City of Gustavus

06/09/2026

Information from GCI

05/28/2026

Where are the missing skiff floats?

The skiff floats are currently under repair and awaiting a high enough tide for relocation and attachment to the steel float. The hope is to have them attached within the next week. Thank you for your patience as we work diligently on this situation.

05/20/2026

05/13/2026

Now hiring a City Treasurer!

https://www.gustavus-ak.gov/Jobs.aspx?UniqueId=98&From=All&CommunityJobs=False&JobID=City-Treasurer-7

04/30/2026

Having trouble reaching our website? You are not alone. Please be patient as we are working through a few technical issues as we launch our new website. If you need assistance, contact city hall 907-697-2451.

04/27/2026

If you have a boat on the wooden float system in the harbor, please remove it by Thursday, April 30, 2026, at 8:00 a.m. The floats are scheduled for repair and will then be moved to the metal float system.

Please keep all boats off the wooden floats until they are connected to the metal float system.

04/22/2026

The City of Gustavus is pleased to announce the hire of Johan Janse van Rensburg as GFVD Fire Chief!

After lengthy debate and consideration of the applicants and their credentials, the GVFD Fire Chief selection committee is pleased to announce that our concluding decision was to promote from within the GVFD. Johan’s specific knowledge of our department’s operations, current projects, internal culture, and commitment to community engagement, more closely matches the needs of the GVFD organization at this time. He has emphasized that the department is like a family that needs to support one another.

The GVFD Fire Chief recruitment period lasted 5 weeks. The selection committee was comprised of 2 council members, the City Administrator, a GVFD volunteer, and a currently working fire chief from SE Alaska. Prior to the interviews, the committee met to review the applications and formulate interview questions to ask the candidates.

Johan will be responsible for directing the day to day operations for the GVFD, and will focus on overall department readiness.

As many of you know, Johan has been filling in for the last 6 months as Interim Fire Chief. He has been a volunteer responder for the last 10 years. He is a member of Team Rubicon – a non-governmental organization specializing in disaster response. Johan is committed to managing the GVFD efficiently, and in continuing the momentum in the department’s transition which, together with the EMS Coordinator, includes building a strong response team. To that end, please note that all 6 Gustavus Firefighter I students who recently participated in the FFI hybrid class through UAF, completed the course, and successfully passed the State of Alaska Practical Skills testing. They are now awaiting the results of the State of Alaska written exam. EMS Coordinator, Leah Okin, recently taught classes for 7 EMT I’s and 9 ETT’s. Collectively, in order to elevate department capabilities, they will enable training and certification opportunities for volunteer responders and dispatchers using training protocols aligned across both fire and medical disciplines as they continue to engage in community outreach. Optimally, this collaboration will result in improved patient outcomes, increased responder safety, and standard operating procedures. Go Team!

Please give a warm welcome to Johan in his role as GVFD Fire Chief as he begins this vital role serving our community.

Kathy Leary
City Administrator

04/17/2026

Spring is coming!!!! Compost sale begins April 21st, 2026.

01/17/2026

Hello Gustavus Community.

Now that the worst is behind us with the recent record-setting snowfall event, I hope everyone is doing well or as well as anyone can under these recent circumstances.

We understand the significant challenges this presented for our residents and thank you for your patience as our amazing road crews worked tirelessly to clear snow, debris and are still digging out berms to mitigate flooding on the roads. There is still cleanup to be done although it seems that Mother Nature has given us a reprieve for the next week, so let’s all be grateful for that.

I would like to recognize the efforts of ADOT&PF - Commissioner Anderson, Southcoast Director Goins, Southcoast Deputy Director Roberts; Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) - Director Fisher and his staff at the State Emergency Operations Center, (SEOC) and Chief of Staff - Tyson Gallagher in the governor’s office for facilitating use of the yet to be surplused CASE loader parked at the airport. Having access to this additional and adequately sized, newer machine to help remove the mountains of heavy snow along the roads and parking lots really helped alleviate a lot of probable damages, including the potential for major flooding and damage to the electrical grid. Additionally, our local DOT&PF crew was authorized to help once airport needs were covered. Yay Jeff and Ian!

Major KUDOS to our diligent roads contractors for their practically ‘round the clock and relentless efforts to keep up with snow removal on our roadways, and to others with heavy equipment who assisted or who were at the ready to help with emergencies, (you know who you are!).

Additional appreciation goes out to:
GVFD responders for remaining accessible and vigilant
The AP&T crew for marking utilities and other assistance
The Dray for keeping the fuel delivered
The City staff and Mayor for major multi-tasking - prioritizing safety of life and infrastructure and in keeping our most vulnerable residents on the radar (Significant use of “other duties as assigned” may have been applied 😊 )
The young entrepreneurs who were out there shoveling roofs, decks, and other areas to prevent damage and providing access to homes
Gustavus school principal and staff for coordinating efforts with us before school could reopen
And to all of you who checked on and helped your friends and neighbors

As a proactive measure, when it is clear and safe enough to do so, please mark your infrastructure along the roadways that might get buried and therefore be vulnerable to damage by snow removal equipment.

Disaster Relief Update - We are looking at finding an effective/efficient way to collect information on property damage in the community. We will send out another update if we are able to develop a local repository of this information/data. We’ve been advised by the SEOC to tell folks to document their damages with photos, detailed notes, receipts, etc. This would be to submit to the state in the event that they approve the ability to apply for individual assistance. There is no guarantee this will happen but collecting the information is the first step.

Thank you for your resilience. Stay safe and informed!

Kathy Leary
City Administrator