At last week’s Borough Assembly meeting, members discussed stepping up abatement of public nuisances around the island.
The item came up as a priority during last month’s goal-setting workshop with recently hired city manager Lisa Von Bargen. Returning to the Assembly last Tuesday, she put it to members that she would like to see removal of junk vehicles management take higher priority.
She called back to the borough’s recent experience with the former Byford property, a privately managed junk site which after several decades of use was significantly contaminated by lead, petroleum and other materials. The Department of Environmental Conservation spearheaded efforts to clean up the site last year, costing more than $6 million to recover and seeing the transport of over 60 shipping containers worth of debris and heavily contaminated soil for processing by its conclusion.
A further 18,500 cubic yards of treated, lead-contaminated soil awaits consignment in a permanent monofill. Initially slated for construction this summer, that portion of the project has been put on hold until spring after raising hackles with locals, concerned about the proposed monofill’s proximity to Pats Creek. Von Bargen informed Assembly members she was in contact with DEC project management to discuss alternatives for the site, after issuing a letter on their behalf earlier last month.
Noting the cost and time expended in that effort, Von Bargen wanted to see enforcement of nuisance abatement more tightly adhered to, to prevent similar situations in future. Lead, fluids and other toxic materials found in the batteries and engines of disused vehicles and watercraft pose similar contamination risks, though perhaps not to the same scale as the Byford yard.
A number of abandoned or unusable vehicles dot the island, not only on public property like harbor parking lots, but also on various private properties. Municipal code has a number of sections addressing or referencing junk vehicles, public nuisances and nonconforming uses. In 9.08.070 for example, property owners are barred from openly accumulating any junk, debris, “indiscriminately stored” machinery and materials, garbage and other such items deemed to be offensive.
“I’m 100-percent for this. Because I don’t think the state’s gonna come back in here and do this,” said Assembly member David Powell.
Fellow member Becky Rooney agreed, saying the issue was one that had initially compelled her to join the Assembly in the first place. Her concern was that municipal code was not being strictly enforced, allowing “literal junkyards” to crop up around the island.
“If you want to store that stuff, it ought to be out of public view,” she said.
Mayor David Jack was in agreement, but felt it would behoove the city to tackle problem vehicles on public property first before pursuing those on private lands. He noted the recent removal of most of the ferrous scrap from the waste transfer facility this summer freed up sufficient space to begin storing abandoned vehicles, many of which have already been cleared for impounding.
When eyesores on private property would eventually be addressed, Powell said he wanted to see advance notice given to property owners and the general public about “the day of reckoning,” giving them time to have items properly disposed of or moved elsewhere.
“There needs to be a grace period,” Von Bargen agreed.
The issue is not a new one to the Wrangell Assembly, with the removal of junk vehicles taking its attentions back in October 2016. It worked on and passed an ordinance later that fall adjusting fines and impoundment procedures. With the municipal junkyard freeing up space for scrap this summer, it now would come down to police enforcement of local code.
Asked about the enforcement aspect of the issue, Chief Doug McCloskey explained removal of abandoned vehicles has taken a backseat to more pressing tasks. The department has been short on officers for the past two years, and though it now has four on its rolls the extended absence of one officer has temporarily lowered that to three. Ideally, to fully cover Wrangell’s 24/7 patrol schedule the department should have seven officers on staff.
Nuisance vehicles were not the only issue considered by the Assembly last week. Under persons to be heard, resident Michael Brewster hoped to have addressed his concerns about nuisance burning. By his reckoning, it was the second time he has approached the Assembly on the subject in seven years.
Like abandoned automobiles and piled debris, the city code has rules on the books barring certain kinds of burning. Rubber, plastics, tar, petroleum products, automobile parts and putrescible garbage are among the various things proscribed from being burned. Brewster said that he has been having trouble with burning in his neighborhood, though what was being burned was unspecified.
“This is a quality of life thing,” he said. “I need help here, I need some sort of enforcement.”
At Jack’s recommendation, Brewster was to set up a time to meet with Von Bargen to discuss his options. At Assembly member Patty Gilbert’s request, Von Bargen would also follow up on Brewster’s “nuisance burning” concerns, providing an update at the next meeting.
Asked about the issue of nuisance burning, McCloskey recommended that residents who have such problems call emergency dispatch. Depending on the nature of the issue, either police or the fire department would be referred for assistance.
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