Mask mandate pulled from assembly agenda

During their meeting on Tuesday night the Wrangell Borough Assembly was scheduled to consider an extension of their mask mandate.

However, this item was pulled from the agenda during the meeting. The assembly also held a discussion about reopening city buildings to public access.

The assembly adopted their mask mandate in November, requiring people in Wrangell to wear face masks or other face coverings while out in public. This was done in response to a growing number of COVID-19 cases across the state. It proved to be a topic of some controversy amongst the community, with some people seeing it as a public safety issue while others see it as government overreach. The original mandate was set to expire on Dec. 7. The new mandate they were looking at was practically the same, according to the agenda packet, save for some updates to the "whereas" clauses and a new sunset date of Jan. 12, 2021.

However, Assembly Member Patty Gilbert made a motion to amend the meeting's agenda by pulling the item from consideration. This motion was made, according to city officials, because the city was not seeing support for keeping the mandate at the state level. Mayor Steve Prysunka said that part of the reason for the emergency order in the first place was because of Governor Mike unleavy's "pressing of the big buzzer" back in November warning about an increase in cases, and a desire for people to take action to try and stall the rise. After that, he said, the governor was largely silent on the matter. Prysunka said he, Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen, and Wrangell's state lobbyist reached out to the government for a situation update. Prysunka said that he received a call that day from Bryan Fisher, head of the state EOC, where he was told that things up north are not completely overrun.

There were enough hospital beds, and hospital staffing was not currently a major

concern. Fisher did say that state health people were upset about the upward trajectory of case counts, Prysunka said, but things at the moment were not overrun.

"Given that we responded not because of what was happening here, but because of what was happening where we go to if we get sick, I don't see us having the rationale any longer," Prysunka said. "Given that this high-level state official that reports directly to Commissioner [Adam] Crum is saying that it is not a big deal, we do not have a problem in our state and that there's more than enough beds. So I spoke with the city manager and said our rationale is no longer there."

After some further discussion, the amendment was approved unanimously by the assembly, and the mask mandate was pulled from the agenda.

The assembly also held a discussion on reopening borough facilities. Back in November, again in response to a growing case count in Alaska, city administration closed city buildings. This included buildings like the library, the Nolan Center, and city hall. Like the original mask mandate, this closure was scheduled to come to an end on Dec. 7.

Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen said in the meeting that city buildings would be reopening starting Dec. 9.

Mitigation will remain largely similar to as they were prior to the closure in most facilities, she said. Masks will still

be required within city buildings, she said, and people will be spread out and socially distanced as much as possible. Other department leaders were invited to speak during the meeting about their reopening plans. The library and harbor department will be following mitigation protocols similar to what they had prior to the closure.

Kate Thomas, Parks and Rec director, said that the community swimming pool would be opening after Dec. 15, as a hot water tank was currently being replaced.

Cyni Crary, with the Nolan Center, said that they would be back open for business starting Dec. 11. The movie theater and civic center would be kept closed until February 2021, however, due to a floor replacement project scheduled for January. She also announced that they would host a community market on Dec. 19.

This was only a discussion item, so no formal action was taken by the assembly.