Borough manager reports hiring push, landfill repairs and a long-term bear-management need

Borough Manager Amy Williams delivered the manager's report and briefed the assembly on personnel recruitment, infrastructure projects, and environmental and operational issues across borough facilities.

Williams said the borough is recruiting for several public-works roles, including an environmental specialist/landfill manager, a maintenance mechanic, and general laborer positions in engineering and facilities. An offer has been made for an environmental specialist and landfill manager; the borough is preparing an offer for a leachate treatment-plant trainee who would move into a maintenance-mechanic role. The manager noted that Carl, the main leachate-treatment-plant operator, is retiring in April and that the borough will advertise multiple qualification levels to attract candidates.

On operations, Williams reported that fence repairs at the landfill were completed within the original contract scope but that bears continue to create new breaches. "When you haze them ... they're kinda like mice in a bucket, and they just ran through the fence," she said, describing the animals' ability to exploit new openings. Because of ongoing incursions, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has asked the borough to produce a bear-management plan; staff will coordinate with the Alaska Department of Fish & Game and troopers, and DEC will not provide a template. The borough used a thermal drone to identify animals on site.

Williams also updated the assembly on the leachate treatment-plant staffing plan and retirement timeline of the existing operator; a recruitment campaign will advertise three levels of positions depending on qualifications. On the community pool, the borough received a final condition-survey report recommending deconstructive testing to produce better cost estimates; the report will go to the Architectural Review Board for review.

Other items in the manager's report included a Rentalscape short-term-rental software implementation that will be housed in Community Development (assessing and the city will have shared access), preparation of an RFP and a draft code ordinance ahead of a new solid-waste contract, and a paused $750,000 ozonator/decontamination project at KFRC pending GSA approval and an ADEC permit discussion.

Williams closed by noting upcoming meetings, holidays and ongoing contractor and facilities work and invited questions from the assembly.