The Wrangell Borough Assembly met Tuesday evening, Aug. 11. During this meeting, they appointed Bob Dalrymple to fill a vacant seat on the assembly. A seat was left empty after the resignation of Mya DeLong in June. Dalrymple was the only one to submit a letter of interest in the term, which expires this October.
"I would like to be more involved in public service and I think my abilities and experience would complement the current Assembly," Dalrymple wrote in his letter of interest.
During their meeting, the assembly also presented a certificate of service to DeLong, for her service on the assembly from October of 2018 to this June.
The assembly also adopted a resolution encouraging the public to wear face masks. Previously, the assembly had discussed the option of mandating the public to wear masks, in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. They felt a mandate would be a step too far, however, and decided on a resolution that strongly encourages mask wearing.
"All individuals are encouraged to wear masks or cloth face coverings over their noses and mouths when they are indoors in public settings or communal spaces outside the home," the resolution states.
This encouragement is extended to people out in public, workers, and their employers. The resolution goes on to say that mask wearing is not encouraged for young children, the speech impaired or hard of hearing, or those with breathing trouble, along with some other exceptions. This resolution is not a mandate, it reads, and is not enforceable. It states the borough's position that wearing a mask in public, during a pandemic, is a good idea.
While the resolution was passed by the assembly, it was not popular amongst all listening members of the public. During the persons to be heard portion of the meeting, Wrangell resident Dale Parkinson called it political grandstanding.
The assembly also voted to hold a referendum regarding Wrangell's withdrawal from the Inter-island Ferry Authority. According to the meeting's agenda packet, the city participated in the creation of the IFA in 1997. Other paxrticipating municipalities included Craig, Coffman Cove, Hydaburg, Petersburg, and others. The purpose of the IFA, the packet reads, was to develop a network of ferries and ferry-related facilities that could service the areas of Prince of Wales Island, Ketchikan, Wrangell, and Petersburg.
"This ordinance is being brought to the Assembly for consideration because Wrangell has not benefited from the IFA services since 2008," the agenda packet reads. "Also, as a requirement of being a participating member of the IFA, Wrangell has had either one public community member or assembly member on the IFA Board. Since Wrangell is not receiving benefits (as members of the IFA) we are requesting the approval of this Ordinance, to withdraw from the IFA."
With the ordinance being approved by the assembly, the question of withdrawing from the IFA will be added to the upcoming October election for local voters to consider.
Other items covered in this meeting include a discussion regarding an application to the EPA Targeted Brownfields Assessment Program, a professional services agreement with AMC Engineers for an assessment of the Wrangell Public Safety Building, and an amendment to the FY 2021 budget to transfer $9,605 from the general fund reserves to the Public Safety Building assessment project. The assembly voted to postpone acceptance of the FY 2019 audit, to wait for auditors to call into a future meeting to answer questions. They also postponed a vote on a resolution amending the job description of the facilities maintenance specialist.
They also approved a motion to negotiate a sale of a portion of Lot 11, Block 83, USS 1119 with Jim and Sue Nelson. Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen also reported, during the meeting, that St. Frances Animal Rescue would be closing in the near future. They have reached out to the borough regarding animal control, she said, to make sure the city does not face a feral cat problem in the near future.
Prior to their meeting, the assembly also held a work session regarding the Institute Property. A writeup of this workshop will be in next week's edition of the Wrangell Sentinel.
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