Personal tools
You are here: Home → Government → Committees → Borough → Documents → Letter from Mayor of Pelican
 

Letter from Mayor of Pelican

A letter to the City of Hoonah in June 2006 from Patricia Phillips, Mayor of the City of Pelican, regarding the proposed Glacier Bay borough

 

Patricia Phillips, Mayor

City of Pelican

P.O. Box 737

Pelican, Alaska 99832

June 20, 2006

City of Hoonah

P.O. Box 360

Hoonah, Alaska 99829

Dear Honorable Mayor Dennis Gray:

The Pelican City Council held a meeting on June 15, 2006; the Glacier Bay Borough was on the agenda for discussion. Several initial questions and concerns were brought up that need responding to as we move forward with this discussion.

I request a copy of the most recent audited financial statements for the City of Hoonah, City of Kake, City of Gustavus, Elfin Cove Community Assn., City of Angoon, City of Tenakee, Hoonah School District, Kake School District and Chatham School District.

These are the concerns that were brought up at the Pelican City Council meeting.

  1. Pelican’s experience with Kake Tribal Corporation has Pelican concerned about the financial position of the affected communities in the proposed borough.
  2. Page 22 depicts FY 05 School District Funding. The City of Pelican currently provides .004 mills of the .006 mills property tax collected as an annual cash contribution to the Pelican School District, how do the other school districts provide for their Local Effort funding requirement?
  3. The City of Pelican would lose local control of the Pelican Schools because of our small population and an advisory board would not have the effectiveness of our current Pelican school board.
  4. The Pelican School District is diligent with upkeep of the school facilities in comparison to other school districts within the proposed borough.
  5. The Scholars program is a tuition-free program for the top 10% of students graduating from each school district. The four school districts would be aggregated as one district thereby losing the ability to send 4 scholars to the University of Alaska system.
  6. With Option A – D, Pelican will not have representation on the borough assembly or school board. Pelican’s chance of a district seat is nil because each of the proposed Election Districts place Pelican in a district with a community that will always out vote Pelican’s vote by virtue of population. Except Option E which asterisked as “** Likely not legal if variation exceeds 10%.” The City of Pelican has been a municipal corporation since 1943 and since 1974, a First Class City. AS 29.29.060. Assembly composition and apportionment. (b) The assembly of a newly incorporated borough is, after incorporation and until the adoption of an ordinance providing for a change in composition or apportionment, composed of the number of members and apportioned as set out in the incorporation petition approved by the voters. - Can the incorporation petition set out one district seat for every community in the borough?
  7. Page 3, “Because we want a borough that does not include property tax;” and Page 9, Borough Finances, “2-3 mill property tax (assume do not want property tax though; 1 mill generates about $113,000).” Are Hoonah, Angoon and Kake exempt from property tax requirements? Please specify.
  8. Page 13, Item 1. “However, in the Glacier Bay-Chatham Borough this revenue would be passed back to the cities so they are not harmed financially as a result of borough formation.” The Alaska Coastal Management Program (ACMP) funds a permanent part-time position in Pelican. The proposed borough would receive ACMP funds which would than be allocated to the regional office.
  9. The regional office location would be Hoonah. Hoonah would receive the economic benefit from borough jobs. How would the borough create an economic trickle out effect for the other communities in the proposed borough?
  10. Page 7, Figure 1 & 2 delineates the proposed borough boundary extending out to encompass Cross Sound and the productive fishing grounds of NSE Gulf of Alaska. Why doesn’t the proposed borough boundary extend out into the Gulf of Alaska at the lower end of Chatham Straits?

 

The Pelican City Council will discuss your Questions for Review and Consideration as a future agenda item. Thank you for the opportunity to comment.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Patricia Phillips

Mayor

 

Distribution List

City of Hoonah

City of Kake

City of Gustavus

City of Angoon

City of Tenakee

Elfin Cove Community Association

Hoonah School District

Kake School District

Chatham School District

 

 

Document Actions