(1767) stories found containing 'Borough Assembly'


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  • Medicare reimbursement's role in hospital's finances

    Olivia Rose, Pilot Writer|Feb 1, 2024

    The Medicare reimbursement program for Critical Access Hospitals was a key topic at the Petersburg Medical Center Hospital Board and Petersburg Borough Assembly annual work session on Jan. 30. PMC is a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) - the designation was created by Congress in the late 1990s to reduce the financial vulnerability of smaller hospitals in isolated rural communities. Facilities that are recognized as critical access hospitals must meet certain qualifying criteria, and they get to... Full story

  • Medicare reimbursement's role in hospital's finances

    Olivia Rose, Pilot Writer|Jan 25, 2024

    The Medicare reimbursement program for Critical Access Hospitals was a key topic at the Petersburg Medical Center Hospital Board and Petersburg Borough Assembly annual work session on Jan. 30. PMC is a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) — the designation was created by Congress in the late 1990s to reduce the financial vulnerability of smaller hospitals in isolated rural communities. Facilities that are recognized as critical access hospitals must meet certain qualifying criteria, and they get to participate in a beneficial Medicare r...

  • Assembly requests a disaster declaration for four Southeast fisheries

    Olivia Rose, Pilot Writer|Jan 18, 2024

    The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved to send a letter to Gov. Dunleavy asking that a fisheries disaster be declared for four fisheries in Southeast Alaska, citing low abundance and financial hardship. If a disaster is declared, the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission would distribute funds to applicants to provide relief. For fishing seasons from 2018 through 2022, disaster declarations were issued for 14 fisheries off the interior coast for salmon, red king crab, Tanner crab and cod, according to the letter. Now, the...

  • Wrangell assembly raises rates for lightering cruise passengers to shore

    Larry Persily, Wrangell Sentinel Writer|Jan 18, 2024

    WRANGELL — Cruise ship operators that lighter their passengers to shore will pay higher port fees starting this summer in Wrangell. The borough assembly unanimously approved the new rate structure Jan. 9, following a port commission recommendation. The rates had been set at 40% of the cost of tying up to the dock, with the new fee structure raising that to 60%. The increase in lightering fees is intended to encourage more ships to tie up at the dock rather than anchor offshore, Interim Borough Manager Mason Villarma told the assembly. Wrangell...

  • Assembly adopts $300 fine for illegal tree cutting

    Wrangell Sentinel Staff|Jan 18, 2024

    WRANGELL — The Wrangell Borough Assembly on Jan. 9 unanimously adopted an ordinance to institute a $300 fine for illegally cutting down trees on borough land. No one from the public spoke on the ordinance at the public hearing held before the assembly vote. In addition to the ordinance setting the amount of the fine, the assembly also unanimously approved an ordinance adding trespass to the borough code, which prohibits “cutting down, injury or removal of trees or timber from borough property without written permission.” Borough offic...

  • Wrangell's port commission recommends mandatory insurance for boat owners

    Lary Persily, Wrangell Sentinel writer|Jan 11, 2024

    WRANGELL — The port commission has recommended to the Wrangell Borough Assembly approval of an ordinance that would require owners who moor their vessels at a reserved spot in Wrangell harbors to either provide proof of marine insurance or pay a monthly surcharge on their moorage fee. Officials have been considering since 2022 adding the new requirement to municipal code to help shield the borough from the cost of raising and disposing of boats that sink in the harbors. “The cost of recovering sunken vessels has significantly increased, and...

  • Mental Health Trust lot by Blind River Rapids sold to USCG family eager to return to Petersburg

    Olivia Rose|Jan 4, 2024

    The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority recently sold a prized lot at the mouth of Blind Slough near Blind River Rapids in the Trust's Fall Land Sale Auction. The Lot 37 parcel is located at a popular recreation site for sport fishing about 14 miles south of downtown Petersburg. It is one of the many properties on Mitkof Island that the Trust Land Office plans to sell by 2025. In response to what the Trust's plans are for selling the dozens of lots near the mouth of Blind Slough, Allison...

  • Assembly ranks 2024 priority community projects

    Olivia Rose|Jan 4, 2024

    On Tuesday the borough assembly reviewed capital projects needs in Petersburg. Out of 81 requested capital projects across the borough, new and continued, 11 ranked top priority for state funding. The top two priorities are continuing projects for the Petersburg Medical Center replacement. The first is for Phase 4, Main Hospital Construction, seeking $37 million in funding to cover the cost in full. The second is for Phase 5, Main Hospital Interior Build out, seeking $30 million. Hospital project Phases 1 through 3, in the amount of $29...

