The borough assembly voted 6-0 Tuesday to purchase a new truck.
They also voted 6-0 to hold a public hearing Feb. 11 about potentially turning the high-traffic Brueger Street, which runs in front of City Hall to a high-traffic intersection between Bobs’ IGA grocery store and First Bank near the Nolan Center, into a one-way street. They also tabled an agenda item about the creation of a permanent standing energy committee, following a procedural discussion concerning a letter from TBPA manager Mick Nicholls. Assembly members voted 6-0 to add that agenda item to the next assembly agenda.
The truck in question is a Ford F550, to be purchased from Cal Worthington Ford of Anchorage for $33,255, plus a $275 shipping fee from Juneau. Existing capital budget funds will be allocated to make the purchase, made through the Alaska State Procurement program. The truck is a flatbed with a lift gate and will replace a similar truck used by the Department of Public Works, said borough manager Jeff Jabusch.
“What they use it for is lifting barrels and, if they’re replacing big valves and stuff that are heavy, rather than having people lift that kind of thing into the trucks, they have a lift and they can slide it over,” he said. “They use it for a lot of different things, and the current one is wore out. This was a budgeted thing to replace a current vehicle.”
Assembly member James Stough moved to hold the public hearing, which will be held at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 11 before the next regular meeting of the assembly.
In discussion, assembly members said the likely high level of public involvement in the debate would necessitate a public hearing. A memo from public works director Carl Johnson to Jabusch estimates a cost of about $1,700 for signage alone, and about two labor days for two public works workers to install additional posts.
Despite having been added in the last week, the direction change had already drawn one public comment letter from local resident Wilma Leslie.
“I would rather the city consider parking only on one side or the other,” she wrote, in a letter read into the record by borough clerk Kim Lane. “Parking space is not a problem. There is plenty of it on Campbell Drive.”
The change would cause more accidents than it would save, Leslie wrote.
“Furthermore, people are creatures of habit, especially if you have lived in Wrangell all your life and can practically drive the streets blindfolded,” the letter continues.
Assembly member Pamella McCloskey said she proposed the change because of chronic traffic congestion in the widest part of the street near the grocery store. A public works map shows the street starts at 20 feet wide at the bank intersection, and gradually narrows to become 11 feet wide before rejoining Campbell Drive.
“Change is difficult,” she said during discussion on the matter. “Sometimes it’s necessary.”
Another letter, this one from Nicholls to the assembly, sparked a protracted procedural debate between Mayor David L. Jack and Stough.
Stough attempted to read the letter into the record during the reports section. Jack objected to the read-in, saying the letter ought to be made publicly available and the public given time to consider it before it was presented to the assembly. Stough pushed the issue, eventually obtaining a 6-0 vote on a motion to approve the reading of the letter, which discusses budget issues within the Thomas Bay Power Authority.
The Authority has spent $40,833.89 of the $55,000 allotted by Wrangell as part of the non-net billable portion of the operating expenses so far this year, according to the letter.
“The continuing operation of the Thomas Bay Power Authority is in jeopardy,” Stough read. “Should the non-net billable funds be withheld, serious consequences will arise.”
The authority’s administrative clerk position, currently held by Rhonda Christian, is covered by a three-year union contract which holds the authority liable in the event of a layoff or reduction in hours on the part of the authority.
“This would create an untenable condition, as there would be no way to provide payments for employees, vendors, or any other billable service to TBPA,” he said.
In other business, the assembly approved on second reading revisions to the code governing the hours of sale for alcoholic beverages in town. Local tavern owners requested and received a 30 minute period after closing time to allow patrons to vacate the premises, rather than being forced out into the streets.
The assembly also voted 6-0 to approve the sale of the Tidelands to David Svendsen, and 6-0 to approve the Wrangell Medical Center Budget for the 2014 fiscal year.
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