Borough Offices Have Moved
Week of September 8, 2002

The Northwest Arctic Borough government will now be working out of new headquarters at 163 Lagoon Street in Kotzebue. The new offices are across the street from KOTZ Radio and the Wells Fargo Bank. Our telephone numbers will remain the same.

The Borough offices and Assembly Chambers had been housed in leased space at the National Guard Armory for the last five years. While the Guard was an excellent host and the Armory provided many conveniences, including the gym for large meetings and a garage for the storage of the two Borough vehicles, the move is largely for financial considerations. By applying the annual lease cost of the Armory to the purchase of our own building, we will be creating an asset for the people of the Borough. It is estimated that we will own our new office building outright within about seven years, which will result in an annual savings of at least $80,000.

The new building will feature a larger Assembly room that can accommodate larger audiences and more community participation. It will also have enclosed offices for each department and accessibility for the handicapped.

I would like to thank my Public Services Director Tom Bolen for his work in arranging the purchase and renovation of the building. There were many hurdles to overcome in a short time, including a shortage of skilled workers due to the many construction projects currently underway. It is our hope that everyone will be proud of the new facility.

The Assembly convened in special session last week to make a final ruling on an appeal of a decision of the Planning Commission. The appeal had been filed by Bish Gallahorn and Associaties regarding a request to remove 125,000 cubic yards of sand and gravel via offshore "skimming" in the Sadie Creek area, over five years.

The proposed site is located within an area designated by Title IX as a Subsistence Conservation District. The Planning Commission had denied a request for a conditional use permit based on environmental and zoning concerns. After a formal hearing before the Assembly, a conditional use permit was approved that will allow extraction of just 16,000 yards of material per year over a three year period. Work will take place in the fall during just a few weeks each year.