On Tuesday night, the Unalaska City Council voted unanimously to appoint former Unalaska Fire Chief Abner Hoage as the new interim city manager.
Hoage led Unalaska’s fire department for about two years, until 2014. He left to fill the same position in Ketchikan, where he served for about seven years.
He said he’s been keeping an eye on Unalaska ever since he left.
“When I saw that Bil Homka was leaving, I went ahead and sent a letter to the council that I would be interested in filling the interim city manager position, because I'd love to come back out there,” Hoage said.
Former city manager Bil Homka abruptly resigned in November amid an ongoing lawsuit that names Homka and the city for wrongful termination. He’d held the position since May of 2023.
Council members wasted no time assigning responsibilities to their new employee. They concluded their Tuesday meeting by giving Hoage his first directive, asking him to address unreliable air travel to the island.
“I think it's important that the incoming interim city manager — that one of the priorities be to really work with the airlines and streamline the process to explore if there's a possibility for some sort of local preferences,” Council Member Zac Schasteen said at the meeting.
Unalaska is in the middle of one of its busiest times for travel. The start of the Bering Sea pollock’s main “A” season brings a massive influx of seasonal workers to the region in December and January.
On top of that, a recent stretch of poor weather has caused flight delays and cancellations from Anchorage, as well as the closure of Unalsaka’s Tom Madsen Airport for about a day due to storm damage. The bottleneck of passengers prompted at least two community members to write to the council this week asking them to help find a solution for air travel delays and backups.
Unalaska resident Megan Dean wrote that an estimated 600 passengers are stranded in Anchorage.
“According to the Aleutian [Airways] website, the next available flight date is February 10,” she continued. “While weather related disruptions are beyond our control, there are several areas where local action can help mitigate the impact on our community.”
Aleutian Airways has not provided numbers on passenger backlogs. Katie Loughlin, Aleutian’s director of marketing and corporate communications, said in an email dated Jan. 9 that safety is the number one priority.
“The weather has been tricky this week and we are doing everything within our power and limits to get passengers in and out of Unalaska safely,” Loughlin said. “We are at the mercy of mother nature.”
The city issued a disaster emergency declaration on Dec. 29 after the storm that prompted the closure of the island’s airport. During the same storm, the island’s GCI internet and cell service, including emergency calling were cut. The city council extended that declaration for 30 days at a meeting earlier this month.
Council Member Shari Colemnan questioned giving precedence to an issue that she said was out of Hoage’s control, but the council ultimately voted unanimously to instruct Hoage to prioritize working with the airlines, Alaska Department of Transportation and other state and federal partners to ensure reliable flights for Unalaskans.
Hoage is expected to start on Jan. 26. He said he’s hoping to help keep things running smoothly for the city and provide some stability for Unalaska, which has previously struggled to retain its city leaders.
“In theory, we should be able to continue addressing the current challenges while a search for a permanent manager takes place, and that's what I'm going to be trying to do, is ensure that we continue all of those services as we have been,” he said.
Hoage said he is interested in applying for the permanent position but plans to focus on helping with ongoing projects and issues for now.
“And the other component, I guess, is just making sure that everything's in place, so that no matter who the council selects as a permanent manager when they step in, they're not immediately confronted with any major issues,” Hoage said.
Acting city manager Marjie Veeder said the city hopes to select a firm by Friday to help with the hiring process to find a permanent leader.
Hoage will receive $4,384.62 per week during his contract, according to a city memo.
His contract will run until June 20 or until a permanent city manager has been on the job for ten days, whichever comes first.
