Five initiatives on the October ballot so far in Petersburg

PETERSBURG – The ballot in October has five initiatives for Petersburg residents to vote on so far, including an amendment to the Charter, a tax break for business owners, off-road vehicles on public roads, a ban of fluoride and the development of the Scow Bay fishing yard.

The change to the Petersburg Charter would allow the City of Kupreanof its own dock within the Petersburg Borough. All the docks on the island are owned by the state of Alaska, currently. But Kupreanof has passed ordinances that would allow it to maintain a dock. Now the Charter must be changed, which is up to the voters, said Borough Clerk Debbie Thompson.

There is a tax break up for vote to Petersburg business owners who have installed sprinkler systems. Voters will decide whether people with a fire-prevention system should get a two percent tax decrease from their property tax, which the state used to mandate. That is until it recently made the break optional.

Two initiatives involving off-highway vehicles and a fluoride ban will appear on the ballot, the Borough Assembly decided, manifesting an effort by separate groups to gather hundreds of signatures from around the community.

In a swift decision, the Assembly, complete with four members in attendance — Eric Castro, Nancy Strand, Bob Lynn and Jeff Meucci — decided to submit to the voters the question of allowing ATVs on Borough-owned roads and banning fluoride from the water system.

Richard Burke led the effort to green light ATVs, and Holly Winje is a leader of the effort to axe fluoride. Both groups gathered the required 283 verifiable signatures.

“Out of respect for a number of folks who signed the petition,” Burke said in a brief statement to the Assembly. “I am asking today for the Assembly to send this to the ballot.”

Burke is petitioning for ATVs to be allowed on all public roads, excluding state-owned, which are Haugen Drive, South Nordic Drive, Mitkof Highway and Scow Bay Loop, said Mindy Swihart, the Borough Deputy Clerk.

Winje reportedly defended a fluoride ban by asserting there is over-consumption of the ion, saying intake is immeasurable and potentially harmful.

Phil Beardslee, a retired dentist in Petersburg, said fluoride is vital to dental hygiene, and if extracted would lead to an increase in tooth decay.

“People wouldn’t notice at first,” Beardslee said. “But in a few years the consequences to tooth decay would be serious.”