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Ketchikan committee advances Creek Street restroom plan; two-week survey and temporary options discussed
Summary
City staff will distribute a two-week community survey on a proposed Creek Street public restroom after the city council directed design and cost estimates for Lot K; staff said there is no concrete plan for a permanent restroom this summer and portable units remain under consideration.
City public works staff said on the Creek Street Plaza proposal and a community survey will inform the size and fixture count for a planned public restroom.
“Seth Brackie, the city of Ketchikan public works director and engineering manager, said the city council directed staff on March 19 to develop a design and cost estimates for placing a public restroom on the Creek Street Plaza right-of-way, a parcel formerly known as Lot K between Dolly’s House and the Nibblak store,” Brackie told the joint committee. He said the city plans to distribute a community survey open to all residents and visitors and expects a two‑week run time to collect responses before reporting the results to the city council and this committee.
The proposal responds to prior council direction to pursue a permanent structure. Brackie told the committee that the borough’s Creek Street architectural design review board process is under review and that a May public hearing about dissolving or retaining that board could affect the project’s schedule.
Citizen Stephen Reeve of Historic Ketchikan urged the committee to prioritize multiple, well‑designed portable restrooms and private‑sector partnerships rather than a single, costly structure. “We really only need public restrooms in Ketchikan four months of the year — that’s about May 15 to September 15,” Reeve said, and warned the Creek Street building option could cost “close to $1,000,000” and carry long‑term maintenance demands.
Committee members asked whether a temporary solution could be deployed this summer while staff pursue a permanent design. Brackie and others said the council’s direction prioritized a permanent structure and that staff had not yet developed a concrete plan for temporary city‑installed facilities this season, though privately hosted portable units were discussed as an interim option.
City finance staff explained a new public‑restroom rate adopted after the city’s cruise ship passenger study; the rate lets the city charge port‑related restroom use to the port and off‑port restroom activity to CPV funding, and applies to city‑owned buildings used by cruise passengers.
Next steps: staff will distribute the survey, present results to the city council, and can share the data with the committee. The committee asked staff to report back at an upcoming meeting; the clerk confirmed related discussions are scheduled to come before the assembly on May 4.
