City Museum Funding

At a glance

• What: Whether to restore about $261,000 in recurring general funds for the Juneau Douglas City Museum, which the FY27 budget cut to the point of leaving one collections and one administrative staff member.
• Where it stands: Restoration amendments failed 4-5 on June 8, 2026. A $45,000 cruise line donation for part-time museum staff during cruise seasons was introduced July 27.
• Next: Public hearing on the $45,000 appropriation at the next regular meeting; the museum staffing question returns in the FY28 budget.

Public testimony (June 8, 2026)

About twenty speakers urged full funding. Dixie Clough, Director of Museums Alaska, said the museum bore a disproportionate share of cuts and reducing to one collections and one administrative person would effectively end its functions. Bonita Nelson, President of the Friends of the Museum, urged keeping key staff. Others said the director and program curator roles carry expertise that would be lost, and a curator at the Alaska State Museum praised its quality. One speaker questioned the cut when the overall budget is $545 million.

Votes

• Amendment 2 (Ms. Hall): add $261,000 in recurring general funds, restoring the Manager's proposal; she noted pools and the ice arena were fully funded.
• Amendment 2A (Mr. Kelly): fund it from one-time FY27 money from the Lemon Creek Multimodal CIP. Ms. Hughes-Skandijs said that project had already been raided and warned against covering operating costs by cannibalizing capital projects; Deputy Mayor Smith opposed one-time money for recurring costs. Failed 4-5 (yes: Kelly, Steininger, Hall, Brooks; the minutes name only four of the five nays: Hughes-Skandijs, Smith, Adkison, Weldon).
• Amendment 2: failed 4-5 (yes: Hall, Steininger, Kelly, Brooks; no: Hughes-Skandijs, Woll, Adkison, Smith, Weldon). Ms. Woll said she did not want the cut but fund balance was too precarious; Mayor Weldon said service reduction targets had not been met; Mr. Kelly said revenue goals had been met or exceeded.

Supplemental materials included a Kelly and Hall amendment and an email exchange from Mayor Weldon about the museum that entered the packet through a reply-all.

Cruise line donation

Ordinance 2021-01(b)(B) appropriates $45,000 from Norwegian Cruise Line to fund part-time limited positions to maintain museum hours during cruise seasons. Introduced on the consent agenda July 27, 2026 and set for public hearing at the next regular meeting.

Sources

• Assembly regular meeting minutes (Meeting 2026-12), June 8, 2026: https://juneauak.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetMeetingFileStream(fileId=13131,plainText=false)
• Assembly regular meeting minutes (Meeting 2026-15), July 27, 2026: https://juneauak.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetMeetingFileStream(fileId=13275,plainText=false)

Log

2026-07-27 - Regular Assembly Meeting

$45,000 donation appropriation introduced.

2026-06-08 - Regular Assembly Meeting

Twenty-plus speakers; both restoration amendments failed 4-5.