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During a special borough assembly meeting last Thursday, community members shared their thoughts on a potential mask mandate the city was considering. The mandate would require all individuals, with some exceptions, to wear a mask or face covering in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This mandate, and Wrangell's response to it in general, has been a controversial topic in the community. Over 20 people called into the meeting, and the city also received several letters. The majority of the...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met last Thursday evening, Nov. 5. This was only a discussion meeting, to take in public opinion and decide whether or not a mask mandate would be worth considering in a formal meeting. This mandate was being considered at the behest of the local Emergency Operations Center, who requested the city look at the possibility. The potential mandate, outlined in the meeting's agenda packet, would require all individuals to wear a mask or face veering while "indoors in...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met Tuesday, Nov. 10. During this meeting, among other items, they held a discussion about the borough's CARES Act funding. They reviewed expenses so far, as well as possible future projects. Wrangell received a $3.85 million grant from the CARES Act, to help the city respond to the COVID-19 update, according to a memo from Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen. Between March and October of this year, $2.3 million has been spent on a variety of programs and payroll for...
Late this morning Governor Dunleavy issued a statewide Emergency Alert imploring Alaskans to take a number of different actions related to COVID-19 mitigation to help stop the surge in cases and reduce stress on healthcare capacity. Those actions include: · Working remotely if possible · Pre-order supplies, goods and food for pick-up or carry-out · Stay six (6) feet apart at all times from non-household members · Wear a mask at all times in public if six feet of separation is not possible · Consider celebrating Thanksgiving and other holi... Full story
A local member of Wrangell's Emergency Operations Center recently received threats on social media, according to city officials. The COVID-19 pandemic, and governments' response to it, has been a contentious issue across the nation and at home. The EOC is a collection of city officials who are tasked with gathering information on the pandemic, keeping in touch with state officials, and helping the community organize its response. Nothing has come of these threats, according to officials, but...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly held a workshop last week, Oct. 20, to discuss the water treatment plant improvement project. This has been an ongoing project for some time now, and the workshop was to make sure new assembly members were up to speed on the current situation, and to share opinions on how it is going so far. Capital Facilities Director Amber Al-Haddad led much of the initial discussion, providing a history lesson on the project. Plans to renovate and improve Wrangell's water...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met Tuesday evening, Oct. 27. The main focus of the meeting was a discussion on the COVID-19 pandemic, and the situation across the state. Multiple guest speakers from the state were invited into the discussion, to answer questions and talk about what people need to do to stay safe. Guests included DHSS Commissioner Adam Crum, Bryan Fisher with Alaska's COVID-19 Unified Command, DHSEM Deputy Director Paul Nelson, and Eliza Muse with DHSS. It is pretty clear that Ala...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly considered several purchases for the Wrangell Police Department during their meeting last Tuesday evening, Oct. 27. Two items were approved by the assembly, a Text-to-911 router switch and body cameras. The police department requested approval to purchase a Text-to-911 router switch in the amount of $4,000. There are several benefits that this would provide, according to Police Chief Tom Radke. For one thing, he said that someone texting 911 would also provide them...
Disruptions to ferry service have become a relatively common occurrence in recent history. The Alaska Marine Highway System has faced tight budgets, a strike, and an aging fleet in need of upgrades. With winter drawing near Wrangell will not see any ferry service for about two months if the winter schedule remains the same. According to the sailing calendar, found at www.dot.alaska.gov, the last ferry Wrangell will see in 2020 will be on Nov. 2. The M/V Kennicott will arrive from Ketchikan in the afternoon of that day, and depart for...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly held a special meeting last Thursday, Oct. 8, to certify the final election results from Oct. 6. Following a Canvass board meeting to review preliminary election results, it was found that a total of 483 ballots were cast and counted this election cycle, 419 on election day and 64 absentee. Steve Prysunka was re-elected to mayor for another two-year term. Anne Morrison and Ryan Howe were re-elected to the assembly for three-year terms. Terry Courson was elected to...
A lawsuit brought against the city by a Wrangell resident has come to a close, after Judge Kevin Miller dismissed the case. Kipha Valvoda brought a lawsuit against several former and current members of Wrangell's government in March of 2019. An amended complaint was filed by the plaintiff in April 2019, but the lawsuit originally began in March of that year. Valvoda claimed the borough used unfair hiring practices that kept him from finding employment with the city. He also claimed, in his...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met Tuesday evening, Oct. 13. During this meeting, they voted to extend a resolution allowing them to forgo in-person meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic. This resolution was approved back in March when COVID-19 was beginning to impact Alaska. The resolution allowed for the suspension of in-person assembly meetings until Oct. 17, unless extended. According to the meeting's agenda packet, the city is working on plans to return to in-person meetings, but for the...
