Do you support additional city funding for improvements to Centennial Hall and a new Juneau Arts and Culture Center? Why or why not?

  • District 2 Assembly

    • Wade Bryson

      Candidate for District 2 Assembly

      If we approve everything, if the voters of Juneau approve everything, we are committing the city of Juneau to $17.5 million of debt over the — or taxes — over the next 15 years. That’s $4 million of sales tax money that would be given to Centennial Hall, $7 million bond, which would then have $6 million of interest tacked onto it. So it’s a $13 million bond ask. That’s a lot of money to commit in a time when one of your previous questions is, “What are we supposed to be doing about school debt bond reimbursement that’s not happening?” I don’t know that committing the city to $17.5 million of taxpayer money through property tax, sales tax and hotel bed tax is necessarily the right path, if you’re truly concerned about keeping our debt structure intact.

      More about Wade Bryson

  • District 1 Assembly

    • Greg Smith

      Candidate for District 1 Assembly

      Centennial Hall is a city building and we are responsible for it and it needs work. I do support putting in money to fix that building up. I do support a new JACC, as I mentioned before with needing to be very safe with our finances. I do have a concern on how much the city is going to and will be asked in the future to support a new JACC. But I believe the investments in the proposals that are on the Oct. 1 ballot are reasonable and I do support them, again with some caution on raising taxes and not spending too much of our fund balances and reserves.

      More about Greg Smith

    • Alicia Hughes-Skandijs

      Candidate for District 1 Assembly

      I will be voting yes. Centennial Hall, definitely we know it needs some significant remodels and re-improvements. We’ve heard that from the staff there and we know to keep a building running it’s better to take care of it now than push it off to the future, and it has already been pushed off. I support the JACC as well and think it’s going to be an economic driver for our community. I think, for a city that has such a thriving arts and culture scene, we’ll have the location that matches that drive.

      More about Alicia Hughes-Skandijs

  • Areawide Assembly

    • Carole Triem

      Candidate for Areawide Assembly

      I do. Centennial Hall definitely needs those improvements. I think all user groups, not just the ones that are coming from outside of Juneau to use it as a convention space, but the people in town who use it as a community hall. And everybody agrees that that building needs a lot of work. I also support the new JACC and hope that they get that project up and running. I think that it’s a pretty good investment for CBJ to give a small portion of that funding. (It) will help in the short term, create jobs and in the long term will have a beautiful performing arts center which will just enhance our community at every level.

      More about Carole Triem