Sorted by date Results 626 - 650 of 735
Petersburg borough manager Steve Giesbrecht reported the following during its November 25 meeting: Work continues on the new electric system for the North Harbor. Peak usage on the Southeast Alaska Power Agency system is significant with the cold weather. Wrangell now has a system peak equal to Petersburg’s. Chief Swihart will attend the Executive Development Conference December 3-6 in Anchorage. The seminar will include various trainings as well as meetings for Alaska Police Standards Council, Alaska Association of Chiefs of Police. Jenna D...
The Petersburg borough assembly held a public hearing on an updated sanitation ordinance that includes the co-mingled recycling ordinance Monday night but other changes to the ordinance sparked discussion. The new recycling program would allow residents to mix their recyclables in a bag that will be collected curbside. The program is being incentivized by increasing collection rates by 20 percent—an increase of around $5 for most users. But those who recycle won’t have to pay the difference. No one spoke to the recycling program but David White...
Borough residents will soon likely have the option to participate in a co-mingled recycling program after the assembly approved an updated sanitation ordinance during first reading. The Petersburg Borough will incentivize recycling by increasing garbage collection rates by 20 percent—a monthly increase of around $5 for most users. Those who choose to recycle won’t have to pay the difference. “The folks that choose not to recycle for whatever reason would then end up paying higher cost that would help fund the program,” said Karl Hagerma... Full story
Erin McKittrick, author of “A Long Trek Home,” and her husband Hig, visited Petersburg to talk about their expeditions across Alaska and promoted her new book “Small Feet Big Land: Adventure, Home, and Family on the Edge of Alaska.” The latest book chronicles her adventures with her husband and two young children as they tour the landscape. “Our life is somewhat made up of journeys and this book is a story of journeys,” McKittrick said. “It’s a story of some big capital J journeys up the Arctic...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted to retain the Parks and Recreation and Public Safety advisory boards Monday but the function of the boards might change after the assembly learned it isn’t using them as the ordinance is written. Advisory boards currently meet to discuss potential issues or programs with borough department heads without direction from the assembly. They then bring recommendations to the assembly as issues arise. But the assembly has been systematically reviewing advisory boards during the past several months and will let s...
At its latest advisory board review hearing, the borough assembly voted to retain the Harbor advisory board as an elected body. The board review hearings come after several assembly members questioned the efficiency and viability of advisory boards and committees. Steve Giesbrecht, Borough Manager, said in an earlier interview many board members remain in place for several years and if and when they do leave it’s sometimes difficult to find replacements. “Good government involves a lot of input from its citizens,” Giesbrecht said. “If you hav...
The dredge material coming from areas near Icicle and Ocean Beauty Seafoods is dryer and more in line with what the borough was expecting. The material, originally meant for use as scrap metal capping at the landfill, was too slurry for the application forcing borough officials to create a rock berm to contain the watery dredge spoils. Karl Hagerman, Public Works Director, said the new material is holding up well on slopes. “Both materials are helping the situation at the landfill and are m...
The borough needs more residents to recycle to pay its bills and is developing a new comingled program in an attempt to boost recycle participation. “Comingled” means recyclers will no longer have to separate their materials into different containers. Karl Hagerman, Director of Public Works, made the recommendation to the borough assembly Monday. “Comingled recycling is the best way, in my opinion, to increase local recycling rates dramatically over what we’re doing right now,” Hagerman said. “Our current effort of 10.5 percent recycling r... Full story
Petersburg Public Works Director Karl Hagerman’s co-mingled recycling recommendations to the borough assembly come after a successful trial run that saw recycling rates increase by more than 400 percent this past summer. The sanitation department along with Petersburg Indian Association ran the six-week pilot project in June and July to get an idea about how participants would judge the comingled bag recycling system. According to Hagerman’s recycling report, 120 participants were drawn from residents who already recycle. Before the trial, the...
The public works department made an emergency repair to City Creek Dam after a safety inspection revealed erosion to a joint on the spillway. Karl Hagerman, Public Works Director, said the repair to the borough’s backup dam consisted of packing an eroded joint with grout. “This emergency repair to fix the joint is a band aid,” Hagerman said. Ultimately, Hagerman said, the entire spillway will need to be resurfaced and added, “small problems turn into big problems on dams.” For now the dam is working as intended and won’t fail anytime soo...
The new Petersburg Library grand opening celebration was packed with visitors last Saturday. Senator Burt Stedman and Rasmuson Foundation CEO Diane Kaplin spoke during the event. Among many remarks and thanks, Kaplin made a point to thank Borough Librarian Tara Alcock for her dedication to Petersburg’s library. “I really want to congratulate Tara. She has worked very, very hard on this,” Kaplin said.“You can tell when you walk into a library if it’s a great library. The second you walk in t...
Petersburg officials are improvising as the North Harbor’s dredge material is more fluid than they expected. Because copper levels were too high to dispose the spoils into the ocean, the original plan was to use the dredge material to cover the landfill’s scrap metal pile but Karl Hagerman, Public Works Director, stated in a report to the borough that when the project began September 12, “it was immediately evident that the material being delivered to the landfill was different than what the sanitation department was expecting.” The Army Co...
Some initial concern over the Petersburg Road Improvement Plan turned out to be less of an issue than originally anticipated. The $4.1 million dollar project began in September of 2012. According to a project report written by Bryce Iverson, SECON Project Manager, “…2,800 cubic yards of concrete were placed, over 4,800 linear feet of curbs and gutter, 3,100 square yards of sidewalk, and nearly 10,000 square yards of concrete pavement.” The initial concrete pouring phase was put on hold because of early season freezing temperatures. Barry Morri...
