Former Soldotna police chief hired to run Wrangell department

Dale Eugene "Gene" Meek has been hired as Wrangell's new police chief and will start the job on July 22.

He most recently served as police chief in Soldotna, on the Kenai Peninsula.

Borough Manager Mason Villarma, who met with Meek several times during his visit to town over the weekend, said he and Mayor Patty Gilbert had dinner with Meek and his wife, Mechel (pronounced "mee-shell"), on Saturday.

The day before, soon after his arrival on the afternoon flight on Friday, Meek met with members of the community at an open house. According to Kate Thomas, the borough's economic development director, approximately 20 residents stopped by to greet him at City Hall.

Although Meek hadn't heard about the potential budget-cutting layoffs of two positions from Wrangell's seven-member force of certified police officers, he indicated it was likely to be among the various subjects of conversation with Villarma. "Obviously, having a balanced budget is important, but having public safety is equally as important."

He said his goals and objectives as police chief are dependent on discovering the needs of the community. "My plan of identifying that comes out of just getting out with community engagements like this. I have a little survey questionnaire that I give out ... 'What does your police department do well?' Let people talk about it."

He said he recently came across a survey of the safest places to live in Alaska, in which Wrangell made it to No. 2, with Haines in the top spot. "I'd like it to see (Wrangell) No. 1," he said. "I don't like losing."

Meek has almost 30 years of experience in law enforcement, having worked in places as diverse as his home state of Kentucky, as well as Florida, New Mexico and Afghanistan, holding various positions from deputy sheriff to a special agent with the FBI on a violent crimes task force.

However, he began to yearn for a slower pace that harkened back to his small-town roots, to be able to devote more time in training the next generation of law enforcement, which led to his three-year stint as chief of police in Center, Colorado, starting in 2019, where Meek met and married his wife, former reporter turned artist Mechel, who in turn was looking for something new. "(She said), 'I want an adventure. ... I want to move to Alaska.'"

That led them to Soldotna, where Meek served as police chief beginning in July 2022. But when Wrangell advertised for the same position, he and his wife both felt it was time for another move. "It's more like what we're trying to go back to," he said. "She really enjoys that lifestyle, just when the work's done, we go out into the woods and have some fun. ... Go out and just enjoy nature."

Thomas said she happened to be in the office when Meek called to inquire about the position and was able to provide him with perspective on the differences between Wrangell and Soldotna, as she had previously lived on the Kenai Peninsula.

Meek resigned from his position at Soldotna last month.

Tom Radke retired as Wrangell's chief of police on April 5 after four years on the job.