Kenai’s mayor and city manager on Wednesday delivered the seventh annual State of the City presentation to the Kenai Chamber of Commerce.
Mayor Brian Gabriel and City Manager Terry Eubank celebrated increased usage of city services like the library and parks and recreation facilities; noted rising revenue from sales tax; and gave updates on the soon-to-begin construction of the Kenai River Bluff Stabilization Project and other large projects.
Gabriel spotlighted the accomplishments of each of the city’s departments. The Kenai Community Library saw 60,000 visitors and 100,000 checkouts while putting on 170 programs. The Kenai Recreation Center had 40,000 visitors, despite being closed for a month for renovations. The Kenai Senior Center was served by 94 volunteers who racked up 3,500 hours of service. Kenai’s fire and police department both are seeing a reduction in calls for service year-over-year — the only departments where Gabriel said that’s the report “I like to see.” The fire department added two new ambulances this year, while the police department added a drone program. The Kenai Municipal Airport saw a second consecutive year of increased “enplanements.”
Parks and Rec and the Kenai Municipal Airport are both developing master plans to guide their operations for the foreseeable future.
Those services are supported by revenues from property tax, and the city also relies on sales tax that generates the majority of its general fund revenue. Kenai has seen 30 consecutive quarters of positive sales tax growth, as of December 2024.
“That helps us understand that people are continuing to come to the city of Kenai to spend money,” he said.
Gabriel and Eubank also spotlighted the projects moving forward in the city.
“The airport is one of our best assets,” Gabriel said. It’s also one the city is working to expand and develop. The city is targeting the start of a runway rehabilitation project in the next year. Aleutian Airways is coming online as the airport’s third air carrier in June, and Debbie’s Bistro is opening as the new restaurant inside the airport on Saturday at 10 a.m. The city is also continuing to pursue the addition of a direct Kenai to Seattle route.
Eubank said there are major projects on the horizon for the city’s water and sewer utility, an assessment of all the city’s street lights underway by public works, and an ongoing assessment of the city’s public safety building.
The big project, “the city’s number one capital priority for the last 30 years,” is the bluff stabilization project. Eubank said local construction begins in May, and is still projected to be finished this year. The Army Corps of Engineers will host a community meeting on April 17 at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. to share information and take questions on the construction process.
The city is still working toward its waterfront revitalization project, making efforts to support economic development and working to partner with and support other entities like the Kenaitze Indian Tribe, the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Kenai Peninsula and the Triumvirate Theater, “to do more good for the community at a lower cost.”
Eubank said he hopes to see Kenai residents engage in the master plan processes for the airport and for parks and recreation to drive what happens in those departments.
For more information, visit kenai.city.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
