December 16 Assembly meeting includes LID public hearing
The Regular Assembly Meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. on Monday, December 16, in the City Hall Assembly Chambers will include a public hearing on the proposed ordinance to establish an LID for the HESCO barrier flood mitigation project.
The full text of the ordinance, as well as related memos and documents, is available in the meeting agenda packet as item M-20. If you are interested in this topic or want to learn more about the LID process, please be sure to see the draft FAQ included in the agenda packet as item P-30 (or keep reading this PSA for more). The FAQ will be updated if the Assembly amends the ordinance.
The public is welcome to testify in person or remotely. Please be aware that testimony time will be limited by the Mayor based on the number of participants. Alternatively, you’re welcome to send your comments in writing to [email protected].
To testify in person, please sign up when you arrive at the meeting using the sign-up sheet at the back of the Assembly Chambers. Overflow space will be available on the second floor of City Hall, and those in the overflow space will be able to testify in person.
To testify remotely, please contact the CBJ Municipal Clerk’s Office at (907) 586-5278 by 4 p.m. Monday, December 16. If you do not contact the Clerk’s Office by this deadline, you will not be able to testify over Zoom.
Those who wish to watch the meeting remotely but do not intend to testify are encouraged to use the CBJ YouTube livestream. This will help ensure that the Zoom meeting has enough capacity for all those participating, given the high degree of interest on this topic.
Zoom link: https://juneau.zoom.us/j/91515424903
Dial-in: 1-253-215-8782
ID: 915 1542 4903
What is a Local Improvement District (LID)? How will it work for the HESCO barrier project?
A Local Improvement District, or LID, is a process that enables properties within a certain area to contribute to financing an infrastructure improvement that will benefit them.
In this case, the infrastructure improvement is the installation of HESCO barriers along the Mendenhall River. The barriers are intended to provide temporary and immediate mitigation against glacial outburst floodwaters while CBJ pursues a long-term solution. The proposed LID would pay for half of the project, while all CBJ taxpayers would pay for the other half.
Property owners pay for the LID as part of their property tax bill, usually over the course of several years. Payment is capped at a maximum amount, even if the cost of the project exceeds expectations.
In this case, the LID would be paid off over the course of ten years. (Property owners who wish to pay in full are welcome to do so at any time without penalty.) The payment amount is highest in the first year of the repayment schedule and decreases every year after.
The highest single-year payment within the ten year schedule is $1081.05. You can find a full payment table in the FAQ.
Four designated properties along the Mendenhall River bank would pay significantly more than this amount. You can read more about this in the memo and the FAQ.
For the LID to take effect, property owners who would bear 50% or more of the LID cost must agree to it. (In other words, if some property owners object, and the payments that would have been made by all those who object add up to 51% or more of the total LID amount, then the LID fails.) Objections must be made in writing.
You can read the full LID language in the CBJ code under section 15.10 Local Improvements and Special Assessments.
To find out more about which properties are included in the proposed LID, the ordinance timeline, the full installation cost, what happens if CBJ secures federal funding for the project, how to object, and many other questions, please read the draft FAQ.
Keep in mind that this FAQ is based on the ordinance that will be presented to the Assembly on Monday, December 16. The Assembly has the power to make amendments that may change some of this information. If you are unable to attend the meeting, or unsure how any such changes affect you, the FAQ will updated after the meeting to reflect the final ordinance.