Nome Common Council doles out more CARES Act funds

The Nome Common Council met for a work session on a program to incentivize homeowners to beautify their houses and for a discussion on a ban on plastic bags, prior to the regularly schedule meeting. As a discussion starting point, City Manager

Glenn Steckman put forth a proposal that put $150,000 on the table for incentives of $10,000 for two-story homes and businesses and $5,000 for single story buildings with eligibility of reimbursing paint, roof and sidings. The funds are not CARES Act money, but are tax dollars, Councilman Jerald Brown clarified. After an hour-long debate, the Council did not agree on what the program would entail, how much the individual grants would be or other particulars. Chamber of Commerce board president Scot Henderson said that the program’s funds would be exhausted very fast, with approximately enough funds for 30 buildings. “Maybe you underestimate the demand, there is a lot of deferred maintenance out there,” Henderson cautioned.

In the ten minutes left for a discussion on a potential ban on plastic bags, the Council and Henderson came to an informal proposal to make and distribute cloth bags to encourage Nomeites using those instead of the store’s plastic bags.

For the regular meeting, all council members were present in person at council chambers.

The Council voted in first reading on an ordinance to purchase the empty lot on Division Street and Front Street from the Boucher family for price of $203,000.

A vote on the adoption of the Historic Preservation Plan was delayed. In public comments, Austin Ahmasuk asked the Council to send the Historic Preservation Plan back to the drawing board. Ahmasuk said that the plan woefully lacks in ac

king crab a fishery disaster.

“The last three years have been difficult on commercial fishermen without the opportunity to fish crab and salmon,” Boeckmann explained. “It was my belief that the large-scale pink salmon fishery, with Icicle as a buyer, could offset the disastrous seasons we’ve been experiencing.”

Boeckmann said the purse-seine fishery showed promise despite a slow pink season.

“We saw that a purse-seine fishery can be facilitated without adverse effects on subsistence fishers or on the commercial gill net fleet here,” he said. “I really hope Icicle returns next year, and I appreciate the investment they made in the economy of Alaska’s western coastal communities.”

It is unusual to NSEDC to vote to remove a sitting representative prior to the end of their term. “NSEDC has not done this since I’ve been here,” explained Nome’s City Clerk Bryant Hammond. As city clerk, Hammond is responsible for organizing the municipal election in Nome and for facilitating the NSEDC election. “I learned [last week] they would have an election in Nome this year, but it is off cycle for them. Their next election was not scheduled until 2022.”

Adem Boeckman’s seat will remain empty until the special election is held on October 5.

“In cooperation with the City of Nome, a special election will be held to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term which ends in November 2022,” Ivanoff told the Nugget. “This election will be held on Tuesday, October 5, concurrently with Nome’s upcoming municipal elections.”

Nomeites are invited to apply to be a candidate to fill the seat. Candidacy packets are available at Nome City Hall and individuals interested in running can file their applications between August 13 and August 30 at 3 p.m.

The NSEDC board of directors is comprised of 15 board members from as many member communities and is responsible for managing economic development projects within the region.