Sorted by date Results 651 - 675 of 1808
The Borough Assembly approved 20 members of the public to serve as election officials during the municipal election on Oct. 6. at their assembly meeting on Monday. The names of 19 election officials went before the assembly, but a 20th name, Stephanie Payne, was added to the list. Borough Clerk Debbie Thompson said with the addition of Payne, she had enough election officials to serve on Election Day. Assembly Member Jeff Meucci requested Thompson explain the process for someone to run in the...
Name: Brandi Thynes Age: 38 Experience: 3 yr term borough assembly 1 yr appointed school board Why do you seek public office? I enjoyed being on the assembly this last term and would like to continue to be an advocate for our community, especially in these odd and trying times. I understand the importance and privilege that comes with being a voice for my fellow constituents. Would you support a borough-wide face masking mandate? No. This has been strongly opposed by the community. The c...
The Petersburg Borough held a virtual town hall on Sept. 10 to inform the public on the civil emergency provisions ordinance, which is set to go before the assembly in its third and final reading on Monday. The meeting was split into two parts and moderated by attorney Sarah F. Fine. Borough officials gave presentations on the Incident Command System (ICS), the reason for a more expansive emergency ordinance and the need for an emergency ordinance. The second half of the meeting was dedicated...
This year's pink salmon harvest came in at around 7 million, which is considerably down from the 35 million ten year average. Troy Thynes, regional management coordinator for commercial fisheries with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said the pink salmon run in Southeast Alaska hasn't been this low since 1976. There are several causes for this year's poor salmon run. In 2018, the parent year for this year's pink salmon, escapement was poor in Northern Southeast Alaska, said Thynes. In...
The community had the opportunity to speak out in support or against a permanent civil emergency provisions ordinance at a virtual town hall on Sept. 10, though the feedback the Borough Assembly received was mostly negative. The Petersburg Borough requested those who wanted to ask questions during the town hall to submit them about a week in advance to allow borough staff time to answer the questions. The public could still ask questions at the end of the town hall, which began with... Full story
Borough staff presented appropriate justification for the borough assembly to approve an ordinance that will update and expand how officials respond to local emergencies at last Thursday's public forum on the topic. In a nutshell, Ordinance #2020-19 will transfer civil emergency provisions from the City of Petersburg code to Petersburg Borough code while adding language to help local officials respond to an emergency. Karl Hagerman explained, "...the responsibility to keep the population safe...
The Wrangell School Board held a special meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 9, to continue their discussion of a formal reprimand and improvement plan for the superintendent. Late last August, Superintendent Debbe Lancaster and several district staff members went on a trip to Juneau to purchase supplies to prepare the district for the upcoming school year. This was in violation of a district travel ban during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as done without board approval. The planned use of CARES Act funding for some of the purchases was also...
A letter asking state officials to declare Southeast Alaska an area impacted by an economic disaster due to fishery losses was approved by the borough assembly at their meeting on Tuesday. The letter, addressed to Gov. Mike Dunleavy and Julie Anderson, commissioner of the department of commerce, community, and economic development, requests that they take steps to secure relief funding for fishermen in Southeast Alaska. The assembly also requested Dunleavy direct the Alaska Department of Fish...
The borough assembly approved $565,000 from its Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act special revenue fund at their meeting on Tuesday for businesses and families who are struggling financially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding was released with the approval of two resolutions by the assembly. Resolution #2020-16 allocates $500,000 in grants for local businesses that have experienced a loss in gross revenue by 20 percent or $10,000 over 2019. Resolution #2020-17 offers...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly agreed to set aside $608,345 at their meeting on Tuesday from its Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act special revenue fund for COVID-19 related costs at Petersburg Medical Center. According to PMC Controller Rocio Tejera, the funds won't immediately be transferred to the hospital. The borough will set the money aside in case PMC needs the funding in the future. While PMC is actively looking for grants and other sources of revenue to cover the costs...
The public will get their chance to ask questions and give feedback on the borough's civil emergency provisions ordinance during a virtual town hall at 4 P.M. on Thursday, Sept. 10. Ordinance #2020-19 makes temporary civil emergency provisions, which are currently in place, a permanent part of borough code. It went before the borough assembly in its third reading on July 20, but the final vote was postponed until Sept. 21. The assembly deferred the third vote to give the public more time to...
Two bids were made for a vacant, borough owned lot at 705 Ira II St. in a virtual competitive bid hearing on Wednesday. Kathy Holtzinger placed a bid of $40,101 for the lot, and Tlingit-Haida Regional Housing Authority bid $40,501 for the lot. The minimum bid for the parcel was $36,500, according to a public notice. A 2020 assessment of the 10,000 sq. ft. lot valued it at $36,000. The borough assembly will decide who to award the bid to at their meeting on Sept. 8, said Borough Clerk Debbie...
