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The borough assembly will see a resolution at its next meeting to approve a program known as local improvement district or LID. Approval of the resolution would be the first step of many in taking a private approach to paying for paving a select number of neighborhood streets in town. Public works director Karl Hagerman says LID is already on borough books, but it’s rarely utilized and he thinks it could do well to improve the borough before SECON pulls their asphalt plant out next year. If the resolution fails to pass the assembly next week no...
The municipal building might have been a quiet construction site over Christmas, but prior to the break public works director Karl Hagerman says up to 25 men had been working in and around the building to complete Phase 1. Additional men will be brought in to make the mid-January deadline, if necessary, he says. That means the Petersburg Police Department's move from the south side of the building should go as planned. Hagerman says the PPD move will take place Jan. 15 through Feb. 15. "There...
The assembly discussed a proposed program aiming to give residents the opportunity to pave the street of their neighborhood at their own expense on Monday. The proposal, brought forth by public works director Karl Hagerman, would save the borough money on maintaining the streets in the future and increase the quality of life in various areas of town. The program, referred to as a local improvement district or LID would offer street paving to a select number of neighborhoods before SECON pulls their asphalt plant out next year. In order for the...
The SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) applauds the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for its decision to require all public housing agencies to go smoke-free within 18 months. The new rule includes not only residential units and common areas, but also a 25-foot non-smoking perimeter around the buildings to protect doorways, windows, and outdoor patios. The implementation of this rule will protect two million Americans, across the country, from exposure to secondhand smoke in their homes. “Few tobacco c...
Susan Harai, engineer for Petersburg Indian Association (PIA), informed the Planning Commission at their Tuesday meeting that a previously proposed trail to connect the Severson subdivision to the fire station was found to be unviable, aside from a 1,400 foot portion that would connect Possum to Queen Street via a raised boardwalk. The trail was part of PIA's long-range transportation plan which includes more portions of trails in neighborhoods in town to supplement the variety of trails built...
WRANGELL – The city is currently working on ways to reduce the number of autos, boats and other items abandoned or else improperly stored around the island. Chief Doug McCloskey with the Wrangell Police Department explained there currently are many derelict vehicles on the city’s radar, about a dozen in all. In municipal code, junk vehicles by definition are those which are stripped, wrecked or otherwise inoperable due to mechanical failure. Currently it is against the law for a junk vehicle to remain in public view on any property, public or...
Petersburg Borough clerk Debbie Thompson gave the following Borough Manager’s Report during the assembly meeting on Oct. 18. Representatives of the Rasmuson Foundation and Alaska Community Foundation were able to visit the Children’s Center last week and tour the new classrooms. Next week Sandy Dixson will be attending the Fall Preparedness Conference and Local Emergency Planning Committee Association meeting in Anchorage. Attendance is Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHS&EM) grant requirements. Dixson and Fire Chi...
The borough"s blue cart recycling program began at the beginning of the year and seems to be running smoothly, according to Public Works Director Karl Hagerman. "Overall the community has really accepted the new system," he says. "Customer satisfaction, I think, is pretty good and we"ve received very little negative feedback over the program." After the start of the program, Public Works distributed a handful of smaller 64-gallon blue carts to low volume households who requested them. The... Full story
Ruth W. Sandvik, 100, Petersburg resident for 75 years, died on July 29, 2016 at Seattle"s Kline Galland home in the comfort of her family. Ruth fractured her hip in Petersburg, then was medevaced to Swedish Hospital in Seattle. After a successful operation she suffered a stroke and didn"t ever recover. Ruth was born in Portland, Oregon to Hermann and Vesta Wetterborg on February 8, 1916. Her parents preceded her in death as well as her sister, Betty. She and Betty attended Portland schools... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly agreed to send a letter urging an alternative route to logging Alaska Mental Health Trust (AMHT) lands south of town at its Tuesday meeting. The land in question is on steep hillside located above Mitkof Highway, and the borough would rather see land exchanged than logging. Last month, the AMHT board announced plans to go forward with timber sales of lands near Petersburg from Scow Bay to south of Twin Creek, if a land exchange is not approved by Congress on Jan. 15. There is also AMHT land near Ketchikan. The...
Petersburg Borough manager Stephen Giesbrecht gave the following manager’s report to the assembly on Sept. 6: We continue to have wait lists for Elderly Housing and Assisted Living facilities. Medicaid provider certification renewal has been submitted for the Manor. Municipal Building project continues to move forward. Initial installation on jail cells has been completed, and the block wall for the detention area is mostly done as well. Officer Kent Preston resigned, effective 8/28/16, due to a family medical issue. Kent was active in o...
WRANGELL – A pilot study currently underway seems to be bearing good news for Wrangells water worries. In mid-July the city declared a state of emergency as its water treatment plant struggled to meet local demand. An appeal to residents and local seafood processors to limit water usage followed, allowing Public Works time to replenish its reserve tanks. By August 18 City Hall declared the crisis over, but still encouraged people to conserve water. The problem was primarily with the plants w...
tWRANGELL – The City of Wrangell is applying to the United States Forest Service to give a historic boat a new home. The M/V Chugach was one of 11 ranger boats operating in the state during the first half of the 20th century. Built at the Lake Union Dry Dock and Machine Works in Seattle in 1925, the vessel was assigned to Cordova for work in the Tongass and Chugach national forests. It remains the last of its kind in the USFS fleet, continuing service until last year. The boat was restationed in Petersburg in 1953, it served from there more t...