  • Outlast TV Show brings a boost to local businesses

    Olivia Rose|Jan 4, 2024

    Trekking up the harbor ramp as the sun set at North Harbor, scores of film production crew members geared up to their chins and strapped with various pieces of equipment made their way back to the Tides Inn after a long day at Little Duncan Bay. A Netflix reality television show called "Outlast" recently filmed its second season on National Forest System lands in the Petersburg Ranger District, around Little Duncan Bay on Kupreanof Island. The series follows 16 individuals as they "survive off...

  • Year in Review

    Olivia Rose|Dec 28, 2023

    In January The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously voted to award the construction contract for the Blind Slough Hydroelectric refurbishment project to McG/Dawson Joint Venture for an amount not to exceed $5,744,000. The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved an ordinance in its first reading that would rezone a lot located at 10 N. 12th Street for commercial use. The rezoning was requested by the Petersburg Indian Association ahead of their prospective purchase of the lot, which h...

  • P&Z recommends sale of borough tidelands to Island Refrigeration

    Olivia Rose, Pilot Writer|Dec 14, 2023

    On Dec. 12, the Petersburg Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously agreed to recommend the sale of borough-owned tidelands property to Island Refrigeration, LLC. The property -Lease Parcel B and the Port Authority Storage Area- is located off Dock Street, behind Wikan Enterprises and the U.S. Coast Guard, and is approximately 35 thousand square-feet; it is currently used for storage. If sold, the proposed use of the land as stated in the application is to "establish a marine refrigeration...

  • Assembly approves direct negotiations for property sale to PIA

    Olivia Rose, Pilot Writer|Dec 7, 2023

    PIA is planning to create more housing in Petersburg by constructing residential rental units for both tribal and non-tribal members. The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously agreed to move forward with PIA's application to purchase 7.88 acres of borough-owned land located on N. 8th Street beside the Mort Fryer Ball Field Park during a meeting on Dec. 4, approving for the Borough Manager to negotiate directly with PIA. The area in question is part of a larger piece of property (US Survey 1168...

  • Clearing work continues at slide; fundraising grows to help families

    Larry Persily, Wrangell Sentinel Reporter|Dec 7, 2023

    WRANGELL - Response to the deadly landslide continues, with extensive clearing work to remove debris from along the highway to increase safety and with fundraising for families affected by the disaster, particularly the Heller and Florschutz families that lost loved ones. More than $43,000 from 342 donations had been raised in a GoFundMe campaign for the two families as of Monday, Dec. 4. Almost $20,000 had been raised in another account to help families who were displaced or whose lives were...

  • Rock-N-Road trades rock for road

    Olivia Rose, Pilot Writer|Dec 7, 2023

    Rock-N-Road Construction proposed to make needed modifications to the Petersburg Borough’s rock quarry and mud dump access road in exchange for up to 60 thousand cubic yards of borough rock to use for the new hospital site. The proposal benefits the borough by allowing further development of the borough’s quarry, which is currently exhausted with a shortage of accessible rock, and will also save money on the new hospital project. The Petersburg Borough Assembly approved this trade during a regular meeting on Dec. 5. According to Public Wor...

  • To the Editor

    Nov 30, 2023

    To Whom It May Concern To the Editor: I am 82 years old now. My great-grandchildren are seventh generation of family residents growing up in Petersburg. Kay and I were adopted and given Tlingit names by elder Pete Marten, Senior, fifty years ago, into a Tlingit society that has been scientifically and indisputably proven to exist in S.E. Alaska for over 10,000 years and literally hundreds of generations. Thirty years ago, Spencer Israelson, who spent his youth at Point Agassiz, took me to the mainland and showed me many petroglyphs that he and...

  • Assembly determines price for tidelands sale to Wikan Enterprises

    Olivia Rose, Pilot Writer|Nov 30, 2023

    On Nov. 20, the Petersburg Borough Assembly approved the sale of borough-owned tidelands to Wikan Enterprises, Inc. at the price of $112,564. The price tag includes the appraised value of the property, the cost of the appraisal, and two years worth of the remaining lease agreement. Wikan Enterprises is a well established business of almost 30 years as a marine repair shop that specializes in diesel engines. Sheri and John Wikan applied to purchase the property located at 103A Dock Street, which they have leased for the duration of their...

  • Borough seeks increased loan for Pump Station 4 replacement

    Olivia Rose|Nov 23, 2023

    The Petersburg Borough Wastewater Utility department will pursue a loan increase from the state of Alaska for the Pump Station 4 replacement project. “The money has already been approved by the voters, the assembly already approved all of this, but how it’s allocated is a change,” Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht told the Pilot. “Now we’re going to have to put more money into Pump Station 4 than we thought we would originally.” In 2019, Petersburg voters passed Resolution 1 and approved $8 million in debt service for water and wastewater...

