At the outset of their Wednesday meeting, chairman Grover Mathis told his fellow members on the Wrangell Parks and Recreation Advisory Board that he would soon be departing.
“I’m not going to put my name up for reappointment,” he said.
Mathis has been on the board since 1997, and he explained he wanted to make room for new participants.
“I’m not as involved as I’d like to be,” he explained. “I think it’s time for me to fade away.”
Mathis confirmed he still intends to attend the next month or two of meetings, until a replacement is decided upon.
“I’ve served with a lot of board members,” he said, adding “I do want to thank everybody. I do appreciate everyone that’s served on the board, present company included.”
He added: “I do want to give our special thanks to Betsy (McConachie).” McConachie is the board’s long-time recording secretary.
Mathis said that although Parks and Rec may not be the most important commission in the borough, “in our way we do a lot for the community.”
One of the larger projects he and the rest of the board have been working on in recent months is the expansion of Wrangell’s trail system.
Progress on the expansion was delivered by board member Bob Lippert, who last month participated in a weeklong trail design workshop paid for with a grant from the National Park Service’s Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program.
Staff from Parks and Rec and the U.S. Forest Service flagged out routes and picked up some helpful techniques for the trail’s construction.
“It was pretty encouraging,” he said. “It was a big step forward.”
The plan so far has the project divided into three segments. The first of these phases involves connecting Petroglyph Beach with Mount Dewey trail with Volunteer Park Trail, using a mile-long combination of elevated boardwalk and gravel surfaces.
“That’s our focus, is trying to make it work for our community and for development,” said Amber Al-Haddad, Parks and Rec director.
In designing the trail system, Parks and Rec is opting for multipurpose connectors, which in addition to providing recreational usage will also make Wrangell more accessible to pedestrians.
“A lot of progress has been made on this trail system,” said Lippert.
In designing the route, Lippert explained care was taken to accommodate future development. Siting it along unsurveyed land, planners sought feedback from Wrangell Planning and Zoning.
“We went around things,” said Lippert. “You have to make the best of your options.”
They are also going through the permitting process with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, which manages the wetlands.
The department will be holding a public hearing about the proposed trail system on Sept. 29, at 6 p.m. in the Assembly Chambers.
“We want everybody to know we’ll have the maps,” said Al-Haddad.
She hopes to get community feedback on the trails while also getting the opportunity to explain the plan.
In other business, Al-Haddad gave the board an update on a number of problems being dealt with at the public pool.
First, last month the 1,200 gallon boiler rusted out at Stikine Middle School, rendering the shower facilities and pool unusable.
“We made it work,” Al-Haddad explained, with a plumber rigging together a temporary solution.
For the longer term, she said the department was looking at getting a pair of 120-gallon electrical tanks, so long as their set up would allow for possible additions in the future. These would likely be made of stainless steel, adding longevity.
“We are in the process of getting a quote on that,” she said.
A leak was also discovered in the pool itself, after staff noticed the water’s salinity level had been dropping. After employing the help of two divers with Wrangell Search and Rescue, the leak was determined to be coming from worn-away grouting.
“There was quite the draw,” Al-Haddad said. After only 8 hours of observation, the pool lost 2 inches of depth – about 5,000 gallons worth of water. A layer of epoxy was used to bung up the leaky grout, but another divet was created by the sheer force of the draw.
The leak was eventually fixed last week, but Al-Haddad said that the concrete slab foundation is thought to be failing.
“We plan to do some investigative work soon,” she said.
While searching for leaks, some corrosion was discovered in the pool’s piping. A human error resulted in too much chlorine in the pool, and the thermostat has failed, causing the pool’s temperature to increase to 98 degrees.
On top of this, the facility lost six lifeguards over the summer and is needing additional help. For those interested in getting involved, a sign-up list for training courses is available at the pool office.
Although these have been a lot of troubles to contend with at once, Al-Haddad said “the good thing is we’re getting through them all.”
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