Juneau voters may have another chance to vote on funding a new city hall

Paint cracks and window frames rot outside Juneau’s City Hall on May 22, 2023. (Katie Anastas/KTOO)

The Juneau Assembly is one step closer to putting a new city hall bond on the October ballot.

At a meeting Monday night, Assembly members expressed support for a $27 million bond proposal. Voters narrowly rejected last year’s proposal for a $35 million bond.

“We did not, I think, put our best foot forward last year when we did not appropriate funds to advocate for the project,” City Manager Rorie Watt told Assembly members on Monday. “If we’re going to go forward, we need to more affirmatively position ourselves to advocate on the reasons why.”

Watt says there are several problems with the existing space. City Hall needs substantial upgrades, and it’s too small to fit all city workers. Meanwhile, the city pays $820,000 each year to rent other office space, and one of those buildings has its own plumbing issues. 

Watt has recommended that the Assembly put $10 million toward the project in this year’s budget. That would let them lower the bond from $35 million to $27 million. He’s also suggested spending $50,000 to educate the public on the need for a new building.

This wouldn’t be the first time the city brought a proposal back to voters after it failed on the first try. Ballot measures to fund construction of projects like the downtown parking garage, Marine Park expansion and the Treadwell Ice Arena all succeeded after the city changed how they were funded or the amount.

“When the voters tell us no, it doesn’t mean no forever on any variation — it means you didn’t get it right that time,” Watt said. “We have a long history of trying to find the sweet spot of what the voters want.”

At Monday’s meeting, Assembly member Wade Bryson proposed reducing the size of the bond by $4 million – the estimated cost of building underground parking at the new city hall.

“I strongly believe that it’s important for us to remove the parking and show we could reduce the scope of the building,” Bryson said. “Asking the voters to support $23 million is going to be a heck of a lot easier.”

The committee decided to keep the funding for underground parking. The preferred location for the new city hall is near Centennial Hall and the Zach Gordon Youth Center, and member Michelle Hale said she didn’t want to limit parking in the area.

“We just don’t have the opportunity to build a building and put parking under it very often,” she said. 

The Assembly will introduce an ordinance to put a $27 million bond on the ballot on June 12. Members of the public will be able to comment at the July 10 meeting.

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