Mayor Hopkins used the Aug. 7 committee meeting to announce two public-facing items: the creation of the North Star Borough Citizens Academy and an imminent ribbon cutting for an upgraded playground at Pioneer Park.

"Our biggest thing to announce today is the, creation of our North Star Borough Citizens Academy," Hopkins said. The program mirrors a city-run academy and will bring borough department directors to a weekly series of sessions so participants can learn about department functions. Hopkins said the application period opened the previous Tuesday, runs through the end of August and the class is capped at 25 participants; eight applications had already been received.

Hopkins also invited assembly members to participate in the academy events and said the mayor's office and the assembly will coordinate the first and last sessions. He said the program will meet Wednesday evenings and is intended to increase public understanding of borough operations.

On other administration business, Hopkins announced a Pioneer Park playground ribbon cutting scheduled for 2 p.m. the next day. He said the playground upgrade was funded with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds allocated a couple of years ago and that the borough plans a further playground upgrade in fiscal 2028 after a year of community use.

Hopkins noted Parks and Recreation recently organized a successful Chena Lakes Arts and Music Festival in partnership with Fairbanks Arts Association and the Children's Museum.

These items were presented as briefings and informational announcements; no committee action or votes were associated with them at the Aug. 7 meeting.