Community leaders share support for proposed New City Hall

Community leaders through Juneau are lending their voices in support of the construction of a new city hall at 450 Whitter Street.

At the 2023 Southeast Conference Annual Meeting this week in Sitka, Richard (Chalyee Éesh) Peterson, president of the Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (Tlingit & Haida) ended his welcome remarks by saying, “Let’s build that city hall!”

Other voices from across the community include:

• Illustrating Ideas:

Local illustrator and small business owner Pat Race created a short animated explainer video highlighting his reasons for supporting the ballot proposition and proposed location for a new city hall at 450 Whittier Street. Watch the video: youtu.be/iYnAFjEm-xI

• Asking for Accessibility:

“The location, physical arrangement and scattered offices of the current City Hall are intimidating and burdensome for many to navigate. A new city hall that is ADA accessible, with all city services in one place would make is much easier for all Juneau-ites to participate in their local government.”

– Joan O’Keefe, Executive Director, SAIL, Inc.

• Looking Longterm:

“As a longtime member of the downtown business community, I look for projects that support a vibrant and sustainable Juneau.  Not only would the new proposed city hall save millions on rent and necessary repairs, but it would also provide a real, long-term and functional solution by bringing all of CBJ’s staff and services into one easily accessible City Hall that meets the needs of all of Juneau.”

– Eric Forst, Partner, Red Dog Saloon

• Building Together:

“The Juneau Building Trades are in full support of Proposition No. 1 to build and equip a new City Hall… We believe that the Capital of Alaska deserves a building that represents and serves the residents of Juneau. This project will be bid as a design build, allowing the City to make modifications with the builder to keep costs on budget. Additionally, owning one building versus renting multiple properties allows the City to see controlled costs in the long term, ultimately saving costs for current and future generations.”

– Brad Austin, Juneau Building Trades President (Read the full letter)

Read more thoughts in the “Community Support” section of the New City Hall webpage at bit.ly/cbjcityhall.

Ready to vote? Find out more about when, where, and how to return your ballot on the CBJ Elections home page.