Sorted by date Results 626 - 650 of 1283
PETERSBURG – Southeast Alaska Power Agency is still in the process of trying to replace a damaged submarine cable that provides Petersburg with power, as complications increase due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bob Lynn, chairman of the SEAPA board, told the Petersburg Borough Assembly at their meeting on Monday that there are concerns over whether the project can be completed this year. The damaged cable is one of four submarine cables that connects the terminals between Woronofski and Vank islands...
With Health Mandate 16, part of Governor Mike Dunleavy's plan to reopen Alaska's economy safely during the COVID-19 pandemic, communities across the state are considering what the near future may look like. Revenues have fallen for the city and businesses have had to get creative to stay open. While there is optimism to be found amongst some business owners, uncertainties loom for the economy in general. Alan Cummings, of All In Charters and Grand View B&B, said that they are looking at a rough...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly held a special meeting Thursday, April 16, to consider their local contribution to the Wrangell School District's budget. According to the meeting's agenda packet, the city can provide the district anywhere between $583,830 and about $1.6 million. The district's current budget for FY 2021, which was adopted on March 19, has revenues set at about $5.68 million and expenditures at about $6.08 million. The school district was requesting the same contribution as the...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met remotely last Tuesday, April 14, to hold one of their regularly scheduled meetings. It was a light agenda, as far as items requiring an assembly vote, but there was much discussion. After opening the meeting, the assembly heard from two Wrangell residents who wanted to see the local economy start to reopen. Wrangell residents Dale Parkinson and Mike Lockabey both thanked the city staff and the wider public for doing their parts to keep the community safe during...
On Wednesday, April 15, representatives from the City and Borough of Wrangell (CBW), Wrangell Medical Center (WMC), the Alaska Division of Public Health, the Alaska Island Community Services (AICS) Clinic, and Wrangell's emergency operations center participated in their weekly teleconference to advance community planning for COVID-19 response. The teleconference was preceded by a Tuesday, April 14, COVID-19 report by WMC Medical Director Dr. Lynn Prysunka to the CBW Assembly as part of their...
Wow the folks are getting it done! I have been so impressed with the Coronavirus response here in Southern Southeast Alaska. At every level - from each individual to businesses to local governments - we have worked together diligently to flatten the curve, and it is working. I want to give a huge thank you first and foremost to our medical staff and essential services providers. You are keeping our world turning (even if it is turning a little slower these days). I can’t fully understand the sacrifices you have made for our communities, but I...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly convened electronically on last Monday, April 6, to consider a new emergency ordinance in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The final vote on Ordinance No. 977 was delayed, however, to let city officials gather further information. The proposed ordinance would have mandated a two-week self quarantine for any intrastate travelers coming to Wrangell, allowed for modified quarantine plans for critical workforce, and required that travel safety and modified qua...
The Wrangell Planning and Zoning Commission met remotely last Thursday evening, April 9, to give final plat approval of various land surveys for a proposed land swap between Alaska Mental Health and the Forest Service. Preliminary plats were approved back in 2018, according to the meeting's agenda packet. The land surveys, No. 2018-9, 10, and 11, were all approved by the commission. Survey 2018-10, however, was approved with some conditions. The City and Borough of Wrangell gets to record an...
Representatives of the City and Borough of Wrangell and the local seafood industry held a workshop on Tuesday, April 7, to discuss how public health can be protected with fishing season drawing near. There were over 30 people who called into the meeting, in total. The meeting was chaired by Assembly Member Julie Decker. "I think, in my opinion, the goal is to move the city in a direction of a set of policies, and procedures, and requirements, for the seafood industry that keep the community...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly convened via teleconference last Monday evening, April 6, to discuss a new proposed emergency ordinance. This new ordinance would institute three local health mandates related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and would hopefully mitigate the risk of the virus spreading to the community. Emergency Ordinance No. 977 would require a 14-day self-quarantine for all intrastate travelers coming to Wrangell, allow for a modified quarantine plan for critical workforce, and...
The Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium, according to several members of Wrangell's local government, has been doing a very good job of communicating with them during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Assembly Member David Powell said that communications between SEARHC, Mayor Steve Prysunka, and Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen have been taking place almost daily. Prysunka and Von Bargen are really on top of things, he said. Assembly Member Drew Larrabee added that, in his opinion,...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met via teleconference last Tuesday evening, March 24. Since the COVID-19 pandemic has spread to Alaska even though not in Wrangell, city officials have taken precautions to mitigate any risk of the virus spreading in Wrangell by cancelling unnecessary meetings, and only holding necessary ones remotely. During last week's meeting, the assembly approved of a preferred alternative to a reservoir bypass project. The city is under contract with Shannon & Wilson Engineer...
