Petersburg’s borough assembly will try again to meet Monday, July 17 after failing to have a quorum for a meeting earlier this month.
Most of the agenda items were already scheduled for the July 3rd meeting, including the two citizens ballot initiatives that should appear on the ballot in October. Those will mean a vote on whether to allow off-road vehicles on borough streets and whether to continue adding fluoride to the local water supply. Both efforts were successful in getting the signatures needed to get on the ballot.
Voters may also get to decide on spending up to half a million dollars from Petersburg’s economic development fund to develop a vessel haul out and boat yard in at the Scow Bay turnaround. Petersburg created that fund with six and a half million dollars paid by the federal government in 1997 to offset losses from the decline of Southeast Alaska’s timber industry.
Another question on the October ballot could be whether or not to continue with a property tax exemption for buildings that have sprinkler systems for fire control. Legislation passed this year makes that exemption optional and no longer mandatory.
The assembly could vote to award a remodeling contract for more than half a million dollars to Rainforest Contracting for work on the Petersburg Municipal Power and Light building downtown. Borough manager Steve Giesbrecht reports that the contractor is willing to honor his bid amount beyond its 45-day expiration earlier this month. Assembly members postponed their decision in June to consider other options for electric department staff. However, public works director Karl Hagerman is recommending going forward with the remodel work instead of moving those employees.
The assembly will hear the results of voting by property owners on Unimak and Vesta streets. Too few home owners in those two neighborhoods were in favor of paying for paving those streets so that work will not happen.
Also reappearing on the agenda is a decision on sending a letter regarding British Columbia mines near rivers that flow into Southeast Alaska. There’s also a budget change to reflect some sewer line work planned for Kiseno Street.
The meeting is scheduled to start at noon Monday. KFSK will broadcast it live. Also tune in to a special borough business call in show Monday at 10 a.m.
