The borough has been doing some housekeeping when it comes to municipally owned and operated properties. Particularly in the realm of who can name them and acceptable behavior at them.

At the Oct. 13 meeting, the assembly voted to approve two ordinances, one of which gives guidance on the process of naming borough properties and the other establishes a code of conduct for behavior on those properties. This was the second reading for both ordinances, both of which were passed unanimously. 

The naming ordinance came as a result of discussions around whether to rename the high school basketball court after Ray Stokes, who coached the high school boys basketball team 1987-2017. 

The assembly ultimately decided that as the operator of the school buildings, the school board had the authority to choose whether to dedicate school property by naming them after someone if they so choose. 

However, the issue highlighted the fact that there were no guidelines within the municipal code directing this sort of dedication process, as pointed out by Assembly Member David Powell at the Sept. 8 meeting. 

Borough Manager Mason Villarma borrowed the naming ordinance used by Ketchikan in preparing a similar code for Wrangell. The naming requirements include: Whether it honors historical events or cultural influences significant to Wrangell and/or whether it honors a person or organization that has made particularly important and lasting contributions to Wrangell, Alaska, the nation or the world.

The new ordinance will be used when the assembly considers a resolution at its Oct. 27 meeting to name the former 6-Mile Mill property the Frank H. Murkowski Deepwater Port of Alaska.

Murkowski, a U.S. senator from 1981 to 2002 and Alaska governor from 2002 to 2006, is a summer resident of Wrangell.

The borough is working to develop the property for marine industrial use, including possibly a privately owned shipyard targeting federal government contracts.

The other ordinance adopted Oct. 13 is a consolidated code of conduct and trespass rule intended to help protect borough employees from threats and harassment. The move came after death threats were allegedly made toward several borough assembly members, according to Villarma. 

The ordinance will allow the borough to remove individuals who are in violation of the code of conduct from borough facilities and/or suspend their access based on the severity of the behavior.