Sitka’s historic preservation plan may get its first update in over three decades. When the Sitka Assembly meets on March 24, it will consider approving an updated plan.
The previous plan was drafted in 1994, and is only two pages long. In a memo, city staff say work on the new plan began in 2009. It’s meant to serve as a guiding document for the Historic Preservation Commission in its efforts to identify, protect and interpret significant local resources. The new plan highlights five commission goals, including developing partnerships and raising awareness of historic resources for under-represented communities, especially Tlingit history, as well as preserving the historic and cultural resources of the city, adapting city processes to consider historic preservation in planning, educating the public, and promoting heritage tourism.
The assembly will also consider what to do with several million dollars in cruise passenger head tax funds. The Commercial Passenger Vessel Excise Tax is money collected by the state for every passenger that visits Sitka. The city has dedicated just over $2 million toward next fiscal year’s budget, leaving around $4.2 million in the fund balance. The assembly can direct the municipal administrator to dedicate that money to a specific project, reserve the balance, or call for public proposals on how to spend the funds, but head tax money is restricted- it can only be spent on projects that benefit the experience or safety of cruise passengers.
The Sitka Assembly meets at 6 p.m. on March 24. Raven News will broadcast the meeting live, following Alaska News Nightly.
