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Petersburg Power and Light Superintendent and Southeast Alaska Power Agency board member Joe Nelson made a motion to suspend the Petersburg-Kake Intertie Project last week. Nelson made the motion after SEAPA CEO Trey Acteson reported to the board about future funding challenges associated with the project. The Ketchikan Gateway Borough, the City of Ketchikan and the City of Saxman all listed the Swan Lake Reservoir at the top of their capital project lists. Governor Sean Parnell’s fiscal year 2015 capital project list doesn’t include the pro...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously voted to go ahead with negotiations with Wrangell, Ketchikan and the Southeast Alaska Power Agency to provide a conversion plan for the transfer of operations and maintenance of the Tyee Hyrdo Facility from the Thomas Bay Power Authority to SEAPA. The vote comes after the Wrangell Assembly drafted a resolution earlier this month that, in part, accepts SEAPA CEO Trey Acteson’s August 19 offer to take over operations at TBPA. As part of the conversion plan and Acteson’s offer, the resolution states tha...
Southeast Alaska Power Agency board members recessed into executive session at the end of the monthly board meeting Tuesday to discuss future operations at the Tyee plant. The item was mentioned briefly during the CEO report section of the eight-hour meeting before noon, and was on the agenda as an executive session that evening. The Wrangell borough assembly approved a resolution to direct borough manager Jeff Jabusch to enter into negotiations over the future of operations at Tyee and the Thomas Bay Power Authority. The issue has been under...
The council voted 5-0 to approve a resolution that would begin the process of moving the Thomas Bay Power Authority-run Tyee Lake facility over to the Southeast Alaska Power Agency. The resolution reflects a draft resolution approved at the Dec. 3 special assembly meeting, and keeps most of the terms of that resolution intact. TBPA employees would be “kept whole” in terms of wages, benefits, and positions during the conversion process. SEAPA would absorb the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) unfunded liability. Wrangell and Pet...
The borough assembly voted 5-0 Tuesday night on a draft resolution which — if approved next week — could begin the process of putting Tyee Lake operations in the hands of the Southeast Alaska Power Agency. Assembly members instructed Borough manager Jeff Jabusch to look through and fine-tune the resolution, which would empower him to enter into negotiations on a formal written offer for the SEAPA transfer “which essentially accepts the terms of the August 19, 2013 memo from the SEAPA CEO to the TBPA President,” the measure reads. The draft r...
The borough assembly’s special energy committee voted 7-0 Monday to send two options and a recommendation to the borough assembly meeting Tuesday night. The options represent borough manager Jeff Jabusch’s assessment of possible futures for the Thomas Bay Power Authority. The options, delineated by the committee in discussion at a previous meeting, amount to a list of positives and negatives for either the City and Borough of Wrangell or Southeast Alaska Power Agency running the Tyee Lake hydroelectric facility. A two-page memo drafted by Jab...
To the Editor: I am writing in regards to the story that appeared on the cover of the November 21, 2013 edition of the Wrangell Sentinel. I must admit to having several emotions while reading the article regarding the school district’s disregard for child safety as it relates to food allergies. Those emotions ranged from sadness, to disgust and anger. It seems that one sided rumors and accusations not supported by any facts are becoming normal for our newspaper. I, of all people, know how difficult it can be to write for the Wrangell S...
The borough's energy committee asked borough administrator Jeff Jabusch to provide the borough assembly with data-driven assessments of options for the future of the Thomas Bay Power Authority. The committee's Monday meeting was largely an informal affair, with most decisions being made by consensus instead of role-call votes. Committee members also honed in on the options for the TBPA, which has been stuck in limbo since the Petersburg borough council voted to withhold their portion of funding...
The borough assembly voted 7-0 Tuesday to push an amendment to borough code on the plight of abandoned or derelict vessels to a second reading. The suggested revisions originally came out of the city’s Ports & Harbors commission by a unanimous approval in October. At that time, assembly members objected to portions of the existing borough code relating to the harbormaster’s ability to impound vessels for violation of public code and the number of public notices made before impounding a boat. Assembly member James Stough, who raised con...
Energy officials for the State’s leading trade agency say they hope to one day add wind to the energy mix in Southeast Alaska. This year, officials have erected large meteorological towers in and around Wrangell to record data, with a possible eye toward picking up the seasonal slack at area hydro plants during the winter months. Two 10-meter (almost 33 feet) towers have been erected on the island, and an additional 34-meter (about 112 feet) meteorological tower is in Ketchikan, awaiting permitting approval from local officials, said Rich Strom...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly’s energy committee met for the second time ever Tuesday night. Committee members took no formal actions, other than to elect assembly member James Stough – the only sitting assembly member on the committee – as chair, and to elect Brian Ashton, a Southeast Alaska Power Agency board member and Thomas Bay Power Authority commissioner. The former energy committee chair, board member Pamella McClocskey, had resigned. However, the committee composed a set of possible recommendations to the assembly to be formally consi...
The two-day Southeast Alaska Power Agency board meeting became in part a prism through which to view debate over the future of the Thomas Bay Power Authority. The TBPA debate has raised hackles both with SEAPA CEO Trey Acteson and board members, particularly the amount of misinformation SEAPA officials claim was circulated during a Sept. 24 meeting of the Wrangell Borough Assembly. Nor are factual inaccuracies limited to that assembly meeting, officials say. They cited a letter from Ketchikan Public Utilities to the Mayor, included with...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly clarified questions to be put to an attorney relating to the ongoing debate over the Thomas Bay Power Authority. Discussion focused around questions to be put to a power attorney – borough manager Jeff Jabusch mentioned one of the attorneys who drafted the original Long-Term Power Sales Agreement, which dictates the terms under which electricity from Tyee Lake power plant and Swan Lake dam are sold as a possibility – as the borough resolves questions about the future of the Authority. The scope of the que...
