Sitka’s Sustainability Commission is hoping to finalize a long-awaited plan for the future. When the Sitka Assembly meets tonight (4-28-26), it will consider the commission’s goals for the next year.
The commission approved its top four goals at a meeting in early April. In a memo, sustainability coordinator Bri Gabel said federal administration changes, quorum challenges, and staff vacancies have made progress on these goals challenging, so many have carried over from the previous year. The list includes supporting city operations, exploring a sustainability strategy for the region, and working with city staff on management of solid waste. The commission also hopes to finalize the Sitka Community Renewable Energy Strategy, a roadmap meant to guide energy related decisions in Sitka.
The assembly will also hear arguments from a former Sitka Assembly candidate and the city’s legal team over a second-level public records appeal. Austin Cranford submitted a public records request in February. In documents submitted to the assembly, Cranford says the city’s response included unlawful redactions and denied the existence of some documents- specifically, alleged communications regarding police officers who resigned over bonus disputes. Cranford’s first appeal was denied by the municipal administrator, so now he’s advancing his case to the assembly for another review.
In a memo, Municipal Attorney Rachel Jones says Cranford’s request asked the clerk’s office to perform a level of content-based analysis and research of records that’s not contemplated by the Alaska Public Records Act. Nevertheless, Jones says the clerk’s office made a good faith effort to grant Cranford’s initial records request, QUOTE “despite the inappropriate nature of the request.”
Cranford sued the city last year alleging censorship on the city police department’s Facebook page. He is the son of former police sergeant Gary Cranford who settled a lawsuit against the city in 2023.
In other business, it will consider several updates to city code, including updating the policy for accepting donations and naming places. Then, at the end of the meeting, the assembly will convene behind closed doors to discuss a civil lawsuit filed by Susan Magie, formerly Suarez, against the city in 2025. Claims against other defendants in the case, which included former police sergeant Gary Cranford, current police staff and medical personnel, were ultimately dismissed. According to court documents, a resolution was met between Magie and several other parties in March.
