Sorted by date Results 751 - 775 of 1808
Police Chief Jim Kerr suggested at Tuesday's borough assembly meeting that the assembly discuss and adopt an ordinance that would put rules in place for parades or events that take place in roadways and impact the flow of traffic. On Sunday, several organizations in town hosted an Elizabeth Peratrovich Day celebration that began with a parade downtown. Kerr said that he spoke to a Petersburg Indian Association tribal leader and was supposed to be informed if the parade grew in size, so that...
Park and Recreation's aquatic center has reopened to the Petersburg School District, Viking Swim Club and the public this week, but repairs are still being made to the heating system. On Monday morning, the temperature in the lap pool was 81 degrees and the temperature in the leisure pool was 91.5 degrees, said Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht at an assembly meeting Monday. While the water temperature was warm enough to swim in, the air in the aquatic center is only 79 degrees. "Seventy-nine sou...
A letter to Sen. Bert Stedman and Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins requesting information on the proposed Kake Access Road project was approved by the borough assembly at their meeting Monday after amending the letter to remove a paragraph suggesting the road was a waste of funding. The letter follows a similar correspondence between the borough and the Department of Transportation's project manager, Greg Lockwood. In a letter to Lockwood, the assembly requested a public meeting with DOT officials...
The borough assembly approved an ordinance in its second reading that would add a fourth level of care at Mountain View Manor and increase rental and service rates. Mountain View Manor has already been offering that fourth level of care, the facility hasn’t been charging for it, said Shelyn Bell, department head of elderly housing and assisted living, at an assembly meeting last month. The facility could bring in an additional $55,000 per year should the ordinance pass, said Bell. Rates vary according to the number of occupants in the a...
Southeast Alaska Power Agency conducted a survey on a damaged cable running between Woronofski and Vank islands, and the board looks to make a final decision on whether to repair the cable or replace it by March's board meeting. "We could have up to 20 more years," said Bob Lynn, Petersburg's voting member on the SEAPA board. "We don't know, but the risk is very high on that old cable." Lynn gave the borough assembly an update on the project at an assembly meeting Monday, but data from the surve...
Petersburg Medical Center held a town hall meeting last Wednesday where Dan Jardine, of NAC Architecture, presented the findings of a master plan for a new hospital. "The purpose of a master plan is to determine how PMC can remain a viable partner and provide the best possible community healthcare well into the future," said Jardine. Three conceptual layouts were created using data put together as part of the masterplanning. Two of the layouts were placed on a lots on Haugen Dr. between S. 8th... Full story
Three Petersburg Police Department officers have applied for the vacant police sergeant position, but there hasn't been any outside interest, said Police Chief Jim Kerr at an assembly meeting last week. Kerr said the reason there hasn't been any applicants for the position outside Petersburg comes down to the hourly pay the department can pay a sergeant. According to Kerr, the starting hourly pay for a sergeant is $27.36. After a year on the job, their pay increases to $30.74 an hour. The...
Parks and Recreation has pinpointed the leak in the community pool to a light conduit after draining the pool down to about six feet of water, just below the light. Several inspections proved that the source of the leak was located somewhere in the pool, instead of in a pipe that feeds into the pool. It was determined that water wasn't escaping through a valve at the bottom of the tank, so Parks and Rec decided to lower the water level to a point just below the lights in the pool. As of...
The borough assembly supported sending a letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service regarding issues the borough has with the proposed rule to designate critical habitat for Mexico, Central America and Western North Pacific distinct population segments of humpback whales at an assembly meeting Tuesday evening. The letter's main concern is with the critical habitat for the Mexican district population of humpback whales. A large portion of the proposed critical habitat area is in Southeast...
The borough assembly approved an ordinance that would increase assisted living rental and service rates in its first reading at their meeting Tuesday to be in line with Medicaid and other assisted living facility rates throughout the state. The basic level of services, which covers apartment maintenance, meals and rent, would be raised from $4,700 to $4,880 per month if ordinance #2020-01 is passed in three readings. Level one services, which includes the basic level of services along with...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly requested a public meeting with officials of the Alaska Department of Transportation in a letter approved at their meeting Tuesday to hear an update on the status of a new, unpaved 13.5-mile road connecting Kake and Petersburg on Kupreanof Island. The two paragraph letter addressed to Greg Lockwood, DOT project manager, states that the project is of major interest to the community and both the assembly and public have questions regarding the project. The letter...
The Petersburg Fire Department has filled its vacant EMS coordinator position about two months after the borough assembly authorized the department to hire a third staff member following uncertainty in the borough's budget. Josh Rathmann began his first day with the department on Thursday, Jan. 16. He was stationed in Petersburg for just under three years when serving in the United States Coast Guard. During that time, he was a volunteer firefighter with the Petersburg Fire Department, but his...
A patchwork of logging roads already exists, and the project would connect those roads to make a 35-mile, single-lane road between Kake and 12-mile Creek north of the city of Kupreanof. The money was allocated in 2012 by State Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, as part of a program called "Roads to Resources" meant to help access to natural resources. "We need to have a transportation system in Southeast," Stedman said in a phone interview. "This road is part of a bigger drive to help stabilize and exp...
