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Assembly introduces $4.99 million appropriation for South Tongass fire response; insurance proceeds short of replacement cost
Summary
The borough introduced an ordinance to appropriate $4,990,297 to support South Tongass fire recovery; staff said $3.4 million has been received from insurers so far and an interfund loan will bridge immediate needs for apparatus and operations.
The Ketchikan Gateway Borough introduced ordinance 20‑62 to amend the FY2025 budget and appropriate $4,990,297 for South Tongass Service Area recovery following a fire that destroyed the station and apparatus.
Charlene Thomas, the borough finance director, told the assembly the borough’s insurance coverage totaled approximately $6,800,000 but the borough had received about $3,400,000 to date; the remaining building-related reimbursements are pending while the replacement cost is finalized. Thomas said the ordinance includes an interfund loan from the general fund to the service area for approximately $1,422,675 at 3% interest with a repayment term not to exceed 15 years; the ordinance language sets the loan and the appropriation into the FY2025 budget. The loan was presented as a bridge to keep the department operational while insurance and other funding questions are resolved.
South Tongass Fire Chief reported that replacement apparatus are on order and in production: the ladder truck build is complete and the chief expects to inspect it in April; the ambulance is expected in May. The chief said purchasing pre‑engineered apparatus allowed the borough to move sooner and saved roughly $500,000 compared with a fully custom specification.
Assembly members asked how the insurance and potential state homeland‑security funding would affect the loan and replacement costs. Thomas said the insurance money for buildings is restricted to building replacement and not fungible for other uses; she also confirmed the vehicles had lower replacement valuations because they were older at the time of loss (older apparatus have lower insured actual-cash-value amounts than new replacement cost). Staff additionally reported the borough is working with state emergency‑management programs to pursue additional grant support but had no firm additional award at the time of the meeting.
The motion to introduce ordinance 20‑62 passed at roll call (7–0) and staff said they would return with budget documents and any grant updates as they become available.