Tuesday, Oct. 6, was election day for Wrangell. Polls closed at 8 p.m., with the preliminary count showing a total of 419 voters participating on election day. Wrangell voters chose the community's leadership in a variety of positions this year, as well as whether or not Wrangell should leave the Inter-Island Ferry Authority. Below are the preliminary election results. Preliminary winners are marked with an asterisk (*). Borough Mayor, one two-year term *Steve Prysunka, 304 Write-ins, 54...
In last week's assembly meeting, Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen reported that the city had recently been informed by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation that they had surpassed allowable levels of HAA5 in the water supply. HAA5, or Haloacetic Acids, is a byproduct of organic material in the water being treated with chlorine during the disinfection process. "It is important to remember organic material is always present in the source water treated for Wrangell's drinking water,"...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met Tuesday night to hold a public hearing on a Community Development Block Grant. In 2018, according to the meeting's agenda packet, the borough received a block grant for the purchase of a new fire truck. The grant was for $337,500, with the total estimated cost of the fire truck at $450,000. Per the requirements of the grant, two public hearings were held about the grant, one for the public to suggest projects and another to serve as a status report on the grant...
Election Day is just around the corner, on Oct. 6. Wrangell residents have the opportunity to voice their support for several candidates, seeking various leadership positions across the borough. Mayor, one two-year term Stephen Prysunka is seeking re-election to the position of mayor for a two-year term. He has served as Wrangell's mayor since 2018. He is seeking re-election because Wrangell is going through some hard times, he said, and it would be important to keep people with experience...
There was a power outage across the city last Thursday afternoon beginning a little after 4:20 p.m. The Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department was called out to the municipal light and power building shortly after the lights went out, with what appeared to be smoke coming out of the building. There was no fire, however, and power was restored to the city around 5 p.m. Wrangell Municipal Light and Power Director Rod Rhoades explained that a radiator fan motor seized up, which caused the 2.5 megawatt...
The Wrangell School Board held a special meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 9, to continue their discussion of a formal reprimand and improvement plan for the superintendent. Late last August, Superintendent Debbe Lancaster and several district staff members went on a trip to Juneau to purchase supplies to prepare the district for the upcoming school year. This was in violation of a district travel ban during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as done without board approval. The planned use of CARES Act...
The lawsuit by Wrangell resident Kipha Valvoda, against several current and former members of the city government, was removed from the trial schedule on Aug. 10. Valvoda's lawsuit contends, as reported in an Oct. 17, 2019 article in the Sentinel, that the city has used discriminatory hiring practices that kept him out of work. His complaint, which was filed in April of 2019, is seeking $700,000 in compensation. Defendants in his lawsuit include former Mayor David Jack, current Mayor Steve...
During the Wrangell Borough Assembly on Tuesday evening, Sept. 8 they discussed a community risk assessment of Wrangell for COVID-19. This risk assessment was created by Wrangell's Emergency Operations Center, to help determine how at-risk the community might be to the pandemic. The assessment takes into account information like the 7-day and 14-day average case count in Wrangell, the amount of community spread of COVID-19, the average number of close contacts per case, and the number of large...
Two members of the Wrangell Police Department made a four-day trip to Ketchikan last week for some training, according to city officials. The trip raised some questions, as the city has an ongoing moratorium for employees traveling outside of Wrangell during the COVID-19 pandemic. The trip was made with the full awareness of the borough assembly, it is reported, and an exception for the travel ban exists for public safety training. Chief Tom Radke said that Officers Connor Philips and Nick Pears...
Prior to their meeting Tuesday, Aug. 25, the Wrangell Borough Assembly held a workshop to go over several Capital Improvement Projects planned for FY 2021. The city has multiple projects lined up for the near future, across several departments. Last week’s workshop was to review these projects, and their estimated costs. “You approved a handful of items that were already in play, or had critical timelines in the operating budget, and those were attached in the agenda packet,” said Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen. “What is before you tonight...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met Tuesday evening, Aug. 25. During this meeting, they reviewed an FY 2019 audit of the borough. This item was postponed from their meeting on Aug. 11, to wait for a representative from the auditing firm to be available to answer questions. According to the agenda packet, the fund balance for the city's governmental funds sits at $53.65 million, and approximately $54.31 million in the enterprise funds. Of these, unrestricted funds sit at about $9.16 million and $5....
The Wrangell School Board held a special meeting Monday, Aug. 24, to discuss recent travel and purchases made by the superintendent and school staff. Last week, Superintendent Debbe Lancaster and three other members of the school district traveled to Juneau for a shopping trip. This was to acquire some key items related to reopening the schools and COVID-19 mitigation, she said. There were several reasons this was a topic of discussion for the board, among them being a lack of communication...
Prior to last week's assembly meeting on Aug. 11, the Wrangell Borough Assembly held a work session to consider future renovations to the old Institute Property. The Institute Property, located near Shoemaker Harbor, has been zoned "holding" since 2011 while the borough came to a decision on how to renovate it. A master plan was developed in 2017, according to the meeting's agenda packet, but not much progress has been made since then. The work session that night was to consider how the...