Port commission holds first meeting in six months

The Wrangell Port Commission held their first meeting since April last Wednesday, Oct. 9. Meetings were put on the city calendar monthly, but due to vacant seats on the commission and conflicting schedules of several commissioners over the summer, they were cancelled due to a lack of quorum. With summer at an end and Wrangell's recent election, the commission was finally able to meet again.

Commissioner John Yeager, who was excused from the meeting, was re-elected to the commission for a three-year term. There is still one empty seat on the commission, for which the borough is seeking letters of interest.

The commission opened the meeting by choosing new officers. They agreed to keep the same officers as they've had before, making Commissioner John Martin the chair and Yeager the vice-chair.

After appointing their leadership, the commission got down to business. Harbor Master Greg Meissner gave the commission an update on the renovations to Shoemaker Harbor. These renovations are nearly complete, he said. The contractors are just waiting on parts necessary for a few minor jobs to finish. He added that the borough is still trying to figure out what to do about the increased ICAP fees, which the Sentinel reported on last week. He also mentioned that they are planning to extend the contract to get some renovations done to the parking lot and boat launch, but that may be a project for next spring. Commissioner Brian Merritt asked if they could consider installing cleats to the new docks, to make it easier to tie up boats, to which Meissner said he would consider it.

Martin provided everyone with an update on the Mariners' Memorial Project. Fundraising for the memorial has been going very well, he said, and construction is coming along in bits and pieces. Lighting work is being done right now, he said.

Another big topic of the meeting was a discussion on derelict boats in Wrangell's harbors. Meissner said that it was time for the commission to start doing something about vessels that rarely, if ever, leave their docks and to stop treating the harbors like storage space. Space was needed for active boats, he said, and it would be a challenge to attract new business to Wrangell if their harbors are full of ships that no longer operate.

"If we truly want to make an operation that offers economic growth, we need to find a way ... to start weeding out some of the stuff that doesn't do anything but sit," he said.

Commissioner Mark Mitchell agreed that this was a discussion they needed to have, but he had concerns that the rules could discriminate against old or ugly boats. He did not want to help pass an ordinance that would look like the commission is discriminating between an old fishing boat and a yacht, he said. Martin added that besides a monetary impact, derelict boats also provided some environmental concerns. After some discussion, it was agreed to add the topic as "new business" for their next meeting, which was scheduled for Nov. 7.