Wrangell Sentinel -

The Borough Assembly met in two sessions on Tuesday, June 12 to hold a public hearing on a proposed ordinance relating to collection of utility fees, and to pursue a second reading of the ordinance during the regular session.

Before the utility issue could be addressed in open session, however, assembly member David Jack, with fellow member Bill Privett, asked to have the agendized approval of the Wrangell Medical Center 2013 budget tabled until a future meeting. Jack asked to have WMC Chief Financial Officer Olinda White come before the assembly to give a greater explanation of the document before the group would approve it.

The item was tabled unanimously.

“It’s not clear, the way the budget is written,” Jack said after the meeting. “In it, one whole department is mentioned with total amounts and not broken down as to where the money will go. If you look at the borough’s budget, each item is written down in different categories. That is what I want to see, an explanation and less guesswork.”

During the public comment section of the meeting, WMC Chief Executive Officer Noel Rea said the tabling was an unnecessary move.

“The budget is as you have had it,” Rea said. “It’s been approved here and has been there for several decades before I got here, so I’m happy to have a confab about going through the budget. But, it’s been the same style for, I think, 20 years.”

An assembly workshop will be scheduled to review the document.

Returning to the proposed utility ordinance, the assembly discussed how it would change the way the borough deals with delinquent users – and how and when the lights could be turned out for having a delinquent bill.

“The proposed ordinance allows staff to send out regular monthly billing which will also act as the disconnect notice,” Borough Finance Director Jeff Jabusch said in a memo to the assembly last month. “Currently there are no guidelines and this section will help.”

If passed, any customer with a delinquent account would not be allowed to move accounts or open new ones until the amount owed is paid in full. Electric utilities would not be cut off to any account where life-support equipment is used and the customer is dependent on it.

A number of critical items were covered in Borough Manager Tim Rooney’s report to the assembly. Among the administrative items dealt with was a new collective bargaining contract with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

“A tentative two-year agreement between the City and Borough of Wrangell and IBEW Local 1547 was reached on Friday, May 11,” Rooney wrote in his report.”

The agreement, which required ratification by both the borough and union, passed with the unanimous assent of the assembly during the meeting. The union passed its ratification on May 31.

“Our last contract with the union allowed workers at a certain payscale to earn time-and-a-half if they filled in or covered for a position with a lower payscale,” Maxand added. “The best thing about this agreement is that this provision was taken out. Workers will now receive their standard wage.”

Maxand also added that the new agreement was based on the good relationship he said the borough shares with the union.

“This will save on arbitration and attorney fees, which is a money saver for the borough,” he said.

A new videoconferencing service at the Irene Ingle Public Library was also on Rooney’s radar – and is part of a statewide project that includes more than 100 libraries across the state. The library launched the program on June 12 with Sen. Mark Begich reading a book to children watching around Alaska.

“It’s awesome that we have this technology and it will virtually link us to anywhere else in the world. That is important for someone like me who travels so often,” Maxand said.

Rooney’s report also stated that the diesel run for 2012, utilizing three generators for 3.5 days, used 23,082 gallons and cost the borough $97,406.

“For the most part, the diesel run went very well,” Rooney wrote. “The largest problem that was experienced was during the switchover from diesel back to hydro on the final day of the diesel run.”

In new business, the assembly undertook a first reading of a proposed ordinance that would amend the official zoning map of the borough in regard to Lot 20A of the Oliver subdivision. The proposal would change the zoning from single-family residential to multi-family residential and allow a three-unit building currently on-site to come into compliance.

The meeting was also the first for newly appointed Borough Clerk Kim Flores.

The next assembly meeting will be a special session on June 25. The next regular meeting will be the following day, June 26, at 7 p.m.

Other borough business:

- Approval of a special assembly meeting on June 25 to certify the result of the June 19 recalls election.

- Approval of a contract to award Johnson Construction the contract for the Community Center roof replacement project.

- Approval of a contract to award CXT, Inc. the contract for a pre-manufactured restroom at The Marine Service Center.

- Approval of a change order at The Marine Service Center.

- Acceptance of the resignation of Paul Southland from the Thomas Bay Power Authority Commission.

- Approval to remove Wrangell Harbor receivable accounts and forward to a collection agency.