Borough to consider bus barn purchase

On Monday, the Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly will decide whether to purchase the Transit Department’s bus barn on Copper Ridge.

The borough now leases the property at a rate of about $125,000 a year. Through a purchase option in the lease – and with the help of a federal grant — the borough can buy it outright for $760,000. The bus barn’s current owner is BAM construction.

According to a Transit Department memo, if the borough continues to pay rent for the next 25 years – which is the estimated useful life of the building – it would pay more than $3 million.

Also on Monday’s agenda is authorization of voter-approved school bonds. The $5.5 million in bonds would be issued to pay for various school improvement projects.

The Assembly meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. Monday in Borough Assembly chambers at the White Cliff building. Public comment will be heard at the start of the meeting.