Taxable sales revenue and updates on city initiatives were among the focuses of Kenai’s fourth annual “State of the City” address, delivered Wednesday by Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel and Kenai City Manager Paul Ostrander at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center.

Gabriel highlighted the city’s strong sales growth and business climate while Ostrander detailed ongoing city initiatives and projects.

In all, Gabriel said businesses in Kenai generated about $662 million in gross sales in 2021. Taxable sales were up in Kenai every quarter last year, and were up by about $7 million in 2021 compared to 2017. Taxable sales refer to money spent at Kenai businesses.

“I’ll let you reserve your opinion about how I’m doing or the city’s doing … but, in my opinion, I think that’s a good thing.”

Efforts to reinvest in existing city buildings, such the Pizza Hut — now Denali Dentistry — are also going strong, Gabriel said.

The city’s ongoing top capital priority remains the stabilization of the Kenai bluff, which is currently receding at a rate of about 3 feet per year. The project, which has been a thorn in Kenai’s side for decades, got a major boost earlier this year through the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, through which Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski secured $28 million for the project. Gov. Mike Dunleavy also included as part of his proposed budget $6.5 million for the project.

Ostrander said it’s expected that project design will be complete in August and that people should expect to see construction on the bluff next summer. Stabilization of the bluff, Ostrander said, will create jobs and economic opportunities within the city on top of preserving critical infrastructure.

“After 30-plus years of pursuing this, we’re going to get there,” Ostrander said.

Also in the works is the city’s Land Management Plan, which would itemize for the first time almost 370 pieces of land owned by the city in a digital repository, and the Kenai Waterfront Revitalization Project, which aims to revitalize the section of waterfront from Millennium Square to the city dock along Bridge Access Road by incentivizing development.

Attendees expressed interest in the city’s response to the ongoing spruce bark beetle outbreak. Ostrander said the city received about $385,000 through the federal government to address the problem and is currently applying for a grant through which they’d receive an additional $500,000 for mitigation efforts.

Ostrander said the city also plans to open a slash disposal site in Kenai this summer that will offer residents a more convenient location to get rid of infected trees taken down on their property. Currently, residents are able to drop of slash at the Central Peninsula Landfill in Soldotna.

More information about the City of Kenai can be found on the city’s website at kenai.city.

Reach reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.