Closest to the Fish

News & Updates for the City of Pelican

January 2026

January 8th, 2026: Yakobi Fisheries has not received a confirmed sailing date (or confirmation at all) for the Poundstone to come to Pelican with freight. The Poundstone will NOT be in Pelican on 1/10/26, this Saturday.

January 5th, 2026: Public Service Announcement - Estimated Reads for Electric Meters - Due to inclement weather, many electric meters have been inaccessible to the meter reader. Consequently, the Pelican Utility District will be estimating many meter readings for the December utility bills.

If your meter reading has been estimated, this will be noted directly on your utility bill. When an estimate is required, the city will calculate usage using the following method:

1. Take the previous month’s usage and number of billing days, and the usage and number of billing days for the same month of last year.

2. The total usage of these two sample months is then divided by the total number of billing days to come up with an average daily usage for your home or business at this time of the year.

3. The resulting daily usage estimate is then multiplied by the number of billing days for this month to come up with the final estimated billing for the month.

If your bill has been estimated, a billing true-up will occur next month once an actual meter reading can be taken and applied to youra ccount. For many customers, this may result in an unusually high or low bill when the true reading is processed. Please note that all charges will accurately reflect the total amount of electricity used since the estimate was applied.

If you have any questions about your utility bill, please contact City Hall.

January 1, 2026

Meetings:

• Wednesday, January 7th, 2026 - Pelican Fish and Game Advisory Committee Meeting and Election at 5:00 p.m. Here’s the link.

• Tuesday, January 13th, 2026 - School Board Meeting at 6:00 p.m.

• Wednesday, January 14th, 2026 - Regular City Council Meeting at 6:00 p.m.

  -The City of Pelican is in the process of transitioning away from using Dropbox for City Council meeting notices and materials and moving toward our Granicus System. Meeting information and documents will be posted through Granicus. Community members are encouraged to follow this link provided and sign up for email updates for boards and committees to receive meeting notices and materials directly.

Allen Marine Sailings:

• Tuesday, January 6th, 2026 & Tuesday, January 27th, 2026

  11:30 a.m. Arrival, 1:30 p.m. departure

  *All dates and times are subject to change/cancellations. Always make sure to check with Alaska Marine Highway System’s website for information.

Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Closure:

• In observance of the holiday, all City of Pelican businesses will be closed on Monday, January 19th. Pelican Fuels will be subject to a $200 holiday callout fee. Regular Pelican Fuels hours will resume on Wednesday, January 21st, and garbage service will be rescheduled to Tuesday, January 20th.

Property Tax, Sales Tax, and Transient Tax Reminders:

• Turn in property assessment returns no later than the last day of February. Failure to submit this form in a timely manner, or at all, will result in an arbitrary valuation by the Board of Equalization.

• If you’re 65 or older, or a disabled veteran, don’t forget to stop by and complete form 21-400. This exemption can help reduce your property tax burden, so be sure to take advantage of this opportunity.

• This is a friendly reminder that Quarter 4 2025 sasles and/or transient accommodation tax forms and applicable payments are due by January 31st, 2026. To ensure timely compliance, please complete and submit the required forms by the deadline by mailing to: The City of Pelican, Alaska, P.O. Box 737, Pelican, Alaska 99832. You may also fax the completed form to 907-735-2258, or submit a copy of the completed form via email to cityhall@pelicancity.org. Payment may be accepted vai check/money order, in person at City Hall, or via card over the phone. Please note that all credit card transactions are subject to a processing fee. Additionally, these tax returns are required even if you have no taxable sales, purchases, or credits to report.

AMHS Project Update:

• Year 2026-2027 is the Design Phase and Beginning of Construction. 2030 is the expected Construction Completion Date. Please continue to check the City of Pelican’s Projects Page for more updates.

More from the City

• Due to weather related delays, as of the beginning of December, checks paid to the city may experience a delay in being deposited to our banking facility. We appreciate your patience and understanding at this time.