Assembly holds Fourth of July workshop

The Wrangell Borough Assembly metTuesday evening, May 26, to host a workshop on the drawing-near Fourth of July. This was an initial discussion to talk about how Wrangell's famous Independence Day celebration might look this year, with the COVID-19 pandemic still ongoing.

"This is obviously a fairly important topic to Wrangell, our community is known for our fantastic Fourth of July, we all look forward to it every year," Mayor Steve Prysunka said.

Prysunka and Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen pointed out, early in the workshop, that the city does not play a central role in the Fourth of July. Much of the organization behind the celebration comes from the chamber of commerce. The city supports them through providing public safety at events, and cleaning of streets and restrooms, and things like that. What they were really in the workshop for was to hear from the chamber about what their initial plans were, and how the city could help.

"Our highest priority is the safety and well being of our community members," said Stephanie Cook, with the chamber of commerce, "We have plans in place, and are ready and willing to have a celebration if and when we are able. We respect the decisions and guidance from state and community leadership with regards to having a 2020 Fourth of July celebration, and we will plan our activities according to state guidelines."

This year's Fourth of July is probably not going to look like the ones of previous years, Cook said. They were working on a "best case scenario" right now, she said, as well as several backup plans. Currently, the chamber is speaking with typical event chairs to see if they are interested in hosting their events this year, and how they can do so safely. Von Bargen suggested that the city could be of assistance in that area, as they already have a committee reviewing safety plans from local businesses on a voluntary basis. People could possibly submit plans for Fourth of July events to them, as well, to see how they could best go about it safely.

The public can likely look forward to some of Wrangell's staple events for the Fourth of July. The chamber is planning to host the annual parade, but the route might be different than usual. Another likely event this year is the boat races. Penny Allen wrote a letter to the assembly, which was read during the workshop, in regards to the annual boat races.

"We have had our scheduled board meetings for the Fourth of July boat races," the letter reads. "Our permits and insurance with the Coast Guard and APEA are in place and on schedule for the 2020 races on July fourth. We have also discussed alternative plans for varying phases the state may be in at times of the races. Worst case scenario, we feel we are one of the events that can safely proceed if a COVID outbreak were to occur, and keep within state guidelines."

One Fourth tradition that may not occur this year, Cook said, is the royalty contest. The chamber of commerce did not receive any official candidates for the annual contest before the pandemic really broke out, she said. At this point in the timeline, they are considering alternative fundraising activities instead of the contest. The public can likely expect food booths of some sort in the downtown pavilion, however.

Cook added that the chamber is considering other aspects of the Fourth, such as the need for additional cleaning and social distancing. The chamber is also wanting to try and compile the events into fewer days than usual: Just the third and fourth, for example.

At the close of the workshop, though no formal action will be taken by the assembly yet, Prysunka asked that Von Bargen put together an administrative report to outline some recommendations for what level of participation in the Fourth of July events the city is comfortable with.

Assembly Member Mya DeLong also had a message for the listening public.

"I just urge you to reach out to any member of the [chamber of commerce] board with any helpful suggestions, and your volunteerism would be greatly appreciated," she said.