Infrastructure and Community Resilience
Kodiak’s infrastructure is showing its age, and our planning process is stuck in the past. If we want to thrive in the next decade, we need coordinated investment in our core facilities, neighborhoods, and emergency systems. That means planning with purpose, investing in shared spaces (both indoor and outdoor), and preparing now for the next crisis. We must invest in the systems that sustain and strengthen us. That means long-term planning, not short-term politics.
Push Community and Neighborhood Planning
- Prioritize comprehensive, place-based planning that balances growth, housing, and livability across the borough.
- Push back against the pattern of delay and obstruction—Kodiak cannot afford to drift forward without planning.
- Center community voices in planning efforts, including village needs, housing access, accessible infrastructure, and walkability and trail systems.
Housing: Build Stability, Not Just Structures
- Kodiak has a housing challenge: affordability, availability, diversity, and long-term planning. Families are doubling up, workers can’t find places to live, and many of our young people don’t see a path to staying in the community they love. As mayor, I will advocate for a housing strategy rooted in place-based development and long-term livability. That means:
- Prioritizing housing in community and neighborhood planning, and not just reacting to market forces, by engaging in housing initiatives with Kodiak Economic Development Corporation.
- Supporting housing that meets the needs of our local workforce: teachers, first responders, childcare workers, healthcare staff, and other early to mid-career professionals and blue-collar workers.
- Exploring zoning flexibility and incentives that promote multi-generational housing, rental options, and family homeownership across the Borough.
- Working with developers, landowners, lenders, and Kodiak Island Housing Authority to reduce barriers and increase the supply of housing that reflects the character of Kodiak’s neighborhoods and villages.
- Invigorate the Borough Lands Committee and the Community Development Department to identify parcels that can be responsibly released in the near term and focus bid preferences on first-time homebuyers and working families.
Nonprofits as Essential Infrastructure Partners
- Kodiak’s resilience depends not only on what we build, but on the people and organizations that keep us connected, cared for, and prepared. I’ll work to ensure those nonprofits are respected and supported as essential partners in building a stronger Kodiak.
- Treat nonprofit service providers as part of Kodiak’s infrastructure ecosystem, and ensure their role is recognized in planning and investment decisions.
- Explore long-term partnerships and shared-use agreements for public facilities—like repurposing North Star Elementary—to support nonprofits serving families, youth, and elders.
- Support coordinated grant efforts that position nonprofits as effective, community-driven extensions of the Borough’s social infrastructure.
Modernize our Aging Hospital
- As Chair of the Health Facilities Advisory Board, I’ve worked closely with hospital leadership, community stakeholders, and Borough staff to assess the current condition of our medical facilities and plan for the future. I understand the structural, financial, and staffing challenges we face, and I’m committed to ensuring Kodiak’s hospital is prepared not just for today, but for the next generation and the next emergency.
- Support efforts to plan, fund, and partner on a full modernization of Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center and Kodiak Community Health Center, ensuring that local healthcare is strong, safe, and equipped for a growing and aging population.
- Recognize the hospital’s central role in disaster response, and ensure its planning is integrated into broader community resilience efforts.
Proactive Emergency Preparedness
- Kodiak’s geography makes self-reliance a necessity, not a luxury. From landslides and tsunamis to winter storms and gale-force winds, our community must be prepared to respond quickly and effectively, often without immediate outside help. As a member of the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) and through my involvement with KMXT, I’ve seen firsthand the challenges and opportunities facing our island’s emergency response systems. As mayor, I will prioritize proactive, coordinated emergency planning and strong support for the local responders and volunteers who make it all work. This includes:
- Supporting fire departments and volunteer search & rescue teams with the equipment, staffing, and training they need—on both the road system and in our villages.
- Working in partnership with the City of Kodiak, the LEPC, and the Emergency Services Council to regularly update and strengthen the Borough’s Emergency Operations Plan and Hazard Mitigation Plan.
- Ensuring our planning addresses evacuation routes, tsunami shelters, fuel and supply reserves, and communications readiness between radio partners and borough, city, and village systems.
Critical Repair of Civic Infrastructure: Pool
- Kodiak’s community pool is more than a recreational amenity. It’s a vital space for youth swim lessons, elder fitness, school programs, physical therapy, and public health. But the facility is facing a multi-million-dollar renovation to repair failing tile and concrete systems, repairs that may require at least a year-long shutdown to complete. I will work to ensure these critical upgrades are funded and carefully planned, using every creative tool available to minimize the burden on taxpayers and maximize community benefit. This means pursuing creative funding solutions to reduce the burden on taxpayers, including:
- State and federal grants tied to health, safety, and ADA access.
- Naming rights and sponsorships for parts of the facility.
- Partnerships with schools, healthcare providers, and local organizations to expand funding eligibility.
- Community capital campaigns and matching funds from regional partners.
- Transparent planning and early community engagement will help minimize disruption and build long-term support.
Restore and Modernize Auditorium as Civic Gathering Space
- Kodiak’s Gerald C. Wilson Auditorium is one of the most important, but undermaintained, public spaces in our community. It’s more than a stage: it’s where we hold graduations, funerals, political debates, board meetings, public forums, performances, emergency gatherings, and much more. But the facility is showing its age. To meet modern needs and remain safe and accessible for everyone, it needs a comprehensive renovation focused on:
- ADA upgrades to ensure full accessibility for elders, people with disabilities, and those with mobility challenges.
- Lighting system replacement, not only for better performance visibility, but for safety and energy efficiency.
- General infrastructure improvements, including seating, flooring, cosmetics, and backstage systems.
- I will prioritize restoring the auditorium as a civic infrastructure investment that supports community cohesion, education, and civic life. How can we do this?
- Seeking state and federal grant opportunities under community resilience, ADA access, cultural preservation, and energy modernization.
- Exploring partnerships with arts organizations, local booster support, corporate partners, and educational institutions to co-sponsor or fund parts of the upgrade.
- Incorporating the auditorium into the larger borough capital improvement plan, so its importance is never siloed or sidelined again.
- Working with KIBSD to create a long-term maintenance plan with clear public reporting, so we never let this facility fall into disrepair again.
