2005-27 Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center Full FundingKODIAK ISLAND BOROUGH
RESOLUTION NO. FY2005 -27
A RESOLUTION OF THE KODIAK ISLAND BOROUGH ASSEMBLY
SUPPORTING FULL FUNDING FOR THE
KODIAK NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE VISITOR CENTER
Introduced by: Mayor Selby
Requested by: Assembly
Introduced: 06/02/2005
Adopted: 06/02/2005
WHEREAS, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently acquired a parcel of land in downtown
Kodiak for construction of a Refuge Visitor Center; and
WHEREAS, the Kodiak community has been involved in the planning for this Center since August
2001; and
WHEREAS, the Kodiak community has come together in a number of ways to help craft the vision
for this center, including a Community Design Workshop in 2002, Refuge focus group meetings in
2003, and participation in the site selection process and development of the draft interpretive
program center design in 2004; and
WHEREAS, a recently developed U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service policy on visitor center design, being
applied retroactively to this project, will significantly and negatively affect the ability of the new
center to meet the community's vision; and
WHEREAS, the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly believes that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will
only ask Congress for funding sufficient to build the drastically reduced center; and
WHEREAS, the Kodiak Regional Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy identified the goal
of "transforming the visitor industry into a significant component of the Kodiak region's economy"
by:
• facilitating product development in Kodiak's visitor industry in order to increase visitor
satisfaction and market desirability; and
• assisting in the development of the infrastructure for the borough -wide visitor industry by
working with private enterprise and government entities to encourage development of
infrastructure to accommodate a growing visitor industry; and
WHEREAS, the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly recognizes:
• the importance of the visitor center to Kodiak's downtown revitalization;
• the importance of partnering with the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge to enhance tourism in
our changing economy;
• the role of the Kodiak Island Borough as a "Gateway Community" under the "Balancing
Commerce and Nature in Gateway Communities" initiative co- sponsored by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service;
• the negative effect of replacing an existing building in the City's downtown core with a
structure that is significantly smaller;
• the need for the community to have access to sufficient educational resources related to the
natural history of the region's ecosystem, given the dependence of the local economy on the
natural environment; and
• the "Bare Bones Education Partnership," a five -year project through which the community is
giving the Fish and Wildlife Service the gift of a world -class exhibit featuring the skeletons of
a 38 -foot Gray Whale and a mature Kodiak Brown Bear, valued at approximately half a million
dollars, that is being forced into ever smaller and less useable space and may ultimately be
eliminated if current trends in project design and funding continue; and
Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska Resolution No. FY2005 -27
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WHEREAS, the Kodiak Bear Refuge comprises about two - thirds of the land on Kodiak Island which
makes the Refuge an extremely large land holder; and
WHEREAS, when factoring in the visitor industry, Kodiak Island demands an exceptionally large
visitor's center to accommodate the visitor traffic and provide an adequate opportunity to see and
understand the huge variety of fish, birds, and other wildlife available in the Refuge.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly urges Congress to
provide adequate funding to construct the originally- conceived design for the Kodiak National Wildlife
Refuge Visitor Center by specifying that the center will be approximately 10,000 square feet in size;
and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Congress is further urged to provide an additional three million
dollars in funding for the project above the appropriation request expected to be forwarded to
Congress by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this resolution shall be directed to Senator Stevens, Senator
Murkowski, Representative Young, and all appropriate Congressional committee members.
ATTEST:
a tiL
ith A. Nielsen MC, Borough Clerk
Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska
ADOPTED BY THE ASSEMBLY OF THE KODIAK ISLAND BOROUGH
THIS SECOND DAY OF JUNE 2005
KODIAK ISLAND BOROUGH
Je) " me M. Selby, Borough May
Resolution No. FY2005 -27
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