The last people have moved out, but lights and hope remain on Telephone Hill
- Mark Sabbatini
- 5 hours ago
- 4 min read
Couple moves out of Juneau’s oldest house on Saturday as ordered by a judge, but former residents of neighborhood still trying to save their belongings and homes
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
The oldest house in Juneau has gone dark, but the lights aren’t completely out on Telephone Hill.
Maureen Conerton, her husband Jeff Brown and a caretaker moved out of the Edward Webster House on Saturday, the deadline set by a judge in an eviction case brought by the city due to plans to redevelop the downtown neighborhood.
But lights remained on in a few other residences that were officially vacated many weeks ago, and a few people are still trying to reclaim items left behind. They’re also seeking to take protective measures for the homes in case the demolition of them doesn’t happen, even though the Juneau Assembly reaffirmed that fate last week.
Conerton spent much of Saturday doing hurried last-minute packing, although she said the biggest and most important items in the home were already at a house they are moving to with other family members in Auke Bay. She said she would keep packing what she could until her 11 p.m. move-out deadline.
"I will be out," she said. "Whatever is left is there for the city to do what it wants with it."
The couple’s Feb. 28 move-out date was four months later than the Nov. 1 eviction date for most of the 13 residences in seven structures on Telephone Hill that were occupied when the Assembly approved moving ahead on the redevelopment plan last June. It was also several weeks later than the eviction date given to people in two residences whose evictions ended up in court, with a judge ruling Conerton and Brown faced special circumstances due to his disabilities resulting from Parkinson’s Disease.
The Edward Webster House, built in 1882, has a plaque next to its front door proclaiming it "Juneau’s oldest residence" and lays claim to being the oldest occupied house in Alaska. Just before 11 p.m. on Saturday all of the lights at the house were out — possibly for the last time, except for the inspections for hazardous materials and other mandatory duties performed by workers before the home is demolished.
Some other people came by during the day to help Conerton and a caretaker with the final-day moving tasks. Among them was Tony Tengs, a former longtime resident of Telephone Hill, who offered to shovel their sidewalk on a day when Juneau received record snowfall. He and others said they’re still holding out hope the homes in the neighborhood will be preserved and people can move back in, but those hopes are dimming.
"It's killing me to have to move this stuff and been really hard," said John Ingalls, a longtime former Telephone Hill resident who still has items from a flute-making workshop and other possessions left in indoor and outdoor storage areas. "I love this house. My wife loves it. My son wants to move back into it if he can. He grew up here, and he would like to take it over — and it's a triplex — and live with a few other guys, maybe some of his friends, and maybe start a whole new tradition of creativity."
Ingalls was back at his former home on Sunday, hoping to pick up more possessions nearly six weeks after the Jan. 21 eviction date he and his wife were given in a case brought by the city.
"I'm doing the best I can to get out," he said. "It makes me sick. It's been a horrible thing for me."
A civil lawsuit filed against the city by some of the evicted residents, claiming their removal and the redevelopment plans are illegal, is pending in Superior Court, with a readiness hearing scheduled April 17 and a pre-trial conference scheduled June 26. City officials have said they plan continue with the demolition and other aspects of the project before the matter goes to trial.
City Manager Katie Koester, in a text message to the Juneau Independent on Monday, stated "we will consider requests on a case by case basis" if residents are seeking to enter vacated residences to get belongings left there.
"Access is restricted and the locks have been changed. I know of no requests," she added.
With all of the homes on Telephone Hill officially vacated, city leaders are seeking to move ahead quickly on demolition so the next steps in the redevelopment process can occur.
Koester told Juneau Assembly members last Monday that she is seeking to put out a bid for demolition during the coming month. She said developers have stated they are not interested in bidding on the redevelopment project until the roughly four-acre site is cleared and ready to build on, since that will allow greater predictability of the cost and work involved.
Assembly members rejected by a 5-2 vote during that meeting to put the demolition plans on hold until one or more developers respond to an official request for qualifications to perform the redevelopment project.
The city is seeking to build four midrise apartments in the neighborhood with up to 155 residences to address Juneau's housing shortage, along with a goal of increasing affordable housing. However, at last week's meeting, Assembly members said they are willing to offer some flexibility to developers — such as fewer residences and some commercial space — if it helps lure bids.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
