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City Council Prepares For DC Lobbying Trip

Laura Kraegel
/
KUCB

 

It’s all about high-speed internet. At least, that’s what city manager Dave Martinson believes should be the focus of the city council’s upcoming lobbying trip to Washington D.C.

 

“It’s really about high-speed internet," Martinson said. "We will continue to beat that drum.”

 

Martinson says he’s had discussions with two companies – GCI and Quintillion – that are looking into the feasibility of bringing fiber optic cable to the island. He believes that competition might make high-speed internet a reality sooner than many have expected.

 

Due to recent events like North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile tests, Councilor Yudelka Leclere also wants to make conversations with the U.S. Navy a priority.

 

“Security has been a concern for a lot of people when they read the news [about] those missiles," she said.

 

Citing four recent Navy vessel visits to Unalaska waters, Leclere is extremely interested in enticing their ships to pass through the city.

 

Also on the docket, city councilors discussed proposed changes to Unalaska Marine Center (UMC) tariffs. They agreed to move forward with a three percent increase on everything except for fuel, which has gone down, and cruise ships, which will see a seven percent increase.

 

The City Council is expected to revisit the UMC tariffs next month.

 

Zoë Sobel reported for KUCB from 2016 until 2019. She returned to KUCB after a year living in Nepal and Malaysia as a Luce Scholar. She then returned to KUCB as a ProPublica reporter August of 2020 through August of 2021.
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