Assembly cancels nonessential meetings, declares emergency in special meeting

The Wrangell Borough Assembly held a special meeting on Tuesday afternoon, March 17. In response to the global spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), which recently reached Alaska, the assembly decided to meet to determine how best to handle the situation, and mitigate chances of the virus spreading locally. There are no confirmed cases of Coronavirus in Wrangell as of March 17, but the assembly felt it was important to be proactive.

As part of an effort to encourage social distancing, the assembly passed a resolution to temporarily cancel all nonessential meetings of

borough commissions, boards, and committees. The

resolution also temporarily amended the municipal code to allow the assembly to hold meetings via teleconference. There was some discussion on this point, and the assembly voted to amend the motion to allow meetings via video conference, too. Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen said that this resolution would automatically expire in six months,

this October, or whenever the assembly decided to revoke the motion at an earlier date. Public participation in meetings will still be able to take place, she added, as the assembly will publish a phone number members of the public

will be able to call to listen in on.

The assembly also passed an ordinance declaring an emergency related to the Coronavirus pandemic. This ordinance grants the mayor and borough manager authority to issue emergency orders and take necessary steps to

protect the public health. These emergency orders could include actions like limiting the number of people allowed to gather in one place,

curfews, or limiting restaurants and bars to only take-out service.

"You have to have the ability to make decisions quickly and respond quickly," said Mayor Steve Prysunka. "From what I understand, both from my wife [Dr. Lynn Prysunka] who is obviously directly involved in this, and what I have been reading, sometimes being able to make decisions quickly is going to save lives."

Assembly Member David Powell proposed an amendment to the ordinance, that members of the assembly should be informed of any emergency orders before it is announced to the public. This amendment, and the ordinance itself, was unanimously approved of. This ordinance is also set to expire in October, or once the Coronavirus is no longer declared a federal and state emergency.

After the meeting, Von Bargen said that she intended to issue the first emergency order later that evening. The order will be to limit gatherings to no more than 10 people, and to limit restaurants to take-out service.