The Ketchikan City Council raced through its action agenda Thursday in less than 15 minutes in anticipation of three executive sessions to talk about labor negotiations.
The public portion of the meeting took less than half an hour, with more than half of that used for public comment.
One of the speakers was Terri Metcalf, a former Ketchikan resident who now lives on Prince of Wales Island. She is in town for an art show that opens Friday at the Main Street Gallery.
Metcalf says she is pleased to have watched downtown Ketchikan improve in recent years.
“Having grown up here, when I saw downtown kind of sell its soul, I left. I moved over to Prince of Wales Island,” she said. “The last five or six years, I have seen a rejuvenation in this town, and it’s through the art world. I just want to say thank you for supporting them.”
Also Thursday. the Council voted to schedule a special meeting to talk in depth about the costs of overtime in various departments, and how to potentially reduce those costs. That meeting is set for 7 p.m. Sept. 24.
The Council also agreed to add a discussion of the old Main Street fire station to its next regular meeting agenda, in response to a request from the Ketchikan Area Arts and Humanities Council.
The City Council recently rejected a proposal to transfer ownership of the property to the Arts Council for an artist residency program. One of the reasons given was potential interest by private businesses in purchasing the old building, which the city has used as storage for the past four years.
The Arts Council letter asks the city to put the building on the market, to see what kind of interest there really is.
The Council took no action Thursday following its three executive sessions. After each, it was announced that members gave direction to city negotiators who are working toward new contracts with the Ketchikan Professional Firefighters Association, Public Safety Employees Association and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
