but I can't do that with the bureau in Kodiak.” The manager said she would follow up and that she had Miller’s phone number.

A Salvation Army representative, Captain David Shadow, thanked the assembly and staff for a $25,000 nonprofit grant the organization received for rental assistance ($21,000), food assistance ($3,000) and utilities assistance ($1,000). Shadow also referenced a recent assembly comment that nonprofits should not “necessarily expect the same full funding next year,” and thanked the assembly for the current-year support.

What staff will do next: Manager Williams said staff would advertise dumpster relocation, continue recruitment and bring the land-sale ordinance and bid documents forward as listed in the meeting packet; the manager indicated she or staff would follow up with callers who raised specific issues.

Ending: The manager’s operational report covered multiple maintenance, procurement and staffing matters; public comments highlighted gaps in online services for remote residents and gratitude from a local nonprofit for grant funding.