Assembly reviews calendar, public hearings and fairgrounds lease request; Dec. 10 work session moved to Dec. 15

The Kodiak Island Borough Assembly reviewed multiple administrative items Sept. 25, including the 2026 meeting calendar, outstanding public hearings and a request to dispose of borough fairgrounds land by lease.

Calendar: The assembly noted June will have only one meeting (after budget completion) and, by consensus, moved a planned December work session from Dec. 10 to Dec. 15 to accommodate Alaska Municipal League travel and to allow newly elected members to attend. Clerk Nova summarized the ordinance that requires the assembly to adopt its annual calendar by resolution and reminded members that regular meetings are normally held the first and third Thursdays at 6:30 p.m.

Public hearings and ordinances: Staff summarized several items scheduled for public hearing at upcoming meetings. These included a transfer of ownership and location of a beverage dispensary liquor license (El Chicano Incorporated to Antonio Bravo, relocation from 402 Marine Way to 202 Resinoff Drive); proposed code changes to put existing good-cause appeal hearing procedures into borough code and to update assessor responsibilities consistent with state Senate Bill 179; and an ordinance to classify two tax-foreclosed properties as surplus and authorize sealed-bid sale with stated minimum-bid procedures. For the alcohol license transfer, an assembly member said he would be inclined to file an objection with conditions that the transfer be non-protested if fire-marshal conditions are satisfied; no formal objection was recorded at the work session.

Fairgrounds lease resolution: Staff presented Resolution FY2026-6, which would approve consideration of disposal of borough land known as the Kodiak Fairgrounds for lease to Kodiak Rodeo and State Fair Incorporated and direct the manager to negotiate lease terms. Staff said the existing 55-year lease (assumed from the state when the borough took ownership) expires Nov. 3, 2025 and the lessee requested a longer lease to facilitate grant eligibility. The proposed rental rate in the packet is $500 per year; the lessee rents the property for events including racing at the Kodiak Island Raceway. Assembly member Dave suggested staff include a fair-market-value assessment so the annual below-market rental can be reflected as an in‑kind contribution in the borough budget for transparency; other members supported that approach and asked staff to present comparable valuations for other below-market leases.

Next steps: Staff will continue to process the public-hearing items on scheduled agendas. For the fairgrounds resolution, the assembly did not adopt a lease at the work session; the resolution would authorize staff to negotiate terms and return the lease for assembly consideration. The Dec. 15 work session date will be reflected in the formal 2026 calendar.

(Notes: No final votes on the liquor license transfer, tax-foreclosure disposals, or lease were recorded during the work session; the assembly took consensus action to move the December work session.)