The Juneau Assembly did its part on Monday to turn the abandoned Thane Ore House, which has been boarded-shut for years, into a Native cultural immersion park.<\/p>\n
At its most recent meeting, the Assembly unanimously approved an ordinance authorizing the city\u2019s port director to lease the land on which the Ore House sits to the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska.<\/p>\n
In mid-June, the Planning Commission approved a conditional use permit for the cultural immersion park, which will provide a year-round workspace space for Native artists, such as carvers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to lift our people up,\u201d Myrna Gardner, Central Council\u2019s business and economic development manager, told the commission in June. \u201cWe want to give them opportunities, and we want to be a good neighbor and member of the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
[New life for the Thane Ore House<\/a>]<\/p>\n During the summer, the cultural center will use two 72-passenger buses to shuttle cruise passengers and tourist to the former Ore House, which will be renovated to look like a traditional long house. There, visitors will be able to eat at a restaurant, watch Native dance performances, buy souvenirs in a gift ship and watch people carve canoes and weave on site.<\/p>\n In the winter, the restaurant will close, but the center will still be open, providing a space for Native artists, such as canoe and totem pole carvers,<\/p>\n Since 2001, the city\u2019s Docks and Harbors division has controlled the Ore House property, located at 4400 Thane Road. The 1.21-acre property is valued at $86,000, so Docks and Harbors has set the minimum annual lease rent at $8,600 \u2014 one tenth of the property\u2019s appraised value.<\/p>\n Docks and Harbors approved the lease in mid-August. Late last month, the Assembly Lands Committee reviewed and approved the lease as well.<\/p>\n [Planning Commission gives Native culture center the go ahead<\/a>]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Resolution to the state<\/strong><\/p>\n After the Assembly finished tackling all of the items on its regular agenda, Assembly member Jesse Kiehl \u2014 with the support of his peers \u2014 asked city staff to draft a resolution to the Alaska Legislature regarding school debt reimbursement.<\/p>\n Days before the city\u2019s fiscal year 2017 budget became effective at the beginning of July, Gov. Bill Walker vetoed school debt reimbursement funding, leaving the city on the hook for about $3 million it didn\u2019t plan to cover.<\/p>\n Kiehl\u2019s proposed resolution will ask the Legislature to cover existing school debt reimbursement obligations. Kiehl\u2019s suggestion was met immediately by strong support from other Assembly members.<\/p>\n \u201cIs there any objection to that other than \u2018attaboy\u2019?\u201d Mayor Ken Koelsch asked.<\/p>\n \u201cNone, other than make it as strong as possible,\u201d Assembly member Kate Troll added.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dog license fees<\/strong><\/p>\n The Assembly unanimously approved a resolution raising the fee for dog licenses.<\/p>\n Currently, the annual cost of a license for a dog older than six months is $35 if the animal is not fixed and $15 if it is. Once the new resolution goes into effect in a month, the fees will increase to $45 for an unaltered dog and $20 for a spayed or neutered dog.<\/p>\n According to City Manager Rorie Watt, the city collects about $67,000 annually in pet license fees and another $6,800 in impound fees. The city hasn\u2019t raised the dog license fee since 2000.<\/p>\n Since then, \u201cthere\u2019s been an increasing number of strays with health problems,\u201d Animal Control director Brett Rielly told the Empire Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is to support the health and well-being of the animals,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Any additional revenue collected as a result of this resolution will be used to pay for the costs of Animal Control operations and services, Watt said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n West Douglas development<\/strong><\/p>\n The Assembly awarded ENCO Alaska, a Juneau-based contractor, a $1.5 million bid to build a pioneer road on West Douglas.<\/p>\n ENCO will cut a single-lane, 2.4-mile road into the thickly forested west side of Douglas Island. The 14-foot-wide road will be surfaced with rock, and it will include turnouts.<\/p>\n Building a West Douglas pioneer road was established as an Assembly goal five years ago, and it is included as an \u201cenhancing essential infrastructure\u201d initiative in the Juneau Economic Development Plan.<\/p>\n The Assembly approved the bid award as a part of its consent Agenda Monday.<\/p>\n The State of Alaska Designated Legislative Grant Program is funding this project. Six contractors competed for the bid, which came in well below the city engineer\u2019s estimate of about $2 million.<\/p>\n \u2022 Contact reporter Sam DeGrave at 523-2279 or sam.degrave@juneauempire.com.<\/p>\n Read more news:<\/p>\n Hunting guide involved in bear mauling is well-known state bear researcher<\/a><\/p>\n