Vessels arriving in Petersburg Harbor with non-residents onboard will have to continue to seek approval from the borough public health officer before docking through Dec. 31 under public health mandate #5, which was extended in a special meeting on Monday by the assembly. Public health mandate #5 requires interstate travelers aboard vessels, including passengers and crew, be screened to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 prior to arrival. Borough Public Health Officer Mark Tuccillo will...
Twenty-one residents filed for candidacy in the Oct. 6 municipal election before the deadline on Tuesday at 4:30 P.M. A total of twenty-six public office seats are up for reelection this fall, including two 3-year term seats on the borough assembly, which are currently held by Assembly Member Jeff Meucci and Assembly Member Brandi Marohl. The municipal elections will be held in person in the Parks and Recreation Center. The first day residents could apply for candidacy was July 28, and the last...
WRANGELL - The Wrangell School Board held a special meeting Monday, Aug. 24, to discuss recent travel and purchases made by the superintendent and school staff. Last week, Superintendent Debbe Lancaster and three other members of the school district traveled to Juneau for a shopping trip. This was to acquire some key items related to reopening the schools and COVID-19 mitigation, she said. There were several reasons this was a topic of discussion for the board, among them being a lack of...
An Alaska state lawmaker who was involved in a July midair collision that killed seven people was piloting his plane even though his medical flight certification was denied eight years ago because of vision problems, a federal agency reported Tuesday. Alaska State Troopers identified the pilot as state Rep. Gary Knopp, 67, of Kenai, who was flying a Piper PA-12 when it collided with a de Havilland DHC2 shortly after both planes had taken off in the area of Soldotna, Alaska, on the evening of July 31. Both airplanes crashed, killing Knopp, the...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly chose Sarah F. Fine at their meeting on Monday as the moderator for the Sept. 10 community meeting to discuss the civil emergency provisions ordinance. The third reading of the borough's civil emergency provision ordinance was postponed at an assembly meeting last month until Sept. 21 to allow the public more time to inform themselves about the ordinance and offer feedback. As part of the deferment, the assembly agreed to hold a public meeting sometime before...
The borough assembly passed a resolution at their meeting on Monday that puts a parcel of borough land on Ira II St. up for a competitive bid after two parties expressed interest in the property. The Petersburg Indian Association wants to buy the lot at 705 Ira II St. for the site of their low income housing duplex; however, Kathy Holtzinger, who lives next door at 701 Ira II St. also wants to build a duplex on the property. A 2020 assessment of the 10,000 sq. ft. lot valued it at $36,000. The...
This year's municipal elections will be held in person at the Parks and Recreation Center on Oct. 6 and some residents have already filed for candidacy. Twenty-six public office seats are up for grabs, including two 3-year term spots on the assembly. So far, only eight residents have registered to put their name on the ballot. The first day residents could apply for candidacy was July 28, and the last day to file is on Aug. 25. As of Monday, Aug. 10, the candidates in the Petersburg Borough...
Public Works Director Chris Cotta presented the assembly with a summary of the findings of a recent rate study on the borough's recycling program at their regular meeting on Monday that suggested possible rate increases to go along with four different scenarios for the program. Rate studies for the borough's water, wastewater and sanitation departments were conducted by FCS Group, based out of Washington, and cost a total of $42,000, said Cotta. The borough had been waiting for the results of...
The Petersburg Borough assembly passed a resolution at their meeting on Monday that transfers $778,000 from the borough's Coronavirus Aid, Revenue, and Economic Security Act special revenue fund to the Petersburg School District. As the school district prepares to reopen under a split in person and distance learning education schedule, the funding will go towards COVID-19 related expenditures, such as personnel costs, personal protection equipment and technology. "Implementing both the systems a...
The borough assembly agreed at their regular meeting on Monday to hold a remote town hall meeting on Thursday, Sept. 10 at 4 P.M. to inform the public on the details of the civil emergency provisions ordinance and allow members of the community to ask questions about the ordinance and suggest changes to it. The assembly was expected to pass ordinance #2020-19 at their regular meeting on Monday, July 20, which would have made the temporary civil emergency provisions a permanent part of borough...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly extended the borough's temporary civil emergency provisions emergency ordinance for a third time at a special meeting on Friday, July 24 after three amendments were made to the document. The temporary civil emergency provisions ordinance lays out how the borough would respond to an emergency and the authority that the borough manager and incident commander have in an emergency situation. "I hope everybody on the assembly and the community can see the pandemic is...
The Southeast Conference released the results of a business survey the organization conducted in June that shows all responding businesses, including those in Petersburg, reporting significant financial losses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. "It's basically a snapshot where businesses in the region think the economy is going," said Petersburg Chamber of Commerce Board Vice President Dave Kensinger. "We see the survey, and it's pretty grim." A total of 460 businesses from 23 communities in...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Juneau officials are considering an ordinance that would create a committee to ensure that future local laws are not racist or discriminatory. The proposal to the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly is a response to community pressure to establish oversight committees for city departments including schools, police and the assembly itself, The Juneau Empire reported Sunday. Assembly member Rob Edwardson introduced the ordinance last week to create a new seven-person committee with members who have experience identifying u...
