Wrangell Sentinel -

An argument between a Thomas Bay Power Authority commissioner and two Thomas Bay employees after the Wrangell Assembly has added to the venom in the debate over the future of TBPA.

Shortly after Tuesday’s regular assembly meeting, Commissioner Clay Hammer confronted TBPA office manager Rhonda Christian over public comment delivered to the Borough Assembly on the subject of TBPA, Nicholls and Christian said. Hammer accused Christian of overstepping her bounds as a TBPA employee to address the commission, and Christian countered that Hammer was suppressing her right to free speech.

“I was very surprised that that was brought up,” she said. “I thought we were having a lively one-on-one. That definitely was an attack.”

Hammer said he, not Christian, was the one who was confronted.

“I felt like a deer in the headlights, except there were no headlights,” he said.

The two became surrounded by a large crowd of residents opposed to the Southeast Alaska Power Agency’s proposed takeover of TBPA, and the exchange escalated to a profanity and accusation-laced shouting match, a portion of which was recorded by a Sentinel reporter.

At one point, a visibly irate TBPA General Manager Mick Nicholls called Hammer — who sits on the board overseeing him – a “dick wad” and stormed off.

Nicholls was more circumspect Thursday.

“Well, you know, there was a number of us settling the whole world’s problems on a sidewalk,” he quipped.

Nicholls also said he regretted his remark.

“I became quite frustrated,” he said. “I’m upset with myself that I allowed it to influence my word choice. That was improper and un-called-for.”

The exchange disappointed Hammer.

“It was disappointing for me to get singled out and berated on the steps of city hall for my viewpoints and opinions,” he wrote in an email to the Sentinel. “I am only one of a number of commissioners and board members. I don’t set policy or make decisions on my own. In all cases there are others to share in the blame or credit for this.”

However, Nicholls and Christian later stood by their accusation that Hammer had attempted to silence Christian by using his oversight position.

“I do believe that Mr. Hammer was trying to suppress her First Amendment rights,” he said.

It was improper for Christian and Nicholls to address the assembly directly, Hammer said.

“Do I think Rhonda (Christian) is trying to unduly influence the process moving forward?” his e-mail reads. “Yes I do. I think there is a fine line between voicing your opinion as a concerned citizen and collaborating to twist public opinion in a way that benefits you financially.”

Some professional action over the conflict was likely, Nicholls said. Hammer seemed to agree.

“At minimum I would recommend that the boundaries be plainly established within our policies so that everyone knows the rules,” Hammer wrote. “If there are no rules then plainly there needs to be some.”

In a letter sent to Hammer, as well as the Sentinel and state and borough officials, Christian called for the Assembly to remove Hammer from his position on the Thomas Bay commission.

“Mr. Hammer was attempting to use his appointed board authority and I felt threatened of him questioning my job duties of employment and … his insinuation to terminate my employment and livelihood with (TBPA) by speaking freely and expressing my first amendment right,” the letter reads in part.

Each side accuses the other of improperly representing the TBPA at the assembly meeting.

“Is it in your job description to address the council?” Hammer asked at one point.

“Is it in yours?” Christian retorted. “No one can pay me enough to do what I know is wrong.”

All three participants in the exchange represent differing points of view, and acknowledge basic facts about the state of power generation. Nicholls endorsed in written and spoken remarks a plan put forward by Warren Edgley earlier in the day for the borough to absorb the TBPA employees. Christian said the borough should not relinquish control of resources at several points during the recorded portion of the exchange.

“That’s your land,” she said. “That’s your water. God, Clay. This is Wrangell.”

The SEAPA plan is a good one, Hammer said.

“To be clear, having TBPA as the O&M (operations and maintenance) does not give us an additional seat at the SEAPA table, nor does it give us more control of SEAPA or the Tyee Lake Project,” he wrote.

They also agree that some action is needed for the future of power generation. All cited an episode in January 2012, when large parts of the borough temporarily switched over to diesel power generation when the Tyee Lake power plant came dangerously close to being maxed out.

For some, like former Four Dam Pool CEO Dave Carlson, who also supports the SEAPA plan, the debate over retaining control is a sideshow. For Carlson, the bottom line is risk. If Wrangell absorbed the Tyee Plant, they could be liable for any damages or fatalities that arose as a result of the Tyee Plant operations, Carlson said.

“People don’t like to talk about risk and they don’t like to talk about insurance,” he said. “We’ve been lucky. SEAPA can fail, but they don’t bring down the communities with them.”

The Long-Term Power Sales Agreement – a legal document governing the sale of power generated at facilities at Ketchikan’s Swan Lake and Wrangell’s Tyee Lake — is sufficient protection for Wrangell, Carlson added.

Petersburg and Wrangell receive the bulk of power generated at Tyee Lake, while excess may be sold to Ketchikan Public Utilities, and conversely the power generated at Swan Lake goes first to Ketchikan, with any excess being sold to Wrangell or Petersburg, according to Section 1, paragraph f of the power sales agreement.

The debate over power generation and control will likely remain in the public sphere for some time. The Petersburg Assembly voted 6-0 Sept. 26 to endorse the SEAPA plan with no debate.