In a draft plan outlining action on borough-wide nuisance abatement, Wrangell manager Lisa Von Bargen advised a cautious approach to the City and Borough Assembly.
Since last September assembly members have had tidying up the stacked junk and discarded vehicles around the island in their sights. Municipal ordinance proscribes such eyesores, whether on public lands or private property, and enforcement was something members wanted to see done. Meanwhile, letters were issued to around 20 residents who were out of compliance, while the city waste disposal yard made several initiatives over the winter to encourage scrap metal disposal.
Von Bargen presented a plan to approach the next step of enforcement on Tuesday, prefacing it with words of caution that the process of cleaning up town can be a long and messy one. In a worst-case but common enough scenario, several rounds of abatement notices could lead to legal action before any clearing out is performed, with associated fees often attached as a lien on the offending property.
“The commitment by the assembly has to be to go all the way,” Von Bargen advised. “If at any point along the way resolve is lost then it becomes clear any property owner can just wait it out with the assembly.”
Such being the case, she advised choosing four to six properties within the “visual corridor” of the business district and focusing on those. While staff could begin working on this manageable number relatively soon, she did add that the city’s municipal code on abatement could use a bit of cleaning up itself. Von Bargen partially rewrote the abatement code while working for the Borough of Valdez, and intended to bring a revised draft before Wrangell’s assembly another meeting or two from now.
Updating assembly members on discussions in the House Finance Committee earlier that afternoon, Von Bargen reported additional funding for the Byford junkyard (see Monofill story) was the most heavily discussed issue among capital items. Given the drum-tight budget situation for projects statewide, Von Bargen noted it was an interesting situation the borough had been put in. While additional funding for Byford was not on the city’s list of capital priorities – potable water provision topping that list – Gov. Bill Walker had taken up the Byford issue and his office twice requested that $5 million be included on Wrangell’s behalf. Considering the considerable interest in Juneau that had been taken and political capital expended on Wrangell’s behalf, she cautiously likened the funding to a gift horse.
“No matter what decision comes up, whether the money is put into the capital budget or it’s not, there are casualties on either side,” Von Bargen noted. If the money did come through, creek concerns would be addressed but local businesses could see a diminished share of the project contracts from the change of direction.
Assembly member Stephen Prysunka expressed a fear that the city could be obligated to contribute funds to the project it was unwilling to part with, as even an extra $5 million could still come up short for barging off the material. In that scenario, he said, the borough would be in an even more awkward spot.
“We’re not just looking a gift horse in the mouth, we’re kicking it in the mouth,” he said, in that instance.
Before them to consider at Tuesday’s meeting, assembly members were to discuss whether to lend its support to the Department of Environmental Conservation’s project. Several members of the public were on hand to request that they postpone any decision until the state’s capital budget was finalized.
“Just another week,” asked Jamie Roberts, a resident.
The state’s upcoming budget was expected out by Sunday, while an updated estimate for transporting the soil by barge was still being figured. By next week it was felt the situation would be clearer. Roberts had testified to House Finance in support of the additional money, but was afraid a motion of support for the monofill on the part of the assembly could be interpreted as the money was not needed.
Wrangell Cooperative Association tribal administrator Esther Ashton spoke on behalf of the tribe, also requesting they postpone their decision.
“This budget is actively being considered,” she said. Ashton felt chances would be improved if a declaration of support were delayed.
Despite this, and noting the wording of their resolution only supported the engineered monofill if funds for shipment off-island were unavailable, Prysunka pressed to move forward with the vote.
Member Julie Decker agreed. “From my understanding of what was said, there was a whole discussion with the House Finance Committee. This is not going to be news to them,” she offered. “I don’t think it’s going to harm the chances.”
“The way this is wrote up we’re not necessarily supporting going out there,” fellow member Roland Howell added. “I think most of us would agree, it can’t stay where it’s at.”
The assembly voted unanimously in favor of the resolution.
In other borough business, at Von Bargen’s invitation Public Works director Amber Al-Haddad reported bids were in for the resurfacing of Evergreen Road. Two competitive bids had come in, with Southeast firm SECON submitting a bid for $4.6 million. The project bid was close to $1,000,000 under Department of Transportation estimates. As Wrangell was contributing around nine percent in match funds, she pointed out it could potentially see some savings on the project if costs remain down.
“Keep your fingers crossed. If there are no major change orders, we could see close to $100,000 coming back,” Al-Haddad said.
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