In a move underscoring the complexities of local governance in Southeast Alaska, the City of Gustavus is filing for reconsideration of the Alaska Local Boundary Commission’s (LBC) recent decision to approve a vote on the creation of the Xunaa Borough.
In addition, the cities of Gustavus, Elfin Cove, Pelican, and Tenakee have hired an attorney who has asked for an extension of deadlines relating to the reconsideration of the commission’s decision.
According to the formal letter, the written decision by the commission on Dec. 17 came at a time when municipal offices had holiday closures and local people had travel plans that made it hard to meet the deadline for requests for reconsideration.
The commission’s narrow 3-2 vote on of the last steps toward transforming the first-class City of Hoonah into a borough with jurisdiction over a vast swath of northern Southeast Alaska.
The proposed borough would encompass other settlements, some of which have expressed skepticism about promised benefits of the new governance structure. The change, if ratified by voters, would Hoonah residents greater autonomy over their affairs.
A history of opposition
Gustavus is a historic agricultural homesteading community of 600 people, which started with settlers in about 1914, just after Alaska formally became a territory.
Democrat President Franklin D. Roosevelt abruptly seized the agricultural land for part of the Glacier Bay National Monument, halting farming development.
After decades of effort by locals, in 1955 Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a presidential proclamation that excluded 19,000 acres of land from the national monument, and homesteading was restored.
The community has a strong sense of homesteading and subsistence identity, but is also tied historically and geographically to the national monument, which now provides jobs in the tourism sector.
Hoonah is larger, at 948 people and is an historic Tlingit settlement, with a strong historical identity. It has a growing tourism economy as well, due to expansion of the dock and improvements to the community that make is a stop for some cruise ships.
Gustavus and the fishing communities of Elfin Cove, Pelican, and Tenakee, have long been vocal critics of Hoonah’s attempts to form the Xunaa Borough and the territorial land grab.
In 2019, the Gustavus City Council passed a formal resolution opposing any borough formation that included Gustavus and its surrounding areas. Subsequent correspondence in 2022 from then-Mayor Mike Taylor declined Hoonah’s invitation to join the proposed borough, citing policy concerns and the council’s established opposition.
Despite these objections, the City of Hoonah submitted a petition in June 2023 to form the borough, delineating boundaries that included Icy Strait, Glacier Bay, Chichagof Island, and lands and waters far beyond, but isolating as enclaves the cities of Gustavus, Pelican, and Tenakee Springs, all of which had declined to join a Xunaa Borough.
The LBC’s approval of the petition came after significant debate, with commissioners acknowledging potential shortcomings in the borough’s compliance with state statutory requirements.
Gustavus pushes back
In response to the LBC’s decision, the Gustavus City Council passed Resolution CY24-05 in February 2024, disputing the qualifications of Hoonah’s petition and raising concerns about its statutory deficiencies. On June 10, 2024, the council endorsed the LBC staff’s preliminary report, which had highlighted issues with the proposed borough’s viability.
The Nov. 12 decision to approve the borough, however, galvanized Gustavus officials into action. The mayor, along with council members and legal counsel, reviewed the LBC’s records and identified procedural failures and disregard for state standards. A formal resolution was passed in December, directing the city’s administration to file for reconsideration of the LBC’s approval.
Looking ahead
The challenge from Gustavus and other communities reflect broader regional tensions over the Xunaa Borough’s potential impact. While proponents in Hoonah argue that borough status would strengthen local governance, critics worry about resource distribution and governance efficacy in such a geographically dispersed area, with towns that have their own vey distinct identities.
The LBC’s reconsideration process could set a precedent for how Alaska navigates disputes over borough formation in the future. As legal counsel for Gustavus prepares to submit the formal request, all eyes will be on the commission to see if it revisits its controversial decision.
The letter to the boundary commission by an attorney representing Gustavus, Elfin Cove, Tenakee Springs, and Pelican wants the deadline pushed into January formally asks for the deadlines to be extended due to the holidays so the local communities have a reasonable amount of time to respond.
Let’s be honest. One of the big concerns here is Hoonah, a mostly Tlingit community, will start putting pressure on the small white fishing villages.
It’s not a concern over natives being dominant per se, but a concern over a not so subtle settling of grievances, real or imagined.
First Hoonah will impose taxes on the other towns that will benefit itself. Look at Mat-Su.
This whole mess is a solution looking to create a problem for it to solve.
If someone in Gustavus, Tenakee, or Elfin Cove needs medical, dental or vision care, do they fly to Juneau or Hoonah? If they use a sea transporter, or their own boat, to obtain appliances, building supplies, furnishings, automobiles or parts, bulk foods, etc, do they go to Juneau or Hoonah? Which borough manages and maintains the docks or airport utilized? Or the roads used to deliver the goods to the docks or airport? How are planes and boats refueled? What borough provides the public utilities, sewer, water, streets, snow removal, electric to support and enable the businesses, airports and docks they visit or utilize? It’s quite obvious the people of Gustavus, Tenakee, Elfin Cove, and even Hoonah itself, depend more upon Juneau for their subsistence than otherwise. Yet the people of Juneau pay for all the support and infrastructure Juneau provides. Have these plain facts been considered by the boundary commission?
The Local Boundary Commission must reconsider their decision immediately.
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Think about it, what if Chugach Regional Borough decides to annex Anchorage Borough, fire every Anchorage city government and school-district official, return the election system to what it was BC*…and voters approve by a margin way too big to rig?
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What if voters get the idea this notion could work in Fairbanks or Juneau?
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*Before Corruption
Sounds like fun. The Anchorage city government is now situated to handle the needs of the few through the monies of the many. The majority of Anchorage residents would probably appreciate a change?
Give Southeast Alaska back to the Russians and let them sort out these never-ending problems.
Excuse me, but fix your problems up there before you weigh in on ours down here. And good luck with that.