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After their first application was too early, a group of 10 Wrangell residents on Monday refiled an application to recall Mayor Steve Prysunka after waiting the legally required 120 days into his term. The recall is in response to a meeting the borough assembly held Nov. 12, where members imposed a mask mandate and fines for violators. According to the recall application, the meeting and actions taken during it were in violation of state and municipal laws. It was called without a locally...
Fiscal stability, infrastructure and land development are among Wrangell's priorities for the near future. But it will not be easy. "I'm certain that this involves us purchasing a printing press and having a secret room where we come up with the funds we need to do what's necessary," Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen said jokingly. "As the state continues to face fiscal hardship, as we continue to get downward pressure in a number of different ways, and at the same time the cost of operations is...
A local tax on tobacco products would be a "win-win-win" for Wrangell, a health educator said. Promoting public health is a win, as is reducing smoking among teens - plus the borough could gain a new source of revenue, SEARHC Health Educator Tammi Meissner told the borough assembly Jan. 26. "Tobacco is the leading preventable cause of disease and death in the U.S.," Meissner said. "One in five adults in Southeast Alaska smoke, and one in three American Indian and Alaska Native adults smoke in...
The borough assembly on Tuesday evening appointed Bob Dalrymple to fill the unexpired term of member Julie Decker, who resigned Jan. 11. Dalrymple and Jim DeBord both expressed interest in filling the seat to the end of the term in October. DeBord has previous experience with the assembly. He served as a member from October 2018 to 2019, choosing not to seek reelection that year. Dalrymple also has experience on the assembly. He was appointed to sit on the assembly after Assembly Member Mya...
The borough assembly on Tuesday postponed an increase to the residential user fee for liveaboard vessels in Wrangell harbors. The ordinance would have raised the fee for water, sewage and garbage services by about $35 a month. The change in municipal code also would have broadened the definition of liveaboard, while boosting the monthly rate to almost $117, the harbor department's Keeleigh Solverson told the assembly. The assembly decided the ordinance still needs some work, directing that it...
The borough assembly accepted the resignation of member Julie Decker at its Jan. 11 meeting. Decker has served on the assembly for seven years. Her letter of resignation explained she is stepping away from the position to grieve the loss of her two children. Sig and Helen Decker, 21-years-old and 19-years-old, died in a car accident in Petersburg last July. The tragedy shocked the community, which came together to support the Deckers, to mourn, and to remember Sig and Helen. Decker said that...
Run for office is the answer, not a recall To the editor: The Jan. 14 Sentinel had an article stating that a group of people in Wrangell want to recall Mayor Steve Prysunka because of the mask mandate. The mask mandate was approved by the borough assembly and the mayor, so Prysunka was not solely responsible for the decision. Perhaps the non-mask group would like to recall the borough assembly and the mayor. In that case, I would expect to see members of the recall group run for assembly and may...
It's no secret that the state of Alaska is short of enough revenues to provide the services its communities need. And until the legislature, the governor and members of the public make hard decisions about taxes and the size of the Permanent Fund dividend, there will not be much state money available to flow to cities and boroughs for construction and repair projects. However, there is always a chance of political compromise that could create opportunities for dealing with backlogged...
Acknowledging Alaska's shortage of money, the Wrangell Borough Assembly has put together a list of priority projects for state funding "should the fiscal climate change." Until then, "(the city) understands there is little to no availability of funding for local capital needs," said the backup material for the assembly workshop Jan. 12 to compile state and federal legislative priorities for 2021-2022. In putting together the list - just in case money becomes available -the assembly considered...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly unanimously voted Tuesday evening to extend the borough's COVID-19 emergency declaration through March to ensure the community remains eligible for any financial assistance. The assembly also voted to extend its resolution allowing the suspension of in-person assembly meetings until it can make accommodations for social distancing. The assembly declaration retroactively extends through March an emergency ordinance that had expired Dec. 31, which was a continuation...
July July 2: With recent national attention on racial bias and police brutality, the community met via web conference June 29 for an evening town hall meeting to discuss policing practices in Wrangell. The meeting provided an opportunity for residents to ask questions of Chief Tom Radke and to share their opinions on the Wrangell Police Department. Those who spoke in the meeting, by and large, expressed support for the police and their current practices. July 9: The cities of Wrangell,...
January Jan. 2: Along with the lights, trees and carolers, the Salvation Army's red Christmas kettles are a common sight during the holiday season. Lt. Jon Tollerud, Wrangell's new corps officer, said the red kettles brought in $10,469. Jan. 9: The Nolan Center celebrated the new year Dec. 31 with a murder mystery party. As this new year marks a new decade, a return to the '20s, the party had a 1920s theme to it. With jazz music, themed costumes and masks, partygoers had the chance to return to...
Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska's chief medical officer, called in to a special meeting of the Wrangell Borough Assembly last Friday afternoon, Dec. 18, to give a brief update on the COVID-19 situation across the state. In her update she said that she is "cautiously optimistic" about the future, with vaccinations being rolled out and a slowdown in rising case numbers. "Across the state, as a whole, we're starting to see a tentative decline in the acceleration, which has been fantastic," she said. "We are...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met last Friday afternoon, Dec. 18, for a special meeting. They convened to approve of a final spending plan for the city's remaining CARES Act funding before the close of 2020. Wrangell, and many other communities, received government funding to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic under the CARES Act. The borough received approximately $3.85 million to use in response to the pandemic near the beginning of last summer. Wrangell has used this funding for a variety of...
Wrangell Borough Assembly held a workshop last Tuesday, Dec. 8 to review the city's current financial status. That evening's presentation, according to Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen, was primarily focused on Wrangell's major revenues through November, year-to-date. They will be covering expenses in a future workshop. "This is a snapshot, it's certainly not everything, but as it says here it's some of the major ones." she said. The presentation started with looking at revenues under the city's...
The Wrangell School Board met Monday night, Dec. 14. Two main topics of discussion in the meeting were revisions to the current budget, and a look at the upcoming budget season for next year. The revisions to the current budget, FY 2021, were largely cuts in expenses. Staff travel was reduced from a $3,000 allocation to $65, according to the meeting's agenda packet. Student travel was cut in half from $5,000 to $2,500. Funding for supplies, materials, and media was also reduced from $125,000 to...
December 17 Jamie Roberts, with the Wrangell EOC, reported that there are currently no active cases of COVID-19 in the community. Statewide, Alaska’s case count is 41,859 as of yesterday. This is an increase of 3,151 from last week. Wrangell received its first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 16. According to SEARHC, following guidance from the Alaska Vaccine Advisory Council, vaccinations will be given to frontline health workers first, along with first responders, and l...
During their meeting on Tuesday night the Wrangell Borough Assembly was scheduled to consider an extension of their mask mandate. However, this item was pulled from the agenda during the meeting. The assembly also held a discussion about reopening city buildings to public access. The assembly adopted their mask mandate in November, requiring people in Wrangell to wear face masks or other face coverings while out in public. This was done in response to a growing number of COVID-19 cases across...
While borough facilities have been temporarily closed in response to increases in COVID-19 cases across the state, the city's community pool will remain closed a little longer. A replacement project for the pool's domestic hot water tank began Tuesday, Dec. 7. This project will be ongoing until Dec. 15, according to a Facebook post from the Wrangell Parks and Recreation Department. "Because this project halts all domestic water service to the building during construction, the closure includes al...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met Tuesday night, Dec. 8, for a work session and regular assembly meeting. There were multiple items covered during the night. Three big topics of discussion included a settlement with the Alaska Department of Environment Conservation, a fee increase for port and harbor facilities, and the acceptance of a grant from the State Homeland Security Division. Back in October, according to the meeting's agenda packet, city administration reported to the assembly that the...
Due to stormy weather Wrangell saw through the night and morning of Monday and Tuesday, according to Wrangell Municipal Light & Power, some trees fell onto power lines out Zimovia Highway and caused some outages on Dec. 1. A Facebook post from the City and Borough of Wrangell announced that power was lost between 9-mile and 13-mile of the highway. Rod Rhoades, WLM&P director, said that they received reports of two fallen trees out the road, at 11.5-mile and 11.75-mile. Rhoades said he had crews...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly held a workshop Tuesday evening, Dec. 1, for discussion and possible direction on their recently passed mask mandate and ongoing closure of city buildings. The mask mandate, requiring everyone in Wrangell to wear a face mask or face shield when in public, was adopted in an emergency meeting on Nov. 12. The city also decided to close city buildings to the public. These measures were passed in response to the ongoing spread of COVID-19 across the state. Both of these...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly held a special meeting last Thursday night, Nov. 19, to discuss the Public Safety Building and its needed repairs. The Public Safety Building houses Wrangell's court, police department, fire department, and DMV. It was first built in 1987, and is in need of renovation in many areas. One such area was the main topic of discussion in the meeting: The need for a wall shoring project. A few months ago, structural instability was discovered in the Public Safety...
Last week, on Nov. 10, the borough assembly met for a work session on the topic of electric meter upgrades. According to a memo from Electrical Superintendent Rod Rhoades, Wrangell Municipal Light & Power's metering system has been deemed obsolete by their software and hardware provider, ITRON. Their current metering system was developed in 1994, according to the memo, and ITRON has decided the continued use of this system, MV-RS, is no longer smart or cost effective. This means, Rhoades wrote,...
Last Thursday morning, Nov. 12, many Alaskans received an emergency alert on their phones from Governor Mike Dunleavy. The message contained a link to a video of Dunleavy, in which he addressed the rapid spread of COVID-19 across the state. Effective immediately, he said, all state employees were to work from home if possible, and face masks and social distancing were mandatory at state work sites. On Nov. 16 he also issued a new 30-day COVID-19 disaster declaration. In his address, the governor...