Southeast Alaska Power Agency CEO Trey Acteson this week decried what he called the ‘overwhelming amount of misinformation’ circulated at a city council meeting Sept. 24. Acteson focused primarily on accusations made at that meeting during the public comments section. In particular, he cited rumors of a rate increase, the possibility of new diesel construction, and statements about the SEAPA payroll, saying they were false. At least one SEAPA board member disagreed with Acteson’s characterization of the debate. Both he and SEAPA keep the walle...
An argument between a Thomas Bay Power Authority commissioner and two Thomas Bay employees after the Wrangell Assembly has added to the venom in the debate over the future of TBPA. Shortly after Tuesday’s regular assembly meeting, Commissioner Clay Hammer confronted TBPA office manager Rhonda Christian over public comment delivered to the Borough Assembly on the subject of TBPA, Nicholls and Christian said. Hammer accused Christian of overstepping her bounds as a TBPA employee to address the commission, and Christian countered that Hammer w...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly approved a resolution Friday informing the Wrangell assembly of its acceptance of Southeast Alaska Power Agency’s offer to take over Tyee Hydroelectric Project operation costs. The resolution urges the Wrangell assembly to also accept the offer. SEAPA CEO Trey Acteson presented the offer that would also absorb existing Thomas Bay Power Authority employees along with their Public Employee Retirement System unfunded liabilities in excess of $750,000 should SEAPA terminate the current Tyee contract. The Petersburg a...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly voted Tuesday 4-2 against asking the Southeast Alaska Power Authority for $55,000 in “net non-billable” expenses. The resolution as voted on had instructed borough Administrator Jeff Jabusch to withhold that amount from power payments made to SEAPA in the event that they declined. However, Mayor David Jack directed Jabusch to seek legal advice as to whether such a claim had any legal standing, and to consult with an attorney to that end. The vote and subsequent direction to the administrator seemed to strike a bal...
By Brian O’Connor Sentinel writer The Thomas Bay Power Commission heard acrimonious discussion Tuesday about the power authority at the center of a political tussle between the Petersburg and Wrangell borough assemblies. Discussion centered around two central questions: the short-term future of the Authority and the longer-term future of electricity generation and sales in Southeast Alaska. Commissioner Warren Edgley moved for discussion on the possibility of eliminating the Thomas Bay Power A...
Petersburg and Wrangell officials debated Tuesday the future of the Thomas Bay Power Authority in a joint workshop session. The at-times contentious meeting called into the question the future of the TBPA as an independent entity from the larger Southeast Alaska Power Authority. A May 6 vote by Petersburg to withhold its portion of the TBPA budget triggered the workshop session. Council members said concerns about the role of the TBPA triggered the 6-1 vote against funding the portion of the...
The borough assembly Tuesday night voted 4-2 against a resolution asking the Southeast Alaska Power Authority to pay the full cost of operating the Tyee Hydroelectric Plant. However, at least one council member voted against the measure only because they felt more time and preparation were needed before putting the request to SEAPA. “I’m going to be voting no, but I don’t think it’s a bad idea,” said newly minted assemblywoman Julie Decker. Decker’s remarks echoed concerns expressed by Mayor Da...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly will likely travel to Wrangell September 10 to discuss with its assembly the viability of Thomas Bay Power Authority. According to a memo sent out by Wrangell Interim Borough Manager Jeff Jabusch, the two municipalities created TBPA to jointly maintain and operate the Tyee Hydroelectric power plant. Southeast Alaska Power Agency, SEAPA, owns the facility and pays for its operations and maintenance. There’s an additional expense associated with the TBPA budget that the two boroughs traditionally split. It’s cal...
PETERSBURG — Southeast Alaska Power Agency CEO, Trey Acteson, provided a presentation during the Petersburg Borough Assembly meeting on Monday night outlining the services and mission of the SEAPA organization. Acteson stated that SEAPA’s mission is to provide the lowest wholesale power rate consistent with sound utility planning and business practices. SEAPA exists for the long-term benefit of the member utilities and the rate payers, providing unified regional leadership for project development and prudent management of the int...
The Alaska Energy Authority has approved the top of the clear-cut across from Muskeg Meadows Golf Course as a test site for a meteorological research tower and work will proceed on construction when all necessary permits are in place. The purpose of the tower is to collect wind data for potential power generation. The current plan calls for the Southeast Alaska Power Agency to enable Forest Service permitting issues, with staff from the City and Borough of Wrangell working with the AEA to cover local data collection for another Wrangell Island...
The Borough Assembly approved the collection of property taxes for the next fiscal year at their May 28 meeting, continuing the mill rate currently paid by residents of the City and Borough of Wrangell for another year. The Assembly voted 7-0 to approve the rate. The ordinance will, except for property that is exempt by law from taxation, set the mill rate at 12.75 mills for the tax year 2013, 4 mills for the Wrangell Service Area, 4 mills for property outside the Service Area, and 4 mills for the tax differential zone. Taxes due and payable...
Members of the Thomas Bay Power Authority Commission met for their regular meeting on Wednesday, May 15 to discuss possible conflicts of interest within the organization. TBPA Commissioner and Petersburg Municipal Power and Light Superintendent Joe Nelson brought commission policies to light in regard to these conflicts. “Our commission policy states that no one on the commission can hold a direct interest in a contract of a business providing service for us,” Nelson read. “In the past when we had Pac Wing and Sunrise flying for us, the commi...