The Petersburg Borough Assembly will continue considering a few changes to the current budget at tonight’s meeting.
The move would transfer $431,365 left over from last year’s budget into two different funds. Of that, $300,000 would be put toward repairing the sewer system at the borough-owned aquatic center. That would bring the project’s total funding to over $1.3 million. The project received one bid that was much higher than expected, with the total cost estimated at almost $1.2 million including additional engineering. This money would help account for that cost and contingencies, according to officials with the borough’s parks and recreation department. The current balance of the Aquatic Center fund is about $1 million.
The rest of the transferred money would go toward the town’s Assisted Living facility at Mountain View Manor, which is operating at a deficit.
“Assisted Living is a little more troubling issue. Our deficit continues to grow up there,” Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht said at the previous assembly meeting on Jan. 5. “It’s shocking. Basically, at this point, [subsidies from the Borough] is all that’s keeping Assisted Living from having to close its doors.”
Borough officials said in January that Assisted Living actually needs more money than this $131,000 or so, but it helps keep the facility’s doors open for now as the borough finance department looks for a remedy in future budget cycles.
Tonight will be the second time the Assembly is considering these budget changes, which also means there will be a public hearing for that ordinance during the meeting.
The Assembly is also considering a couple of new ordinances. One of them would vacate a right of way on Seventh Street, near the corner of Gauffin Street and Aaslaug Street, convey the strip of land to the Borough and combine it with the adjacent land to create a sellable lot on Lake Street. The borough intends to sell it for residential development.
The other ordinance would increase various fees for using the town’s harbor, starting in March. Harbor fees were last increased in 2022. Petersburg’s harbor department and the local harbor and ports advisory board recommend the increase “to bring harbor revenues in line with expenses,” according to the ordinance’s language.
The Petersburg Borough Assembly meets tonight at 6:00 p.m. in the Assembly Chambers. KFSK will broadcast that meeting live. You can find the full agenda here.
