The borough has received a nearly half-a-million-dollar state grant, intended to help Wrangell cover some of its revenue losses due to the pandemic’s hit to the economy.
The grant is $469,785, which the borough assembly may put toward buying a new garbage truck and replacing the exterior siding of the pool building at the recreation center. The assembly was scheduled to consider the expenditures at its Tuesday meeting.
The borough had requested $1.8 million when it applied for the grant from the Division of Community and Regional Affairs in December, but “in the application process, the grant administrators received four times the amount of eligible lost government revenue than predicted,” Finance Director Mason Villarma wrote in his report for the assembly meeting.
Communities received less than their full requests.
The Legislature last year made available $50 million to help cities and boroughs replace revenue losses blamed on the pandemic-induced economic slowdown. The money came from the state’s share of funding under the American Rescue Plan Act.
Wrangell’s $1.8 million request covered sales tax, port and harbors, utilities, the Nolan Center and other revenues that came in lower than expected during the pandemic.
With the latest grant, the borough’s total in state and federal pandemic aid is at about $5 million, not counting money that went to the school district, businesses, nonprofits or individuals.
The borough administration is recommending the funds go toward the community pool for exterior siding repairs and repainting, and the purchase of a new garbage truck.
Both projects have no prospects of being funded from other sources, Villarma said.
The sanitation department has two garbage trucks, and both are 12 years old, said Tom Wetor, public works director, on Monday.
“The industry standard is eight to 10 years,” he said.
Over the past several years, the department has seen increased signs of aging on the equipment. Major components have started to fail. The box on the back of the truck that would be replaced is starting to rust out.
“The biggest issue is the wiring inside the truck. … As the wear and tear starts on the wire harnesses, it becomes a tricky thing to try and troubleshoot,” Wetor said. “It becomes time consuming. Last year, we increased the maintenance budget for that truck by 30%. This year, just with the cost of materials, you’re looking at another 15% or so increase on maintenance.”
Any time a truck is at its industry lifespan, Wetor said, the manufacturer stops making a lot of the replacement parts. “They start to save that out for new models. We have had difficulty buying new clamps for the garbage trucks.”
Outside of fabricating the parts themselves, or having someone at the boatyard fabricate the parts, the sanitation department is going to continue running into trouble trying to find replacement pieces, and at significant expense, he said.
“It’s our heaviest-used equipment. They are on the road every day. They operate in a toxic and corrosive environment. It’s harsh on the longevity of the equipment. The new truck would allow us to get more life out of the old trucks,” Wetor said.
The hope would be that the department could get a new truck this year, then look at getting another one in the next three years. “If we spread (a second purchase) out too far, we’re going to be in a new model, and we don’t want to have different parts,” he said. “Keep it close so they are similar makes and models.”
The pool building exterior siding is deteriorating and experiencing rot, Recreation Director Kate Thomas said Monday. “I believe it’s the original siding that was installed with the 1985 development of this site.” The exterior siding will be replaced, in-kind, and the brick façade on the exterior walkway will be removed and replaced with the same kind of cedar wood siding. “This is all exterior work, stuff you can see from the streets and roadway,” Thomas said.
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