Borough assembly certifies October 2 election

The city and borough assembly of Wrangell held a special meeting last Thursday to certify the election that took place on Oct. 2. The election saw votes cast for a new mayor, several open positions on the assembly, school board, and other organizations. The election also saw large amounts of voter support for Proposition 1, which allows for the lease of the Wrangell Medical Center and the construction of a new hospital.

The assembly certified the results of this election, and also passed out certificates of service to outgoing elected officials. The recipients of these certificates include Mayor David L. Jack, Assembly Member Drew Larrabee, School Board Member Tamara Groshong, and Hospital Board Member Don McConachie. The certificates were meant to demonstrate the town's thanks for their hard work and service to the community.

"Mayor Jack, I think it's quite fitting that you were at the very beginning of us trying to move this hospital plan forward, and you got it done by the time you went off by two days," said Steve Prysunka when presenting Jack his certificate. "Thank you so much for your service, and it's been an honor to sit beside you."

New members of the assembly were also sworn in at Thursday's meeting. Steve Prysunka, Wrangell's new mayor, was sworn in first. Also sworn in was newly elected assembly member Mya DeLong, and incumbent assembly member David Powell.

"It really has been a pleasure working with this assembly and past assemblies," said Jack. "Everything hasn't always been agreeable, or pleasant, but we'd come to a consensus in the end, and hopefully we did the right thing for the people of the city and borough of Wrangell, Alaska."

After the oaths of office were administered, the assembly and members of the public present were invited to stay for cake, made by Brittney Roane for the occasion.

Other items taken care of in the meeting include the acceptance of Steve Prysunka's resignation from the borough assembly, so he could take on the position of mayor. Also discussed was an amendment to the professional services agreement for healthcare consultations from Dorsey & Whitney in the amount of $183,139. An error in billing was noticed by the assembly, however. It was pointed out that Wrangell was incorrectly billed for an extra 20 hours of consultation, so the amount of money was changed to $175,239. This amendment was then accepted by the assembly.