Assembly discusses borough goals, makes appointments to investment committee

The Wrangell Borough Assembly met last Tuesday evening, Feb. 11, for a work session on the borough's future goals. The discussion was meant to ensure that all city employees understood what Wrangell's priorities are, and what they are all working towards. According to the meeting's agenda packet, the borough had a wide variety of goals to consider.

Some of the goals laid out in the agenda packet included development of the old Institute and Byford junkyard properties, and cleaning up abandoned vehicles and other refuse on Zarembo Island. The borough has many goals outlining the need to renovate or replace infrastructure, such as the Public Safety Building, the powerhouse, and the city's water system. There are also some safety goals, including an audit of safety-training needs for all borough staff, and organizing future ALICE training sessions.

There were also several goals geared towards strengthening ties between the city government, its employees, and other community organizations. One such goal is to successfully come to a new collective bargaining agreement with the IBEW, the electrical workers' union. There are also goals outlining stronger ties between the city and the Wrangell Cooperative Association, as well as plans to discuss ways to improve "social fabric efforts" in the community. A full list of the goals discussed in the workshop can be found online at the city's website, http://www.wrangell.com.

After the work session, the assembly held a meeting to appoint some people to the city's investment committee. The borough recently changed the way investments are made, which includes the creation of an investment committee. The membership of this committee includes two assembly members, the borough manager, the finance director, and a member of the public. The assembly needed to appoint one assembly member and one member of the public to the committee. According to city employee Aleisha Mollen, the assembly received two letters of interest from the public, one from Wrangell School District Superintendent Debbe Lancaster and another from former assembly member Jim DeBord. The assembly decided to appoint DeBord, along with Assembly Member Mya DeLong.

"With Wrangell's limited capacity to increase taxes to cover deficits, it's more imperative now than ever, to maximize our returns on what assets we already have in place, and capture every dollar of revenue possible," DeBord wrote in his letter of interest.

During the meeting, the assembly also approved of a resolution allowing Royce and Sherri Cowan to construct a driveway to cross a portion of borough property, held a first reading of an ordinance establishing a new process for fees in harbor and port facilities, and awarded a contract to Heller High Water, in the amount of $66,301.07, for a summer float for City Dock.

The next assembly meeting is scheduled for Feb. 25.