Zoom is a thing of the past for Wrangell Borough Assembly meetings. The next meeting June 8 will be in person, no more freeze frames, no more digital hassles.
The assembly voted unanimously Tuesday evening to repeal the resolution directing online meetings during the pandemic.
“Conducting meetings with the Zoom stuff is exhausting,” Mayor Steve Prysunka said.
Borough Clerk Kim Lane recommended the assembly approve the return to in-person meetings. “Since we are trying to move forward and climb out of this pandemic,” she said, it would be appropriate to go back to meeting in assembly chambers, with the public invited.
Assembly members can still call in to meetings if they are out of town or otherwise unable to attend in person, the mayor said.
The public also can call in to testify or present to the assembly if they would rather do that than attend in person, Lane said.
“I am very much in favor of coming off our war footing,” Assemblymember Ryan Howe said, in support of the resolution making the change.
The resolution repealed an emergency ordinance that amended municipal code for online meetings.
As Lane explained in her presentation for the assembly, face coverings will not be required for fully vaccinated individuals at in-person meetings. However, following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, “unvaccinated individuals are strongly encouraged to wear face coverings in City Hall and the borough assembly chambers.”
The change back to in-person meetings recognizes “updated COVID-19 health guidelines, advisories and policies of the CDC and the state … and recognize(s) the level of vaccination in the community,” Lane told the assembly.
Assembly members Tuesday evening also approved spending up to $60,000 in federal disaster funds to continue the borough’s lease of the Sourdough Lodge from Harding Rentals for use as an alternate isolation site if needed to house COVID-positive individuals.
The assembly approved a lease extension for July through September. The borough has used federal funds to lease the property since last June.
Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen pointed to the resumption of cruise ship traffic to town, along with an influx of summer visitors and workers, as reasons to maintain an alternate isolation site for emergency use.
The lease cost will depend on whether an infected individual is housed at the facility. The rate is $5,000 a month for standby availability, and $15,000 a month if occupied.
Borough officials “see extending the alternate isolation site lease through September as a way to support economic recovery in Wrangell. The site provides the necessary safety net for visitors to Wrangell in the case of a positive test result,” Von Bargen told the assembly in her presentation for the funding request.
The borough surveyed bed and breakfast operators in town to determine if any could serve as a lower-cost alternative isolation site. “Thankfully, booking levels are VERY positive” … (and) none of them have capacity to address the isolation needs of a guest who might test positive,” Von Bargen said.
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