At its meeting Tuesday night, the Wrangell Borough Assembly accepted a list of prioritized city-wide projects for which State funds will be requested.
Borough Manager Tim Rooney presented the list to Assembly members Jan. 31 at a work session. This week Assembly members voted in favor of forwarding the list to the State.
Wood Street construction and utility improvements at the medical campus and the new hospital sit at the top of the project list. Wrangell is asking $1 million from the State for the Wood Street project and $3.8 million for the Wrangell Medical Center to help build a new hospital.
The Downtown Revitalization Project sits third on the list and Wrangell is asking $1 million from the State to help fund it. The project is expected to cost $9.2 million total, according to the capital budget request list.
The State asks cities to prioritize its top 12 projects and list them as such on their budget requests. Assembly member Don McCloskey asked to change the order of two projects on Wrangell’s list. He though it would be more appropriate if the Wrangell Boat Yard Improvement project, which will finish paving of the boat yard and sits fourth on the city’s prioritized budget request list, was listed above the Downtown Revitalization Project.
As long as the project remained on the list, Rooney said he didn’t have a problem with switching the boat yard paving project up to the number three spot.
Assembly member Bill Privett, however, said he didn’t think the change was necessary. Privett said it’s unlikely the State will provide funding for all top 12 projects on Wrangell’s list, but added it was important to keep the Downtown Revitalization Project at the top of the list because completing the project should be among the city’s main priorities.
“There is no way all top 12 projects are going to be funded,” Privett said. “If it’s in our top 12 list, I don’t see the need to change anything.”
All Assembly members present at the meeting voted in favor of approving the capital budget request list without any changes.
Also at the meeting:
¬ The Assembly passed an ordinance on its first reading that changes the seven-member Wrangell Convention and Visitor Bureau (WCVB) to a five-member board.
The ordinance requires three readings by the Assembly before it can go into effect.
At the Jan. 24 Assembly meeting, Assembly member Bill Privett suggested the change to the WCVB because there has been a vacant position open on the board for at least six months.
The Assembly will once again review the ordinance and hold a public hearing on the matter at its next regular meeting scheduled for Feb. 28.
Mayor Jeremy Maxand signed a proclamation declaring March 31, 2012 as “Choose Respect” Day. Throughout the state, Choose Respect Day is an initiative to challenge Alaskans to stand up against domestic violence, sexual assault and child sexual abuse.
- Steve Rutland, Vice President of American Health Facilities Development (AHFD) – the project manager for the new hospital construction – addressed the Assembly about building plans.
The hospital building committee met earlier this week, and Rutland said the group will present construction plan recommendations to Assembly members at the Feb. 28 Assembly meeting.
Construction documents for the new hospital should be completed and put out to bid by May, Rutland said.
- The Assembly also voted to change the date of its first meeting in March because members of the city staff and possibly some Assembly members will be out of town. Originally scheduled for March 13, the next Assembly meeting is now set for March 6.
Maxand said he will be unable to attend the March 6 meeting.
- The next Assembly meeting is scheduled for Feb. 28 at 7 p.m.
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