Juneau Assembly approves Burns Building purchase, Eagle Crest pay-plan change and other measures; paratransit contract awarded

The Juneau City and Borough Assembly on Sept. 22 approved a series of ordinances, a resolution and contract actions that change employee pay for Eagle Crest, expand downtown office ownership and adjust several airport and municipal contracts.

The full meeting produced recorded roll-call votes on major items and multiple unanimous-consent approvals for lower-profile measures. Highlights, with motion outcomes and key details, follow.

Votes at a glance

- Burns Building purchase (Ordinance 2025-39): Approved 7–2. The Assembly authorized the manager to negotiate and execute purchase of two floors of the Michael J. Burns Building and to form a commercial condominium association. The packet cited a purchase price of $9,300,000 and an additional $2,700,000 placed into a sinking fund for future maintenance; the ordinance passed on a 7-2 roll call (Yes: Hughes Candice, Bryson, Wall, Hall, Kelly, Deputy Mayor Smith, Mayor Weldon; No: Adkisson, Steininger). Public testimony urged caution on long-term costs; Dave Hannah urged the Assembly to recheck long-term cost assumptions.

- Eagle Crest pay-plan conversion (Resolution 4028): Adopted by unanimous consent. The resolution transitions Eagle Crest employees to the City and Borough of Juneau pay plan so Eagle Crest positions align with CBJ classifications; Craig Simmons, Eagle Crest general manager, said the change will place Eagle Crest employees on the same pay scale used across the city.

- Paratransit services contract (Bid award 26-002): Awarded by unanimous consent to Ground Transportation Solutions. Staff said Ground Transportation Solutions' bid was about $300,000 lower than the incumbent Catholic Community Services over the contract term; staff noted the RFP was comprehensive and included ADA and staffing requirements.

- Desonta Kahini Playground CIP appropriation (Ordinance 2025-01 bf): Adopted. The Assembly appropriated $735,000 in general funds to support ADA site work, safety surfacing and sidewalks at the Kahini school playground; the Juneau School District will lead fundraising for equipment purchases. A motion to table was proposed and later withdrawn.

- Assembly chamber audio-visual upgrades (Ordinance 2025-01 bi): Adopted 8–1. The Assembly approved a $150,000 appropriation to modernize audio and video in the chambers; staff said much of the equipment would be transferable to a future downtown office site but labor costs would not. The roll call was 8 yes, 1 no.

- Title 19 (building regulations) update (Ordinance 2025-26): Adopted by unanimous consent. The ordinance amends local building regulations to adopt the state fire marshal's code with Alaska-appropriate revisions.

- Airport maintenance mechanic (Ordinance 2025-01 bc): Adopted by unanimous consent. The Assembly appropriated $77,000 to convert an airport maintenance mechanic position from part-time to full-time to reduce repair delays.

- Aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) truck appropriation (Ordinance 2025-01 bd): Adopted by unanimous consent. The Assembly appropriated $1,007,616 from airport funds after a purchased vehicle proved ineligible for previously expected FAA funding; airport staff said the cost will be recovered via passenger facility charges.

- Marine passenger fee fund housekeeping transfer (Ordinance 2025-01 bg): Adopted by unanimous consent. The Assembly transferred $103,546 from general funds back to the marine passenger fee fund to reconcile unspent grant awards made to the Downtown Business Association.

- Protest of liquor license renewal (administrative action): The Assembly voted to direct staff to protest renewal of a restaurant/eating-place liquor license for Spice LLC if the licensee did not come into compliance with sales-tax filings by Oct. 14; the motion passed without objection.

- Late-filed real-property tax-exemption applications: The Assembly authorized city staff to accept and consider multiple late-filed hardship and senior/disabled exemptions from property owners; the motion passed by unanimous consent.

Context and takeaways

Manager Katie Kester framed the Burns Building purchase as a lower-cost alternative to two failed city-hall bond proposals, telling the Assembly the Burns acquisition would cost less than half the prior city-hall proposal. Opponents cautioned about condo fees and long-term maintenance obligations. The recorded 7–2 vote on the Burns purchase reflected that division.

Airport officials described an FAA procurement ineligibility that required CBJ to cover an otherwise expected AIP-funded vehicle; the Assembly covered the amount from airport funds with the option to recoup via passenger facility charges.

Eagle Crest's move onto the CBJ pay plan cleared a long-standing pay-schedule disconnect for an enterprise the city owns; the Eagle Crest board had voted unanimously to recommend the conversion.

Why it matters: These actions reshape downtown office arrangements, municipal pay and benefits for a key city-owned recreation enterprise, and core public services ranging from transit for people with disabilities to airport rescue equipment. Several measures also carry multi-year budget and maintenance commitments that the Assembly said it will monitor in coming budget cycles.