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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...
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,...
Wrangell's port commission met last Thursday, Nov. 12. A large portion of their discussion that night surrounded the installation of ladders between slip spaces at Shoemaker Harbor. Shoemaker has recently undergone extensive renovations, replacing old docking and making the harbor more accessible for vessels. The commission was looking at installing ladders in between each slip space in the harbor. This would cost about $84,000, according to the discussion. Brian Merritt, with the Port...
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 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...
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...
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...
The Wrangell Port Commission held a workshop last Thursday evening, Sept. 3. During this meeting, the new harbor master for the city was introduced. Steve Miller will be taking over as harbor master in the near future. Current Harbor Master Greg Meissner will be retiring soon, according to Keeleigh Solverson with the harbor department. Meissner first announced his intentions to retire in February of this year, according to a Feb. 13 article in the Wrangell Sentinel. Meissner confirmed that he...
The Wrangell Port Commission met Thursday evening, Aug. 6, to discuss plans to relocate an old Forest Service vessel. The borough assembly adopted a memorandum with the Forest Service last November, regarding the M/V Chugach Ranger. According to a Nov. 14, 2019 article in the Sentinel, the ship was first constructed in 1925, and is one of the last wooden Forest Service ranger boats in existence. It currently resides in the boat yard. However, the plan is to move the boat over to the Nolan...
Declarations of candidacy for Wrangell's election will be opening in the near future. A July 9 Facebook post on the city's page listed open positions interested candidates may consider. The position of mayor will be up for grabs this year, a two-year term. There are also three seats open on the borough assembly. Two seats are for three-year terms, while another one is for a two-year unexpired term. There is one spot available on the Wrangell School Board, for a three-year term. Lastly, there...
It was a short meeting for the Wrangell Port Commission last Tuesday evening, July 7. There was only one item of new business on their agenda, a request by Josh Blatchley to subdivide and purchase a portion of tidelands. The land in question comes from parcel #02-024-600, according to the agenda packet. Blatchley owns property just upland of the tidelands he is interested in, the packet reads, and the property owners on either side of him own the tidelands in front of their property. This...
Two items were approved by the Wrangell Planning and Zoning Commission last Thursday. The first item was a request to purchase city-owned tidelands, by Josh Blatchley. According to the request, the tidelands are adjacent to Blatchley's property. The request also notes that tidelands adjacent to the area of interest have already been sold or leased. This request met approval by the Port Commission in their July 7 meeting, as well. This request was accepted by the commission. The commission also...
It was a relatively light meeting of the Wrangell Port Commission last Thursday evening, May 7. There was only one agenda item for the commission to consider, a request by GCI to relocate the landing for a submarine cable. The telecommunication company currently has a submarine cable come onto the beach next to the community garden area, near City Park. From there, according to the meeting's agenda packet, the cable hits aerial lines and goes to its hub building, and also leaves the beach area a...
The Wrangell Port Commission continued its discussion of increasing the fees they gather from visiting cruise ships last week, March 5. This has been an ongoing topic of discussion for the commission for several months now. Harbor Master Greg Meissner has iterated in several meetings that the city needed more money for a variety of reasons. As things stood now, he said, the port is barely profitable. During their previous discussion back in February, he said they only bring in about $8,000 to...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met Tuesday, Feb. 25, to have a follow-up work session on staffing issues at the Irene Ingle Public Library and the Nolan Center. As covered in a Feb. 13 article of the Sentinel, the assembly has been considering how best to resolve staffing questions at both facilities while also keeping everything as affordable as possible. During their last workshop, the assembly considered a number of options for an empty assistant position at the library. The Nolan Center has...
The Wrangell Port Commission met last Thursday, Feb. 6, to continue their ongoing discussion of changing the city's rates for visiting cruise ships. Harbor Master Greg Meissner explained that the commission needs to consider increasing the fees Wrangell collects from cruise ships for a variety of reasons. For one thing, the cruise industry is continuing to grow. With more ships potentially visiting in the near future, he said they would need money to renovate and improve City Dock. Another...
Alaska lawmakers are making fast work of several fish bills that have wide support from Alaska’s fishermen. “I was anticipating a somewhat slow start, but they’re organized and they’re diving right into these issues and taking these bills up. And so there’s lots of opportunities to participate,” said Frances Leach, executive director of United Fishermen of Alaska. The bill (HB 35) that would resolve a conflict of interest fix at the state Board of Fisheries has been moving through committee hearings in Juneau and could finally be settled aft...
The Borough assembly had a busy night during their meeting on Dec. 10. The meeting opened with a report from State Representative Dan Ortiz. Ortiz said he is going around to the communities he represents, ahead of the next legislative session, to give an update on things in Juneau and to listen to the priorities of his constituents. The next legislative session will be opening on Jan. 21, 2020. Ortiz said that the financial situation for Alaska is largely unchanged from the previous legislative...
The Wrangell Port Commission met last Thursday, Dec. 5, for a relatively brief meeting. A workshop was held beforehand to continue ongoing discussions on the cruise industry in Wrangell, and potential changes to vessel classifications in the harbors. As this was a work session, no action will be taken yet on these items. The main piece of business during the meeting was a plan to change future meeting times. Port commission meetings have usually had a start time of 7 p.m. However, as the...
Plans are in motion to subdivide the old mill property around 6.5 mile Zimovia Highway, according to Terri Wenger with Anchor Properties. The property, currently owned by Betty Buhler, has been on the market for quite some time. On the Anchor Properties website the almost 39-acre lot is listed at $2.7 million. Wenger said that the plan is to subdivide the land into 11 lots, ranging in size from one to three acres. "I could be wrong, but I think that it could be possibly the biggest private land...
Shoemaker Bay Harbor has been undergoing renovations since the summer of 2018. First built in 1977, according to Harbor Master Greg Meissner in a previous interview with the Sentinel, it has grown well past its life expectancy. The work has seen the installation of a new gangway and floats. The harbor was also dredged to make it a little deeper. Meissner, in an interview in August 2018, said that the plan was to rebuild Shoemaker to make it more easily accessible to wider, deeper boats. During...
The Wrangell Port Commission met for a brief workshop to begin discussions on two topics that Harbor Master Greg Meissner said would be important for the future. One was on potentially changing the fees that Wrangell collects from cruise ships, and the other was on how he could better handle derelict boats taking up space in the harbors. A spreadsheet was given to board members, comparing the fees that different Southeast Alaskan towns earned from visiting cruise ships. These fees could vary...
The Wrangell Port Commission held their first meeting since April last Wednesday, Oct. 9. Meetings were put on the city calendar monthly, but due to vacant seats on the commission and conflicting schedules of several commissioners over the summer, they were cancelled due to a lack of quorum. With summer at an end and Wrangell's recent election, the commission was finally able to meet again. Commissioner John Yeager, who was excused from the meeting, was re-elected to the commission for a...
With the final votes tallied by the canvass board earlier that morning, the Wrangell Borough Assembly met last Thursday, Oct. 3, to confirm this year's local election. There were several positions open for election on the assembly, school board, and an open seat on the port commission in the election on Oct. 1. The public also voted on a proposition to remove the Wrangell Medical Center Board from the city's charter. In total, there were 365 votes cast on election day, plus an additional 41...
A total of 365 ballots were cast on Wrangell's election day, Oct.1, plus an additional 40 absentee ballots. There were several positions up for election on the borough assembly, school board and port commission. The public also had the opportunity to vote to make a minor amendment to Wrangell's charter, removing the Wrangell Medical Center Board as the hospital is no longer operated by the borough. The following is the preliminary election results (* indicates preliminary winner): Borough...
