(Sage Smiley / KSTK)
Wrangell’s Borough Assembly has a packed agenda for its meeting on Tuesday (October 10).
Wrangell’s borough administration and government have been working toward a new community drinking water treatment plant for more than six years. And on Tuesday evening, the borough assembly is set to approve a $19.6 million contract with Sitka-based McG Constructors for the project to finally break ground.
In recent months, borough staff have worked to fill the funding gap for a new water treatment plant by securing millions of dollars in state and federal grants and loans. On Tuesday, the assembly plans to accept a $1.9 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture toward the project.
It’s not the only major project to be awarded at the meeting. The borough assembly is set to award a contract to put equipment called anodes into Wrangell’s Heritage Harbor and a few other critical harbor areas around town. The anodes are sacrificial pieces of metal that help minimize long-term corrosion in harbor areas. The contract with Juneau-based Global Diving and Salvage will be for just over $880,000. The assembly will also consider a construction oversight contract with the anode project’s engineers for up to $50,000.
At the Alder Top Village Subdivision six miles out the road, contractors are hard at work clearing lots for new housing. But because the area is the site of a former Bureau of Indian Education boarding school, the borough is required to keep an archaeological monitor on-location during the development process. Borough administration anticipates needing the monitor on-site for an additional 60 days at a cost of up to $96,000, which the assembly will need to approve.
Another significant spend at the meeting could include approval for almost $300,000 toward a new vacuum truck and plow truck for the Public Works department. The two trucks are vital equipment used for utilities around town and winter maintenance.
It’s the first borough assembly meeting after Wrangell’s municipal election, so the assembly will appoint a vice-mayor. Last year, assembly member Dave Powell served as vice-mayor. The mayor will also appoint local residents to advisory boards like Planning & Zoning, Parks & Rec Advisory Board, Wrangell Convention & Visitors Bureau, Economic Development Board, and the Investment Committee.
There will also be three public hearings at the borough assembly meeting.
One will be held on increased fees for some materials at the solid waste transfer station. That includes proposed fee increases for burnables, scrap metal, and household hazardous waste. Public Works staff say the fee increases will help the sanitation department break even and save money for costly equipment replacements in the future.
The second public hearing is on a new policy that clarifies how the borough leases land. Borough code is clear on the procedure for leasing tidelands, but isn’t as well-defined when it comes to traditional land leases.
And the third public hearing is on a proposed private sale of borough tidelands, located off Case Avenue in Inner Harbor.
Wrangell is home to some significant Alaska maritime history. One piece of that history is the M/V Chugach, a historic wooden ranger vessel formerly operated by the U.S. Forest Service. It’s currently on blocks and wrapped outside the Nolan Center, which also houses the borough’s museum. Wrangell’s borough assembly will look at a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and long-term lease agreement with the Forest Service for a plot of land outside the Nolan Center. The lease will allow the federal agency to pursue funding for an interpretive display and protective covered area so visitors and locals can visit and learn about the historic boat.
Also on the agenda is a new annual recognition of the sovereign status of local tribal government the Wrangell Cooperative Association. Borough documents show Mayor Patty Gilbert directed the action to reinforce the city’s relationship with and appreciation for WCA. The mayor will issue a proclamation of the recognition at the next borough assembly meeting in late October.
Borough manager Jeff Good submitted a letter of resignation in late September. He’ll remain on the job through the end of the year. Wrangell’s borough assembly will formally accept that resignation at its regular meeting. The assembly will also meet behind closed doors to discuss transition strategies and whether to pursue recruiting an interim borough manager.
Other agenda items include canceling the November 28 assembly meeting because of the Thanksgiving holiday the same week, and extending the existing contract with the borough’s legal council for another year.
Before the regular meeting, the Assembly will hold a work session on a potential restructure of the borough’s utility organization, beginning at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, October 10. The borough hasn’t published additional information about the potential options to be discussed.
View the full agenda packet for the meeting here.
KSTK will air the borough meeting beginning at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 10 on 101.7 FM and online at KSTK.org.
Anyone wishing to speak at the meeting can sign up on the persons to be heard sheet located at City Hall just prior to the meeting.
Get in touch with KSTK at news@kstk.org or (907) 874-2345.
