Outreach and Virtual Meetings

DOWL can facilitate a wide range of virtual meetings, open houses, and other forms of outreach related to public involvement.

For current projects, select your project from the list below:

Find Your Project Here

  • Alaska Peace Officers Association

    Alaska Peace Officers Association (APOA) is seeking public feedback on the possible location of a new interior training facility

     

    Project Overview

    Alaska Peace Officers Association (APOA) is seeking community feedback to assist in the selection of a site for a public safety training facility in the Fairbanks North Star Borough to serve the Alaska Interior region. The new facility is needed primarily because the previous and only outdoor training range in the Fairbanks North Star Borough was permanently closed due to its location on airport property. Adequate outdoor and indoor training is critical for public safety; this facility will benefit all who live, work, and visit within the region. Community feedback will be gathered through an online survey and also through a community meeting on December 10. There are currently about ten sites under consideration; community feedback will help us refine the list down to a smaller number of possible sites.

     

    APOA Overview Map

     

    Your Input Matters

    We’ve analyzed possible sites from a technical perspective for how well each fits the criteria but we look to the community for more anecdotal information that the project team may not have awareness of, things that you know about the sites because of where you live and work and play.

     

    Two Ways for you to Weigh In:

    1. Join us for a virtual community meeting from 6:00 – 7:00 PM on December 10 over Microsoft Teams. More information will be available here about how to access the virtual meeting platform.
    2. Take an online survey to help us measure public perception about each of the sites under consideration as the home of the new training facility. The survey will launch on December 10 and run for one week; check this page for a link to the SurveyMonkey site starting on December 10.

     

    Documents/Resources

     

    Questions? Please don’t hesitate to contact us!

    LaQuita Chmielowski, Senior Land Use Planning Manager
    lchmielowski@dowl.com
    907-562-2000

    Katie Conway, Public Involvement Manager
    kconway@dowl.com
    907-562-2000

  • Alaska System Security Plan

    Statewide Aviation Security Plan

    Alaska System Security Plan

    Project Overview

    The objective of the Alaska System Security Plan is to assess and review Alaska’s Category III airport security environment by completing an airport security study as recommended by the Alaska Aviation System Plan (AASP). The study will examine existing conditions through a comprehensive inventory and stakeholder surveys, conduct a gap analysis of needed changes, and recommend statewide airport improvement projects based on that analysis. This project will first document the existing security baseline and then provide recommendations for future policy, infrastructure, and technology improvements across Alaska’s Airport System.

    Alaska System Security Plan - Airport Map

    Please take our survey!

    The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities Statewide Aviation Division is currently assessing Alaska’s Category III airport security environments. One aspect of this assessment is understanding each airport’s security culture and issues.

    At your earliest convenience, will you please take this 3 minute survey?

    We’re asking all airport stakeholders, (employees, users, pilots, etc.), both badged and unbadged, to help us better understand the security culture in each of your respective airports. Questions in this survey pertain to airport-specific security technology and practices like restricted areas, access control and airport badges. The survey will take you approximately 3 minutes to complete.

    To show appreciation for your assistance, survey participants can enter a random drawing for a $100 Amazon gift card. Please send an email with the subject “survey completed” to SWA_Security@dowl.com to be entered. 

     

    Project Documents & Resources:

     

    Project Schedule:

    Summer 2020 – Winter 2021
    		 Data Collection: 1) Site visits to Category III airports to document existing airport security conditions. The project team will complete an inventory of existing security conditions, collect data to document each restricted area access point. 2) The project team will administer a security culture survey.
    Winter 2021 – Summer 2021
    		 Analysis: The project team will complete a gap analysis for each airport system and conduct a benchmarking analysis against similar airports outside Alaska.
    Fall 2021
    		 Recommendations & Final Deliverables: The project team will develop a ten year Security Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) that outlines needed airport security improvements. A final report, with executive summary, will be created to document issues identified in the existing conditions study, recommendations for security improvements, performance measures for tracking progress toward systematic improvements, and strategies for enhancing security culture.

     

    Onsite Visit Schedule:

    August 3–7, 2020
    		 Kodiak Airport Onsite Visit
    Virtual Meeting – Monday, August 3 – 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
    August 31–Sept. 1, 2020
    		 Cordova Airport Onsite Visit
    Virtual Meeting – Monday, August 31 – 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm.
    Sept. 2–5, 2020
    		 Sitka Airport Onsite Visit
    Virtual Meeting – Wednesday, September 2 – 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm.