  • Borough sights no longer set on Petro 49 property

    Olivia Rose|Nov 23, 2023

    "I would like to make a motion to stop the acquisition of this land," said Mayor Mark Jensen during the Nov. 6 Petersburg Borough Assembly meeting. Those words spelled the beginning of the end for the Petro 49 building acquisition process that started in 2018. Five years ago, the borough sought to acquire the old Union Oil building and property at 703 S. Nordic Drive from Petro 49, Inc. with the intention to establish a Harbor Department maintenance facility and storage area there in the future....

  • Haines Assembly ends assessor's contract after 600 residents petition for removal

    Clarise Larson, CVN|Nov 23, 2023

    The Haines Borough Assembly unanimously voted to end its contract with assessor Michael Dahle at the end of the year after nearly 600 residents signed a petition calling for his removal. The petition gained hundreds of signatures in less than a week after it was released to the public on Monday, Nov. 6. The resident-led call for action follows a summer of public backlash after some residents saw a dramatic rise in their property assessments and resulting tax bills. Borough officials have said the rise in property values is the result of a hot...

  • Harbormasters seek increase to state matching grant

    Olivia Rose, Pilot Writer|Nov 16, 2023

    “The Municipal Harbor Facility Grant is the single most significant funding tool available to Alaskan Harbormasters to plan, maintain, and recapitalize port and harbor infrastructure,” states the resolution passed at the Petersburg Borough Assembly meeting on Nov. 6. The assembly voted in support of the resolution to urge the Governor and Alaska Legislature to increase the amount of money made available to municipalities in the state’s harbor match grant program in order to adjust for inflation. According to the Alaska Department of Trans...

  • Updates on progress toward APEI recommendations

    Olivia Rose, Pilot Writer|Nov 16, 2023

    The borough’s human resources department provided a progress report about the municipality’s newly implemented safety measures during the Borough Assembly Meeting Nov. 6. In September, Alaska Public Entity Insurance (APEI) representatives presented a safety review of the Petersburg Borough during a regular assembly meeting. Assembly members and human resources staff left that meeting with actionable recommendations to address safety concerns within the borough. Part of that was the establishment of a formal Borough Safety Committee. Becky Reg...

  • IBEW and Borough ratify new contract

    Olivia Rose, Pilot Writer|Nov 16, 2023

    The Petersburg Borough and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) agreed to increase wages for union workers in the most recent ratified contract approved by the Petersburg Borough Assembly on Nov. 6. The Petersburg Municipal Power & Light department (PMPL) has struggled for over a year to hire an Electrician/Operator and a Journeyman Lineman, which burdens the few workers that are there. Sam Caulum spoke at the Nov. 6 borough assembly meeting, representing himself and a majority of IBEW members at PMPL. He said the prolonged...

  • Six arrested on drug distribution charges in Petersburg

    Olivia Rose|Nov 9, 2023

    An investigation by the Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs task force (SEACAD) led to the indictment and arrest of six Petersburg residents last week. A press release from the Juneau Police Department reported that a Juneau Grand Jury indicted Petersburg residents Palmer Thomassen Jr., Gabriel Volk, Dazzlin Frentz, Edward Rayborn, Amanda Loucks, and Austin Strickland on Oct. 26, 2023 for various counts of Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance in the Second and in the Third Degree....

  • Direct sale of borough property to Skylark approved in first reading

    Olivia Rose|Nov 9, 2023

    During a regular meeting on Nov. 6, the Petersburg Borough Assembly passed a resolution in its first reading to approve an application for Skylark Park LLC to purchase borough land. The purchase includes five lots on Odin Street, of Skylark II Subdivision, and one parcel, Government Lot 21, near Skylark Way. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended the assembly approve the application during the commission's most recent meeting on Oct. 10. Skylark LLC requests to purchase the six...

  • Final housing needs assessment estimates 316 housing units needed

    Olivia Rose, Pilot Writer|Nov 2, 2023

    The final report of the Petersburg Borough Housing Needs Assessment was completed on Sept. 30. In January of this year, the Borough Assembly contracted consulting firm Agnew::Beck to conduct this assessment and determine the housing needs in Petersburg, at an estimated cost of about $55,000 with funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. The assessment took place from February through September. Information was gathered from 366 community survey responses —about 10 percent of the population, which the project team considered a good response r...

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