The borough assembly approved four community projects totaling $63.7 million to be included on the priority list for 2021. The list will be forwarded to the state legislature in hopes one or more of the projects will be funded by the State of Alaska. The projects could also be funded through federal or special grant programs the improvements may qualify for. At the advice of Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht the assembly kept the list short, since lean state budgets will mean few, if any, project...
The borough assembly approved the purchase of two light duty 4x4 trucks in the amount of $85,432 at its Monday meeting. One of the vehicles replaces a truck that was totaled in a fire at the public works shop in August. A 2003 Chevy flatbed used by the Motor Pool Dept. will be replaced by a 2020 Chevy 3500 Crew Cab with a 9-foot flatbed. It is used to transport workers to job sites and seats four people. It can carry needed equipment and tools. The vehicle is still in service but requires...
January Following the shutdown of the U.S. government on Dec. 22, 2018, the U.S. Coast Guard stated it would continue offering essential services. The borough assembly approved $600,000 for a new baler. The USCG located debris from an overdue medivac aircraft that had three people onboard that was due to land in Kake several nights before. A decrease in air cargo coming into Petersburg affected the timely arrival of residents' packages after the retirement of Alaska Airlines' combi 737-400...
The Petersburg Borough has teamed up with other members of the Alaska Municipal League to create the Alaska Remote Seller Sales Tax Commission which will oversee the collection of online sales tax. The borough assembly appointed Finance Director Jody Tow as the borough's representation on the commission at their meeting last week. The online sales tax would only apply to online vendors that have gross sales of over $100,000 in Alaska annually, or have over 100 transactions in the state, said Tow...
The Petersburg Medical Center Board of Directors continued their talk about the upcoming completion of phase one of the master plan to build a new hospital at their board meeting last Thursday, which began at a joint work session with borough assembly earlier this month. Several analyses have been conducted by NAC Architecture in order to prepare the master planning documents. Dan Jardine, project manager with NAC Architecture, said at the joint meeting that the master planning would be...
The borough assembly failed to pass an ordinance in its first reading that would allow off-highway vehicles on borough roads, citing a 2017 public vote against a similar ordinance and concerns of overriding the public's will. The ordinance would have allowed residents to operate their OHVs on borough owned and maintained streets under the conditions that the operator has a valid driver's license, the OHV is registered with the borough and the OHV is insured. Richard Burke spearheaded the effort...
The borough assembly failed to pass a letter to the Secretary of Agriculture and the United States Forest Service at an assembly meeting Monday expressing discontent with the process of reviewing the Roadless Rule in the Tongass National Forest. The letter, which was drafted by Assembly Member Chelsea Tremblay, notes that when the Forest Service presented their six alternatives to the Roadless Rule at a public meeting in November, it seemed as if the decision to go with the alternative six,...
Local news media part of coverup To the Editor: Recently, mayor Jensen and member Bob Lynn of the current Petersburg Borough voting bloc followed up on their past refusals to pass a resolution addressing regional and local corruption exposed in the Washington office investigation of the Tonka and Big Thorne timber sales. They did this by agreeing the Roadless Rule was "too controversial" to pass a resolution in support of the Rule. Controversy however, requires evidence of significant...
The Borough Assembly members acted correctly Monday evening by voting down a proposed ordinance to permit off-road vehicles to operate on borough roadways. The voters spoke against the idea in a 60%-40% decision in 2017. It's not the place of the assembly to override the clear wishes of the electorate just 2 years later. Further, the discussion reminds us of a solution in search of a problem. All manner of off-road vehicles including forklifts, 4-wheelers with plows, tractors and backhoes...
The United States Army Corps of Engineers went over the status of the project to dredge South Boat Harbor, along with associated costs to be covered by the borough and the next steps in the project at a public meeting on Dec. 3. In 2017, the Petersburg Borough and the USACE entered into a feasibility cost share agreement wherein both entities agreed to split the costs of a feasibility study to determine a solution to the compromised egress in South Boat Harbor. The borough and the USACE equally...
No time to waste To the Editor: Pilot reporter Brian Varela Dec. 5 reporting on the assembly meeting highlights regarding the Roadless Rule Resolution, skimmed over or forgot to mention some critical points. Ten borough residents did speak in some of the most knowledgeable and fact detailed reasons why they thought the Roadless Rule was extremely important to uphold. The testimony offered was some of the most passionate and heartfelt observations from fisheries professional geologists, lifetime...
Assembly Member Bob Lynn and Robert Larson were appointed as voting members on the Southeast Alaska Power Agency Board by Mayor Mark Jensen at an assembly meeting last week, with Utility Director Karl Hagerman and Planning and Zoning Commissioner Tor Benson serving as alternate voting members. Each year, Petersburg and Wrangell appoint one voting member and one alternate member to serve on the SEAPA board. Ketchikan appoints two voting members and two alternates each year. However, there is one...