Wheels are already in motion to provide two measures of relief for Alaska’s pink salmon industry, which is reeling from the lowest harvest since the late 1970s. Representative Louise Stutes (R-Kodiak) began the process last week to have the Walker Administration declare the pink salmon season a disaster, which would allow access to federal relief funds. Pinks are Alaska’s highest volume salmon fishery and hundreds of fishermen depend on the fish to boost their overall catches and paychecks. So far the statewide harvest has reached just 36 mil...
WRANGELL – Last week the City and Borough of Wrangell announced emergency measures no longer needed to be taken to conserve its treated water supply. The announcement came on August 18, nearly a month after a state of disaster was declared by Mayor David Jack. The decision had been prompted by Public Works warning it could not treat water quickly enough to meet demand, due to problems with its 17-year-old plants filtration system. The Assembly and city officials had met with local seafood processors – which together make up around half of ove...
Alaska is one of a handful of U.S. states to launch a go-to website aimed at keeping ocean acidification in the public eye. The Alaska Ocean Acidification Network, a collaboration of state and federal scientists, agencies, tribes, conservation, fishing and aquaculture groups, went live last month. Its goal is to provide a forum for researchers to share their findings, and to connect with coastal residents concerned about future impacts on their communities. Ocean acidification (OA) is caused by the ocean absorbing excess carbon dioxide (CO2)...
The school board met in the high school library Tuesday night, after taking July off. The board also took a tour of summer improvements with director of maintenance Dan Tate before the meeting. Tate showed off and talked about the school’s new carpet, changes to a few classrooms and projects still in the works. School board members were excited about the improvements done over the summer, especially the new LED lighting installed in the school’s shop. The tour ended at the elementary school with Tate talking about the new rock garden and caf... Full story
WRANGELL – A sewer main broke early Monday morning, necessitating a temporary shutdown of nearby pump stations and causing an overflow of untreated water into Inner Harbor. The main line connecting town to the sewage treatment plant ruptured near the Sea Level Seafoods processing facility at 1204 Zimovia Highway. City crews responded to the scene, shutting down pump stations near the Public Works Department building and City Park in order to repair the break. Eighty-five percent of Wrangell households are connected to the municipal sewage s...
Marty Susort is the onsite construction administrator on the municipal building renovation. He's the borough's "eyes and ears," according to Public Works director Karl Hagerman. He's at the site to observe the contractor and sub-contractors and step in if any issues arise. "Marty can act as a liaison to the architect or just point to the right page in the plans and specification book for the contractor," Hagerman wrote in an email to the Pilot. "This type of inspection is common for...
Public Works director Karl Hagerman updated the assembly about the ongoing municipal building renovation project at its meeting Monday. Phase 1 of the project began earlier this spring, and the main focus so far has been demolition. “A lot of demo had to happen in the building,” Hagerman said. “Floor slabs came out. Interior and exterior demo has been going pretty much the whole time. They are almost completed with everything they needed to take out, and they’ve started putting things back in.” Hagerman said contractors have completed some unde...
Who knows more about local salmon and their habitats than Alaska fishermen? That’s the impetus behind a new information-gathering project spawned by United Fishermen of Alaska (UFA) that aims to provide useful and timely news about the health of the state’s salmon runs. The Salmon Habitat Information Program (SHIP) launched last week with an online survey to provide commercial fishermen with a way to share their local intelligence. “We are asking people what issues they are most concerned about in their region,” said SHIP manager Lindsey...
The city manager presented the following report to the Assembly at Monday’s meeting. The 30 percent design documents for the Emergency Stand-by Generator (350 kw) replacement have been received from the vendor. At Crystal Lake, we intend to replace the old “bubbler” lake level indicator system with a new electronic transducer, and add a new air temperature sensor – weather permitting. When complete, we will no longer have to maintain the nitrogen gas system at the lake, and the readings will be much more reliable and accurate. Spillman Records...
WRANGEL – Though a crisis in the local water supply has subsided, Wrangell remains in a state of conservation through most of the rest of summer. The City and Borough Assembly formally declared a state of disaster in a special meeting held July 19, after ready water reserves had fallen to a fraction of capacity. Problems with the water treatment plant’s filtration process meant supply could not keep up with demand, and early last week local seafood processors and the wider public were asked to reduce consumption. Efficiencies undertaken by bot...
WRANGELL – With the supply of treated water dangerously low, the Borough Assembly officially declared the city to be in a state of disaster Tuesday evening. The decision was reached during a special session in which officials met with departmental staff and representatives of Wrangell’s two fish processing plants, Trident Seafoods and Sea Level Seafoods. With the processing season already underway and production ramping up, the two together are consuming about half of the community’s water. Alarm bells were raised by Public Works when it repor...
