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Kenai planning staff to explore alternatives to costly newspaper legal ads, commission endorses radio and website options
Summary
Planning Director Butner asked the commission to consider alternatives to mandatory newspaper legal ads—citing rising costs and limited reach—and commissioners supported exploring radio notices and a dedicated city public-notices webpage.
Planning Director Butner told the commission that the city’s requirement to publish public notices in the local newspaper is increasingly expensive and reaches fewer residents. Citing recent cost examples, Butner said identical legal-ad space has more than doubled and that a single meeting’s notice for this agenda cost $399.
Butner proposed exploring alternative public-notice methods such as radio announcements, prominent postings on the city’s website, and physical postings in public locations (post offices, libraries). Commissioners voiced support for moving toward radio contracts and more visible web-based notices; several asked staff to research costs and possible contract structures similar to what the city council has used.
Vice Chair Doit and Commissioner Woodard emphasized radio’s reach and the potential to post audio notices on a station’s website; another commissioner proposed a centralized public-notices section on the city’s main webpage so the public does not have to drill down into commission-specific pages.
Butner said staff will research options, including costs and feasibility, and return with recommendations to reduce notice delays caused by current publication schedules. No formal code change was enacted; the commission asked staff to explore alternatives and report back.
