A little over a month ago, the Alaska Supreme Court made a ruling that found a part of the municipal code of the Borough of Kenai Peninsula to be unconstitutional. The code required an invocation be given before an assembly meeting could take place.
The court found that it was illegal to require an invocation in the municipal code. This became a hot topic of debate in Wrangell, which also has an invocation as a part of its code.
A proposed amendment to the borough’s municipal code, which would remove the invocation from future meeting agendas, caused a stir in an assembly meeting in October. It was brought up for a second reading in last Tuesday’s meeting. Don McConachie took time during the meeting to speak against removing the invocation, saying that the court’s decision was only on Kenai Peninsula, particularly, and was not a state-wide proclamation. He added that other political entities across Alaska and the United States all had invocations as a part of their regular business. He also said that, should the assembly decide to keep the invocation, he would be more than happy to volunteer to help find people willing to give the opening prayer each meeting.
Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen said that the amendment was being considered so Wrangell could play it safe, at the advice of their lawyer. She added that the assembly did recognize that the invocation was generally popular among the community’s residents. Borough Clerk Kim Lane proposed an alternative to having a required invocation listed on meeting agendas.
She said that, instead of opening with an invocation, a person or multiple people could sign up to give an invocation during the “persons to be heard” portion of the meeting. The invocation would no longer be a required agenda item, and would allow for wider community participation in giving the invocation.
The assembly felt that this was acceptable, and voted unanimously on removing the invocation and implementing the new alternative.
The assembly also held a public hearing on amending the municipal code regarding local elections.
The new amendments would allow a vote for a write-in candidate that was spelled incorrectly, but with clear intent, to count as valid. Another amendment would allow the assembly to appoint non-assembly members to the canvass board.
Other items covered in the meeting included handing out certificates of service to members of the Wrangell Medical Center board, approval of a resolution supporting full funding for the State of Alaska Harbor Facility Grant Program, approval of a resolution authorizing participation in the Community Development Block Grant Program, an amendment to the water fund by $30,000 for capital expenditures, approval of a resolution authorizing an application for grant money for improvements to Kyle Angerman Park, approval of a professional services agreement with the Appraisal Company of Alaska LLC, and approval of a professional services agreement with Ray Matiashowski & Associates for state lobbying services.
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