    Project Contacts:

    • Meg Jones, Public Involvement Lead, DOWL: 907.865.1286
    • Rebecca Douglas, Project Manager & Lead Planner, DOT&PF: 907.269.0728
    • Project Email: SWA_security@dowl.com
    • Project phone: 907.865.1379

     

  • Eklutna, Inc. Variance Request

    Eklutna, Inc. Variance Request Community Meeting

    September 17, 2020 7:00 p.m. during the Chugiak Community Council Regular Meeting

     

    Eklutna, Inc. Variance Request - Project Map

    This meeting may be held in person or virtually. How the meeting will take place will be determined by the Community Council in September closer to the date of the meeting. Please check the Community Council web page for more information about the meeting. We will share meeting information here as well when it is available, and will post presentation materials on this page after the meeting.

     

    The project area is located on several lots in Chugiak, Alaska that are zoned CE-R-10, Residential Alpine/Slope District. Per Anchorage Municipal Code 21.10.050.F.1, natural resource extraction is allowed where the slope is less than 10 percent. Eklutna, Inc. owns the parcels along with Rock Alaska, which is adjacent to this site and is a permitted hard rock quarry. Rock Alaska and the adjacent parcels are made up of similar rock material. Both the Rock Alaska site and the adjacent properties have slopes that exceed 10 percent.

    Eklutna, Inc. is seeking a variance to allow the continued development of Rock Alaska and potential future development of the adjacent site. The development of the project site for the near term would include access roads to allow development of the southern portion of the Rock Alaska Site. It is important to note that the variance is the first step for any future development of the CE-R-10 properties and any natural resources extraction on these parcels would require a Conditional Use Permit.

    On behalf of Eklutna, Inc., DOWL will be speaking about the project and variance request to the Chugiak Community Council at their regularly scheduled meeting on September 17.

    Virtual Meeting

    Join Zoom Meeting

    Project Documents and Resources

    Contact Information

    Questions, concerns, and public comments regarding Eklutna, Inc.’s pending variance request should be sent to:
    LaQuita Chmielowski
    DOWL Senior Land-Use Planning Manager
    907.562.2000
    lchmielowski@dowl.com

     

  • Sitka SPB

     

    Sitka SPB

    Project Overview

    The City and Borough of Sitka (CBS) is proposing development of a new Sitka Seaplane Base (SPB) on the north end of Japonski Island. The existing SPB, located on the east shore of the channel, has been operating for 65 years and is at the end of its useful life. CBS started evaluating new SPB locations in 2000, completing siting studies and preparing an airport master plan for the Japonski Island site in 2002. In January 2016, the existing SPB facility was temporarily closed because of storm damage to this aging seaplane base. After making temporary repairs it was reopened in Fall 2016. Recognizing the limited lifespan, poor condition, minimal amenities, and site constraints of the existing SPB, CBS updated its siting analysis and reevaluated the layout and features for the new SPB in 2016.

    CBS is proposing to construct a new SPB that will serve the community in the coming decades. The final size and layout of the various components are not yet determined and will be refined and finalized as we go through the planning and environmental process. The goal is to identify and address all the facilities needed for ultimate buildout of the facility, even if the improvements are phased over time as demand requires.

    The new SPB would support the regional economy (fishing, tourism, government services, and access to remote communities and areas only accessible by water). Aviation and non- aviation businesses and government agencies have indicated support for a new seaplane base. An economic impact study estimated annual earnings by Sitka businesses from the new SPB would be approximately $815,000 per year.

    If approved, 93.75% of land acquisition, design, and construction costs are eligible for reimbursement from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

    What’s New

    1. Join our meeting! Please join us on June 24, 2020 at 2 p.m. for a SPB Aviation User’s Meeting. Aviation users should receive an invite to this meeting. If you did not receive an invite and want to participate, please email SitkaSPB@dowl.com. This will be a virtual meeting conducted over Skype for Business and teleconferenced. Meeting materials are posted to this website in the Documents and Resources section below.
    2. Please take our survey! We are conducting a survey that will inform final design decisions and need to hear from stakeholders. Please take five minutes to share your design preferences. The survey is live now and will be open through 4:00 PM on Friday, July 3. Your input is appreciated! Please click here to take the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SitkaSeaPlaneBase.

    Sitka SPB Concepts for Review

    Other Project Documents & Resources

    Project Contacts