It was a busy night for the Wrangell Borough Assembly Wednesday. State Representative Dan Ortiz came to town to be a part of a workshop with city leaders over what Wrangell’s legislative priorities for 2019 would be.
A draft document was provided for the workshop, listing things at the state and federal level of government that the assembly felt were important for Wrangell. The draft of priorities included items like the adoption of a sustainable budget plan across the state, school debt reimbursement, and avoiding reductions in the shared fisheries tax. Pollution in transboundary waters was also discussed. Another priority that was discussed included amendments to the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which would allow communities like Wrangell to better control the sea otter population. The increasing number of sea otters in Southeast Alaskan waters is a danger to the viability of shellfish and mariculture fisheries’ viability, the document read. A mass die-off of sea otters is a potential danger, as well, should their food sources become too devastated.
Another priority the assembly felt was important was the reinstatement of “state positions critical to Wrangell.” Over the past decade, according to the document, Wrangell has seen the positions of public health nurse, magistrate, and child welfare case worker taken away from the island. These positions have not been eliminated, the document states, but consolidated in the city of Petersburg. It was important for Wrangell to have people in these important positions actually within the city, not an island over. It was unacceptable, Mayor Steve Prysunka said, that Wrangell was being turned into a satellite of Petersburg.
After the workshop, and a brief recess, the assembly gathered for a regular meeting. Drug use in Wrangell was a major topic of discussion during this meeting. Guadalupe Rogers spoke during the public comments section of the meeting. She informed the assembly that, about a week and a half ago, a used syringe was found near Alaska Housing. She said that the discarded needle spoke to the city’s drug problem, and asked that the city keep aware of the issue, and that they work to nip the problem in the bud before it grew further.
Wrangell Chief of Police Doug McCloskey was present at the meeting as well, to give a police report to the assembly. He spoke about drug abuse in Wrangell, and informed the city that, in his opinion, the drug problem in the city was not as bad as others might make it out to be. He admitted there was a problem, but said that for the past two or three years it had not gotten any worse. In the past year, he said, about six or seven syringes had been found and tested for drugs, meth and opiates most commonly, in Wrangell. There was not a huge uptick in drug use, he said. However, he also added that people are able to turn in their drugs, prescription or otherwise, to the police without fear of trouble. The police have a tip line, as well, where people can report illegal activities. The best thing Wrangell can do to combat drug use, he said, is for everyone to be united in condemnation of the activity.
Other items covered in the meeting include an amendment to the 2019 budget in the water fund by $14,000 for expenditures and authorize its expenditure, an agreement with Municode for online agenda solutions at the annual cost of $2,200, and a discussion of flood and earthquake insurance for all city and borough facilities.
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