Voters re-elect Gilbert as mayor; approve bond issue for Public Safety Building repairs

Voters approved a $3 million bond issue for repairs to the water-damaged Public Safety Building by a 3-1 margin on Oct. 1.

Residents re-elected Patty Gilbert as mayor over challenger David Powell; re-elected incumbent school board member Angela Allen and elected newcomer Dan Powers over incumbent board member Brittani Robbins; and re-elected Chris Buness to the port commission along with newcomer Eric Yancey over challengers Antonio Silva and Tony Guggenbickler.

In a close 36-ballot margin, voters rejected a proposition to amend the municipal charter. The proposed change would have allowed the assembly in a later public ordinance to establish a compensation plan to pay the mayor and assembly members for their work.

The final tally in the Oct. 1 election totaled 544 ballots, as counted by the canvas board on Oct. 3 and certified by the borough assembly that evening.

The turnout was more than double last year’s exceedingly low count of 218 ballots, and more than 10% ahead of the average Wrangell municipal election turnout of 2019 through 2022.

Gilbert defeated Powell 352-187 to win a second two-year term as mayor.

Gilbert said “sidewalks and roads” will be her top priority for a second term, though she acknowledged that finding the money to pay for improvements will be a challenge.

Assembly Members Jim DeBord (443 votes) and Bob Dalrymple (394) were unopposed in their quest for three-year terms.

Allen, at 388, was the top vote-getter in the race for two, three-year terms on the school board. With 378 votes, Powers also won a seat. Robbins lost her re-election bid with 204 votes.

Yancey, with 371 votes, won a three-year term on the port commission, with Buness coming in second at 275 and winning re-election to another three-year term on the commission.

Silva, at 217 votes, and Guggenbickler, at 134, lost their bids for the port commission.

The charter amendment compensation vote failed 249-285.

“I wanted it to pass because I thought maybe it would entice more people to run for office,” particularly younger people and new candidates, Gilbert said two days after the election. “For that reason, I wished it had passed.”

She has no plans to bring up the issue for a second try at winning voter approval. “I’m not really unhappy” about the charter amendment failing, she said.

The Public Safety Building bond issue was approved 402-135.

The borough has asked for a $2.4 million federal grant to combine with the $3 million it will borrow to repair the worst of the problems at the building. The project will include new exterior siding, windows and doors; structural repairs to walls weakened by water damage and rot; a new roof which will include building over the flat roof sections; and installing exterior gutters to protect the structure.

Wrangell is waiting on Congress to adopt a federal budget for next year that includes the $2.4 million in Public Safety Building repair funds, requested by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski. But Congress is not expected to adopt a budget until late December, at the earliest, or maybe not until next year, depending on the results of the Nov. 5 national election and which party is waiting to take control.

Regardless of whether, or when, it receives the federal aid, the borough will work next year on engineering design, then seek competitive bids for the building repairs, with construction anticipated in 2026, according to Amber Al-Haddad, the borough’s capital projects director.