City of Kenai

A Kenai man was killed while crossing the Kenai Spur Highway Tuesday night. The Kenai Police Department reports that 36-year-old Monte Necessary was struck and killed by a westbound sedan.

The driver of the sedan was 75-year-old Roger Seibert, also of Kenai. He was not reported to be injured.

The incident took place on the Kenai Spur Highway near its intersection with North Spruce Street. Next of Kin has been notified and the investigation is ongoing.

City of Kenai officials will be closing access to the Kenai River's Soth Beach tonight and are warning dipnetters not to camp there or on the North Beach.

The reason are extreme high tides overnight that could pose hazards to campers. 

The morning tide Thursday at 3:54 a.m. is forecast to be 23 feet, followed by Friday morning's 4:44 a.m. high tide of 24 feet, and Saturday morning’s high tide at 5:44 will be nearly 25 feet.

The Kenai City Council last week set its budget for the new fiscal year, which begins on July 1. The budget appropriates $16,166,027 from the General Fund as part of a $28,105,942 total budget. Appropriations from the Enterprise and Internal Service Funds amount to just over $3 million, while the city’s Special Revenue Funds contribute about $8.75 million.

The council also committed $750,000 of unassigned General Fund money for future renovation and improvements to city facilities and streets. The employee salary schedule was also amended.

The City of Kenai is scrambling to find a new operator of the city dock, after being informed the past vendor will not be returning and not getting any response from others.

“And I notified Harbor Commission of this the other night that our concessioner that has been operating the dock for the last couple of years, Copper River Seafoods, is not interested in pursuing that again this year. We did not find that out until a couple of weeks ago," City Manager Paul Ostrander explained to the Kenai City Council.

Spring may still be around the corner, with summer just a fond hope for the future, but the city of Kenai is actively working on projects to make the July dipnet season more convenient for participants. 

At last week’s meeting, the Kenai City Council voted to move funds from a completed South Beach access project, to needs on the north side of the river.

Libraries used to be quiet as mausoleums, with people shuffling quietly from the card catalog, to the stacks, to a straight-backed wooden chair at a table to read under harsh fluorescent lights. Stern librarians would peer over their glasses and give a “shush” at any sound.

Not so much any more.

“Libraries are not quiet any more. And there are some people who are kinda upset about that sometimes,” says Kenai Library Director Mary Jo Joiner. 

There was another strong earthquake felt in Kenai almost exactly two years ago, though much closer than Tuesday morning's 7.9 event, meaning it caused a whole lot more damage in the Central Peninsula.

Some of that damage occurred to the Kenai City Dock during the January 24th, 2016, 7.1 earthquake.

City Manager Paul Ostrander explained to the Kenai City Council the administration’s plan to repair the damage, using funds left over from two other, completed projects.