On Wed., March 25, Wrangell COVID-19 responders participated in their weekly joint meeting to discuss the latest actions made in preparation for the coronavirus reaching the island. City and Borough of Wrangell (CBW) leadership discussed state travel mandate advertisement and enforcement, while Wrangell Medical Center (WMC) administration provided information on the surge plans, should the local healthcare facility see unprecedented levels of admittance due to the coronavirus. Representatives...
The City and Borough of Wrangell held a special meeting via teleconference last Sunday afternoon, March 22, to issue an emergency "shelter in place" order. The assembly recently granted the mayor and borough manager the ability to issue emergency orders in the interest of public health, during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen issued Wrangell's first emergency orders last week, limiting restaurants to to-go service only and limiting public gatherings to a maximum of...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly held a special meeting on Tuesday afternoon, March 17. In response to the global spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), which recently reached Alaska, the assembly decided to meet to determine how best to handle the situation, and mitigate chances of the virus spreading locally. There are no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Wrangell as of March 17, but the assembly felt it was important to be proactive. As part of an effort to encourage social distancing, the...
Two new cases of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) have been identified in Fairbanks, bringing the total known cases in Alaska to three. Conditions and guidance regarding COVID-19 is changing by the hour. Please understand the following facts about COVID-19 and Wrangell: Persons Most at Risk: 1) Persons age 60 and older; 2) Persons with underlying health conditions. Wrangell's Age: Wrangell has one of, if not the, highest population of Senior Citizens, per capita, in Alaska. That means a...
With the ongoing spread of COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus, many communities across the nation are doing their best to be prepared. This is also true in Alaska. There are only a few confirmed cases of the virus in Anchorage and Fairbanks as of March 17. All across the state, however, communities are taking precautionary measures to keep the virus from spreading further. In Wrangell, many events and facilities have been postponed for the sake of caution. "As a preventative measure to...
The Wrangell School board held a somewhat unique meeting Monday evening, March 16. Due to concerns about the coronavirus, though there have been no confirmed cases in Southeast Alaska as of this date, the board limited attendance to the meeting to a maximum of 10 people. Others interested in attending could sit in nearby rooms and watch the proceedings via livestream. Other than the limitation on how many people could be in the room, the meeting went on much like any other. During this meeting,...
Members of the Wrangell Borough Assembly and the Wrangell School District met Tuesday evening, March 10, to hold a work session on the district's newest budget. Both the borough and school district are going through their budget season. As the district is part of the borough, the borough regularly makes a contribution to the budget, and said budget comes before the borough for approval before being sent up to the state; both parties regularly collaborate on the project. This upcoming budget for...
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 School Board held a work session Monday night to discuss next year's budget. The district is currently undergoing its budget season, looking at the financial year for 2021. The current draft of the FY 2021 budget has the school district operating at a loss. Total revenues are estimated at a little less than $5.7 million, while expenses are around $6.5 million. The largest costs for the district include $2.7 million for "instruction,'' about $831,000 for "operations and maintenance...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met last Tuesday evening, Feb. 11, for a work session on the borough's future goals. The discussion was meant to ensure that all city employees understood what Wrangell's priorities are, and what they are all working towards. According to the meeting's agenda packet, the borough had a wide variety of goals to consider. Some of the goals laid out in the agenda packet included development of the old Institute and Byford junkyard properties, and cleaning up abandoned...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly met Monday, Feb. 10, to workshop some staffing issues at the Irene Ingle Public Library and the Nolan Center. The assembly originally planned to hold a special assembly meeting right after the workshop, but instead decided to just have the workshop and revisit the topic at a later meeting. An assistant position is currently open, one of three permanent positions the city maintains at the library: Library Director, Assistant II, and Assistant I. The Assistant I...
During their last meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 28, the Wrangell Borough Assembly got to take a look at their financial situation from the past six months. The current budget, for FY 2020, was adopted last June. As of Dec. 31, 2019, total revenue for Wrangell's general fund has been about $3.5 million, and about $2.7 million in expenditures. The general fund is currently sitting at a profit of $869,251. However, for the entire financial year the general fund is expected to bring in a little less...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly held a work session before their regular meeting, on Jan. 28, to review the preliminary results of a compensation study by JB Reward Systems. Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen explained that the study compared the salaries of public employees in Wrangell to those of similar municipalities, to see how they stacked up and whether or not Wrangell is a competitive location for potential hires. "Basically, our three fundamental goals would be to have a structure that was...
