Capstone Clinic conducted almost 400 tests as of Monday, with 325 negative results and two positive cases.
The City of Dillingham shared updates to CARES funding, COVID-19 testing, the roads project and COVID-19 related law enforcement at Monday’s manager’s update.
Capstone Clinic conducted 398 tests as of Monday, with 325 negative results and 73 still pending. There have been two confirmed cases in Dillingham. Both individuals are out-of-state workers involved with the seafood industry.
City Manager Tod Larson announced that over 70 employees from Icicle Seafood’s arrived in Dillingham Tuesday, they will test at the clinic in the harbor. The Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation will is also sending seven test kits out to surrounding villages, and the city plans to send Bristol Bay villages COVID-19 information packets on Dillingham’s safety measures and travel requirements.
Larson also said the council will vote Thursday to approve a resolution that will make the $3.4 million in CARES Act funding available to the city.
"We did have our CARES Act manager hired and got a full plate for that person right now," Larson said. "In our second June council meeting we will talk about distribution of that money. There will be more to follow on that.”
The date of that second meeting has yet to be announced. Small businesses in Bristol Bay can also start applying for small business loans through the Alaska CARES grant program. $58 million was made available and funds will be distributed at a “first come, first serve” basis.
The city and state do not expect to complete the roads project this summer. Larson says he’s working with the construction company JJC and the state to coordinate which part of the project could get done this year.
“There’s 99….let’s call it 100 percent probability that the project won’t be completed this year," he said. "They have to lapse over into next. We need to figure out how that goes, what the state requirement is, maybe do one project over the other.”
Proposals for the Lake Road Fire Hall will be presented at the second city council meeting later this month and will be out for bid later this summer.
The Dillingham Police Department is also adding one extra shift to each police officer’s work schedule to ensure enforcement at the harbor as fishermen and processors come in for the fishing season. Larson says he expects to hear soon about three additional law enforcement positions from Denali Universal Services, a security company.
“They do like to hire local folks if they can," he said. "One will be a supervisor, but there two positions that could potententially be open. They will be putting those people on the next couple days."
The city will have a budget workshop Thursday at 6:00 p.m. The regular city council meeting will be right after that at 7:00 p.m. You can listen at kdlg.org or tune in to 670 AM
Correction: Dillingham City Council's agenda for the June 4 meeting stated that the city would recieve $4.4 million in CARES Act funding. A corrected city council agenda was sent June 3. The city will receive $3.4 in CARES Act funding, not $4.4 million as originally reported.
Contact the author at tyler@kdlg.org or 907-842-2200
