Welcome to February and the noticeable increase in daylight hours. I hope this finds everyone doing well and looking towards spring.

It has been a busy couple of months with a very significant event taking place on Monday January 10, 2022.  At their regular meeting, the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly members approved a $2 million appropriation for design development of the facility concept for a Capital Civic Center. The funds will cover the costs for continued refinement of the current concept, first presented in July of 2021, and provide more accurate estimated costs for construction.

 In the coming weeks, CBJ will begin the process of solicitation for architectural services. After a firm has been chosen, community meetings will be scheduled to explore the project as it is being developed. A more detailed explanation of the CBJ process, conceptual elevations and floor plans for the Capital Civic Center is posted on our website, juneaupartnership.org. We encourage you to take a minute to review the materials and if you have any questions please feel free to contact us.  

Meanwhile, the Partnership Board and committees meet regularly and continue to track the progress of the project. We are still at work to secure federal funding for the project as well as contributions from individual donors. As the pandemic starts to taper off we all hope for the return of in-person events and the opportunity to see everyone again.

As always, thank you for your continued support of the project.

Bob Banghart, Partnership Executive Director

He is a professionally trained chef with an Associate Chef’s degree from the California Culinary Academy in their Le Cordon Bleu Executive Chefs Program and received a Bachelor of Science from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. He spent more than ten years fundraising and working with sustainable development and conservation biology non-profits as a photographer and scientist.

Colin moved to Alaska seven years ago, where he started the Salt & Soil Marketplace, an online local food marketplace for Southeast Alaska. He continues his support of community development and the arts in his current role as Fundraising Manager for the Partnership’s Capital Campaign Committee.

While his true passion is to be out in the wilderness on water or mountains as much as possible, he can also be found importing and carving opals into gemstones and jewelry on heavy weather days.