It can be a small-town badge of honor to only know the houses by the name of the family who lives there, rather than the street it sits on. Since Wrangell residents receive their mail at the post office, there hasn’t been much need for uniform street addressing.

But for first responders, it can make it harder to find properties without a specific identifiable location.

The borough will start the second phase of its addressing project in September. Teams will spread out across town to map properties so that they can be given a valid street address. Some houses will receive new addresses and potentially street names, while houses out Zimovia Highway will receive addresses for the first time.

“We are going to maintain to the maximum degree possible every street name and every street or address number that is already in our database,” said Kate Thomas, economic development director for the borough.

Thomas said there are going to be situations where that is not possible. For example, there are two Grave streets and two Grief streets. There is a Third Street and also a 3rd Street.

The addressing system will be covered in a future ordinance that will be introduced.

Residents receiving new addresses will eventually need to update personal identification, like driver’s licenses and passports. Land ownership documents, such as titles, are defined by their legal descriptions of subdivision, townsite or lot number and should not be affected by street address changes.

Homeowners will also be responsible for making sure their new address is clearly displayed on their property as would be required by the ordinance.

“The provisions require you to have that number and have it visible … so that it can be seen from the street and legal entrance of your house,” Thomas said.

She said the borough is planning to provide reflective number stickers to those who want them to help alleviate that burden for homeowners.

While this could create a period of inconvenience as homeowners update their paperwork and label their homes, standardized addresses could significantly improve first responder response times.

“Just so we know when we get called out where we’re going,” said Aaron Powell, administrator for Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department/EMS. “Depending on the call, seconds can matter if it’s a house fire or someone having cardiac issues.”

The mapping and street renaming must be completed before the end of the fiscal year that ends on June 30, 2027, to allow for implementation. To do so, the borough has contracted with DATAMARK Technologies, a company that specializes in mapping for public safety applications.

When mapping starts, workers will wear designated vests and drive vehicles with the borough logo so that the community can identify them. There will also be public notices online with an official start date once it has been set.

Phase 2 (field data collection) and Phase 3 (which includes updating street names and addresses) will cost just under $120,000, which Thomas said the borough decided to cover itself to avoid any possible delays.