Assembly members at the Kodiak Island Borough work session on Nov. 13 questioned whether leasing borough‑adjacent land to store service area materials gives an unfair advantage to a contractor and whether borough property should be used instead.

Manager Amy explained the Service Area 1 board voted to approve leasing 3523 East Rosenoff Drive to store gravel, chloride and salt for the service area’s contractor. She said the lease as written would cost the borough roughly $68,000 over five years but remained within the manager’s contract authority; members argued the decision had policy implications that merited assembly review.

Assemblymember Dave asked how much space was needed; Amy said the service area chair estimated about 20,000 square feet (roughly a half acre). Several members argued the contractor normally should bake storage costs into bids and that borough land (Dark Lake, Pillar Mountain gravel pit, Bayside Fire lot or unused school lots) offered cheaper options. Assemblymember Jared (speaker 7) cited private storage rate examples (25¢–45¢/sq ft/month) and compared them with waterfront storage rates at 60¢/sq ft/month, arguing the proposed lease looks expensive when measured against alternatives.

Some members expressed concern about an elected member of a subordinate board influencing decisions and suggested an ordinance to prohibit simultaneous service on subordinate boards. Others noted the lease funds would come from Service Area 1 taxes, not general borough revenues, and that a short‑term bridge would avoid disrupting winter road work. Manager Amy proposed honoring the 2025 arrangement through May 2026 to allow the contractor to complete winter work while staff and the assembly consider long‑term options; the assembly indicated general support for that approach.

The work session did not record a formal roll‑call vote but produced direction to staff to allow a short‑term transition (through May 2026) while the borough explores using borough parcels and standard procurement (RFP) for longer‑term storage solutions.