Assembly directs study of North Star school to inform leasing, maintenance and replacement decisions

The Kodiak Island Borough Assembly directed borough staff to prepare a condition survey and market analysis for the North Star school building and to provide rental and disposal valuations and replacement‑cost estimates, assembly members said at a work session Thursday night.

Assembly member Amy, who asked that the topic be put on the agenda, told the assembly the borough will soon take possession of the facility and that local organizations have expressed interest in using parts of the building. "The borough will be taking possession of the facility and has the opportunity to partner with various local organizations," Amy said, noting that the city parks and recreation department wants to use the gym for its "little dribblers" program and that the Shunnek tribal day care has asked about lease rates for one wing.

Why it matters: The assembly’s direction is meant to give staff the data needed to set lease rates that cover operating costs or to decide whether alternative actions (sale, disposal or stronger subsidy) are warranted. Assembly members repeatedly raised maintenance funding and liability concerns, saying the borough has historically underfunded routine maintenance and that one tenant occupying a portion of the building will not cover overall costs.

Key facts and numbers: In the packet Amy and staff provided utilities and operations figures, including the borough’s insurance cost for the facility this year of about $27,000 and snow‑and‑ice control costs of roughly $11,000 in fiscal year 2024. The building’s total area was cited as about 39,800 square feet; the wing under current tenant consideration was described as a little over 25% of that area. Assembly members cited an outstanding roof replacement need in the range of $1 million to $2 million and an annual street‑light cost near $5,000 if the borough keeps lights on for a leased parking lot.

Debate and concerns: Several assembly members said the borough should not assume responsibility for routine day‑to‑day maintenance and urged clear contract language allocating those duties to tenants. Assembly member Ryan said he was "not interested in taking on maintenance" and recommended any lease include tenant responsibility for routine upkeep while the borough retain responsibility for major systems such as boilers. Others warned that an empty building is likely to be vandalized and that having occupants could reduce those costs.

Short‑term options and conditions: Staff said the gym use would be governed by a use agreement with city parks and recs, and that tenants had offered to cover janitorial service for that space. Assembly members discussed short‑term leases with a fixed notice period; staff noted that a two‑year notice clause had previously been discussed to allow the school district time to reclaim space if future enrollment increased.

Action taken: At the end of the discussion the assembly asked the manager’s office to prepare a condition survey, a rental/market survey (rental market value and disposal value), a replacement‑cost estimate and a five‑year systems replacement plan for the North Star facility and to return the information to the assembly. The chair asked if there were objections; none were raised and "directions [were] given." (No formal roll‑call vote was made; the assembly recorded no mover or second.)

Next steps: Staff will prepare the requested studies and reports and return the results to the assembly for follow up. Assembly members suggested that those results could be used to set a fair lease rate, establish maintenance responsibilities in contract language, create a reserve or sinking fund for capital repairs, or consider disposal alternatives.

A note on context: Assembly members repeatedly framed the discussion around long‑term options — keeping the building for potential future school use, selling it, or maintaining it as a borough asset — and emphasized that any near‑term leasing decisions should not permanently foreclose future educational needs.