The Wrangell Borough Assembly met Tuesday, Sept. 10, to discuss, among several topics, the recent announcement that the Alaska
Marine Highway System would stop traveling to and from Prince Rupert on Oct. 1. Mayor Steve Prysunka, who called into the meeting via teleconference, said that he has been in contact with the offices of Senator Lisa Murkowski and State Representative Dan Ortiz and has tried his best to stay on top of the situation. The reason for the closure, he explained, is that American customs officials are not allowed to carry weapons in Prince Rupert, as it is Canadian territory. The officials wanted armed security of some kind, however, but Canadian authorities were unable to provide it. Negotiations over this have gone on for about a year, Prysunka said, but it was just recently announced that the ferry would stop going there at the end of the month.
News of the Prince Rupert line closing has sent shockwaves through Southeast Alaska. Prince Rupert is one of the few ferry connections to the mainland in Southeast Alaska. The closure is likely to have a negative impact on business and tourism on both sides of the border. It is also another hit to the already struggling ferry system, the mayor pointed out.
The assembly encouraged Prysunka to continue to gather information on the topic and to see what could be done.
In more local business, the assembly also approved some changes to the borough's pay scale. Wrangell's non-union wage and grade table, previously, went from Grade 1 to Grade 30, with 13 "steps" within each grade. Grade 30, according to the meeting's agenda packet, has a pay range of $6,607 a month at step 1 to $8,346 a month. A pair of resolutions brought before the assembly added several new grades to this scale, 31 to 35, and also moved the position of police chief from Grade 30 to 35.
Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen explained that the city has been trying to recruit a new police chief since the recent retirement of Doug McCloskey. When looking at cities and police departments of similar size to Wrangell, she said that these changes to the pay grade would help draw more interest. At Grade 35, she said, Wrangell's police chief could expect a monthly salary between $8,038 and $10,154. After some discussion, the assembly agreed to both of these resolutions unanimously.
During the meeting, the assembly also approved a contract with Alaska Permanent Capital Management for investment management of the permanent fund and pool fund, approved of the FY 2018 audit, and approved of the purchase of Total Marina Package Harbor Software in the amount of $15,832.
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