By SUZANNE DOWNING
Juneau Mayor Beth Weldon has entered into an unusual joint disaster declaration with the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, a move that effectively places the city and a tribal government on equal footing in declaring an emergency for Alaska’s capital city. It has the appearance of a city ceding authority to a local tribe.
The City and Borough of Juneau and the tribal government announced the joint declaration Tuesday evening following record-breaking snowstorms and prolonged cold that have strained local resources.
The Juneau Assembly is scheduled to ratify the declaration at a special meeting Wednesday evening at 5:15 pm, as required under state law.
The action comes just 13 days before the start of the Alaska Legislature’s regular session, when lawmakers and staff are set to arrive in Juneau.
Juneau snow emergency worsens as roofs near collapse and contractors run out of workers and trucks
Gov. Mike Dunleavy will likely announce today that he will approve the request for state help.
In a letter accompanying the declaration, Tlingit and Haida President Richard Peterson and Weldon wrote that “both governments” have exhausted their available resources.
“Even with the ongoing coordinated efforts of both governments and partner agencies working in unison and pooling resources to address disaster conditions throughout the year, we are unable to fully address community impacts,” the letter states.
The city and tribe ask the state to provide additional equipment and personnel to assist with snow-load clearing, operational support, clearing fire hydrants and storm drains, stormwater infrastructure work, and avalanche monitoring, forecasting, and mitigation.
Meanwhile, the roof of the University of Alaska Southeast’s Bill Ray Center collapsed on Tuesday due to snow loads.
Juneau was hit last week with more than four feet of snow after an extended cold spell. Another storm system moved in beginning Sunday, with snow turning to rain by Tuesday. The combination of heavy, compacted snow and rain has led to several roof collapses across town, while many boats have sunk in Juneau’s harbors.
5 thoughts on “Juneau mayor, tribes issue joint disaster declaration ahead of legislative session”
Extreme natural disasters and extreme financial disasters was the root why Alaska leaders of WW2 set aside a “heap of money” from oil in a Permenant Fund Corporation because of hardships out of our control
They never expected their children and childrens children become so government dependent on departments and government money that savings would only be looked upon to fund basic government operations and democrat organizations
The 2026 budget needs reorganization and some people need to get cut out of it so we can live below our states means and replenish the permanent fund when we have taken a draw on it.
Savings accounts are meant for extreme emergencies not for funding BIG government spending just because of legislators are scared 😱 of the peoples tantrum
Almost every Village and Hub community in Western Alaska have scheduled joint meetings, usually quarterly between Tribal and Municipal councils.
Tribes have access to funding sources that overlap the Cities responsibilities.
Some times that’s beneficial and at other times it becomes a dog fight over a bone.
Trust me, neither side gives an inch on their authority. It’s also part of what makes them so dysfunctional for the most part. One just has to cross their fingers and hope for the best 😎
I would be interested to know what, if any, resources of the Tribes have been used to clear snow. Me thinks it is limited. Hopefully the C&B of Juneau hasn’t waited for the approval of the Tribes before beginning operations.
I expect them to issue a ” land acknowledgement ” as the central focus of the meeting. That’ll fix everything, just ask them
In 2017 nobody would have given it a thought. But now, when social engineering and political posturing is being shoved down our throats. It’s truly meaningless.