Tommy Joseph, master woodcarver and Tlingit artist, gave a Technology, Education and Design talk in the borough assembly chambers last Thursday. Joseph talked about his experiences traveling the world learning about Tlingit battledress and how he incorporated that knowledge into pieces he crafted called “Rainforest Warriors” that are in display at the Alaska State Museum in Juneau. His work was inspired in 2004 while researching the battledress used during 1804’s Battle of Sitka that pitte...
The borough assembly is planning to let the utility and motor pool advisory boards dissolve after no member made a motion to keep either one at its September 3 meeting. This after several assembly members questioned the efficiency and viability of advisory boards and committees in August. The borough sent out an evaluation form to be filled out by advisory boards department wide as it considers whether or not to keep them. Questions on the form includes how many times it has met in the past year, what issues had been addressed and why and what...
As Petersburg continues to iron out its borough formation, the assembly will decide which committees and boards to dissolve or keep active. Boards to be considered for removal are; Transient Room Tax, Public Safety, Utility Advisory, Motor Pool, Parks and Recreation and Public Library. Those boards act as advisors to the borough and its corresponding departments. Although, they’re all on the chopping block, Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht said several will likely stay such as the Harbor Advisory Board and the Library Board. During T...
The Banana Point floating dock project has been canceled after conflicting interpretations within the U.S. Forest Service concerning the use of grant funds. The Wrangell, Petersburg and Kake Resource Advisory Committee, or RAC organized the project that was two years in the making. RACs fall under the authority of The Secure Rural Schools Act, which is meant to provide collaboration between local communities and federal land managers to create projects on federal land. Each U.S. Forest Service region in the country has a RAC. The local RAC...
The Rasmus Enge Memorial bridge on Sing Lee Alley might prove to be beyond repair after officials pull planks and inspect the stringers underneath. Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht said the borough currently isn’t allowing its garbage trucks to drive over the bridge and told other large trucks not to cross the bridge either. Giesbrecht said the bridge has been re-planked many times over the years and that process weakens the stringers—boards the bridge planks are nailed to. “It’s like Swiss c... Full story
The Petersburg Landfill is selling its scrap metal as it clears the way for more than 40,000 cubic yards of dredge material that will come from the North Harbor. Karl Hagerman, Petersburg Public Works Director, said Juneau’s Channel Construction is paying the borough $67.50 per ton to remove the metal—a good price compared to 2010 when the borough last sold its scrap metal for $30 per ton. “They’ll start loading the scrap metal around August 15,” Hagerman said. “It will take about a week to cle... Full story
If a picture is worth a thousand words, get ready for millions of undersea images - brought to you by a handmade, high definition undersea camera. “Alaska Cam Sled is a towed imaging system that takes a lot of high resolution pictures of the bottom of the ocean,” said Gregg Rosenkranz, a state scallop biometrician based in Kodiak. Rosenkranz and his colleague Rick Shepherd built the cam sled, which lets them experience a live stream of the sea floor while onboard a research vessel. They hail it as a non-invasive way to observe and collect dat...
Kake Access Committee Chair Cindi Lagoudakis updated the Assembly during Monday night's meeting regarding the latest progress in the Kake Access Environmental Impact Study and Purpose and Need draft. The Kake Access project is to bring better access to the community of about 500, and could include the construction of a new road, the development of new ferry connections, or a combination. The State in 2012 appropriated $40 million for the project. A project to bring more affordable power to Kake is also in the works as part of support to the... Full story
The Borough Assembly voted to award the gymnasium floor refinishing contract to Alaskan Industries based on a recommendation from the Parks and Recreation Dept. Alaskan Industries is the company that has worked on the floor for the last 15 years, said Parks and Recreation Director Donn Hayes. The cost for the floor refinishing will be $32,400, or $35,900 with the Petersburg branded logo installed in the middle of the gymnasium floor. Part of the funding, $13,000, has been provided by a grant...
June 26 An individual was reported rifling through a car Officers were notified of a noise complaint. Petersburg Public Works responded to a report of trees covering street signs. An individual driving a red truck was reported going too fast in a flagger area on N. Nordic Drive and Gjoa Street. A badly parked vehicle was blocking view on a turn on Excel Street and Nordic Drive. An individual was stuck on the roof. The individual was gone upon officer arrival. Two vehicles were reported speeding past a residence multiple times. A warning was...
June 19 Teens built a campfire on the beach after hours at Sandy Beach Park. Petersburg Public Works was notified of a bad plank on the bridge on Sing Lee Alley. Kenneth Whitmore, 25, was issued a citation for expired registration on Sandy Beach Road. Samuel W. Nelson, 49, was issued a citation for expired registration and no proof of insurance on Fourth Street and Haugen Drive. A warning was issued for lane usage at 2.5 mile Mitkof Highway. A caller reported concern about the behavior of offspring on Mitkof Highway. Officers responded to infor...
The Petersburg Borough Public Works Department recommended the bid for a crushed rock contract be awarded to Rock-n-Road Construction. The Public Works Department solicited bids for 3,000 tons of leveling course and 1,000 tons of Type II-A to supply the department for gravel street resurfacing. Two bids were received. The first bid was from Reid Brothers Construction totaling $55,200 and the other from Rock-n-Road Construction totaling $48,800. This bid was unanimously awarded to Rock-n-Road for an amount not to exceed $48,800 by the...
